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Can the new Nokia 3310 handle real city life?

We took Nokia's updated 3310 around Barcelona to see how well it performs up against a modern phone.

Andrew Lanxon Editor At Large, Lead Photographer, Europe
Andrew is CNET's go-to guy for product coverage and lead photographer for Europe. When not testing the latest phones, he can normally be found with his camera in hand, behind his drums or eating his stash of home-cooked food. Sometimes all at once.
Expertise Smartphones, Photography, iOS, Android, gaming, outdoor pursuits Credentials
  • Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
Andrew Lanxon
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Watch this: Nokia 3310 vs. iPhone 7 in a real city battle

Nokia's new 3310 may have captured our hearts with its retro looks, but how useful is this feature phone when you're out and about in a city?

I headed out onto the streets of Barcelona with the new handset to find out. I was joined by Jessica Dolcourt, who seemed to think her iPhone 7 would be the better option for urban exploration.

Admittedly, when it came to available apps, Jess had me beat. While she was enjoying Twitter, Gmail and Instagram, the only available "apps" on the 3310 were calendar, calculator and an alarm clock. The Nokia wasn't much help when it came to finding directions either as it doesn't have GPS or maps.

Old Nokia 3310 meets new Nokia 3310

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The 3310 had a couple of trump cards though. I was able to while away a metro journey playing the classic Nokia game Snake -- and nobody can argue that isn't brilliant fun.

The biggest hit came at the end of our expedition. When it was time to make dinner reservations, Jess's phone had long since run out of juice while the 3310 could go for days -- or even weeks -- on its remaining charge.

It was dinner for one for me!

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