That's right, I said it... 3395. Wow, how many years ago was that?
To the Nokia novice, ie: my husband, the Nokia 3395 (US variant of the 3390) is as he puts it %26quot;The best phone that Nokia ever made%26quot;. Let me explain a bit... there is a percentage of people that accommodate the globe who just want a phone that rings. Nothing fancy, no camera, no multimedia, no bells and whistles... nothing like that. Just basic simplicity in a form factor that proves comfortable for the everyday user. Nokia had this... and I think they need to return to it.
My husband does construction. Phones get dropped on a daily basis. Up until recently I sent him off with my N95-3 to use. He understood the concept and even did me proud by showing the device to his co-workers and describing it as a %26quot;multimedia computer%26quot;. Lol yeah he did me proud... but is it what he needs in a device? Absolutely not.
Understanding his needs and usage I would put him in a Nokia 5100 because of its rugged grip and updated color screen. Now I know that these are %26quot;devices of old%26quot; ... but this is saying that Nokia is missing out on that certain percentage. Let's call them the %26quot;phone destroyers%26quot;.
Almost everyone on my husbands crew has a flip phone, and trust me... those flips are being held together by duct tape. It's pretty funny to see. But what is out there for the rugged terrain?
One of the areas where he beats me in bragging rights is the battery life. With normal calling and thats about it, the 3395 battery lasted for 3 days.... 3 DAYS without dying!!!! I don't need to state what the N95 did in comparison.
I have to admit myself... that this has been the most comfortable keypad in almost all the devices that I've used. And the device in hand comfort level is just comfy. It fits so nicely. My second choice for that of all time would have to be the 6600 (although I still don't know why it was nicknamed the Oprah phone).
I'm sure that there is something that could make the average user happy in Nokia's line-up. But from the hubby's perspective the 3395 and 5100 are his idea of %26quot;user friendly%26quot;. But I can say that at least there is something in the line-up, even though its a bit nostalgic. This is where I think Nokia should incorporate maybe something of a Lifestyle selection on its websites. Something that the user can choose on their own and maybe come close to the perfect device for their needs. I mean one question that no one asks is %26quot;what type of damage could you possibly do to your device on a day to day basis?%26quot;. Although I believe it to be a valid question. Take clothing for example... may people chose cotton because its breathable and comfortable in any condition. (Hmmm maybe I'll save that thought for a future post).
I've seen my husband go through 4 Helio phones... all of which are now no longer working. Even the N95-3 that I gave him has now returned with massive dust particles in the slider. I mean you can actually hear crunching noises when you attempt to slide the device open. I guess up to this point there hasn't been a phone made that my husband can't destroy, but I'll say this much... the 3395 has held up longer than anything else that I could give him!