The Nokia 8110 aka the-Matrix-phone is back

Do you remember the old Nokia 8110?

The slider-phone featured in the film The Matrix became famous during the 90’s thanks to Keanu Reeves. Almost twenty years later, the banana-shaped phone is back and this time with 4G and Apps.

Nokia announced this Sunday at the Mobile World Congress they are rebooting the Nokia 8110, along with four other models. All of them will boast ceramic paint and aluminium bodies of the likes of Huawei and Samsung, but for a much lower price.

They also disclosed the release of Nokia 1, a new smartphone that will only cost $85.

These announcements certainly suggest the company is looking to increase their market share in the smartphone business, which is becoming enormously competitive.

“In a sea of sameness we believe Nokia phones should stand-out,” said chief product executive Juho Sarvikas.

The company is well-known for delivering high-quality products and cheap mobile phones throughout the years. One of these was the eternal Nokia 1100, which was claimed to be unbreakable.

The Nokia 8110 will come either in black for a more Keanu-style, or yellow for those who would enjoy the alliteration of having a “banana” look-alike phone —complemented by its curved case shape.

As with the original 8110, users will be able to answer calls by just sliding the case and hanging up by closing it. For those who haven’t had the pleasure to be alive during the 90’s, this will be the ultimate perk.

The monochrome screen is now a 2.4-inch colour screen with the same interface as the Nokia 3310, and apps like Facebook and Gmail can now be imported. The new model can also be used as a wireless hotspot for your laptop.

The screen will remain small compared to other smartphones, however, it is a product aimed for those who want a practical low-cost phone, with good battery life —20 days between charges or 8 hours of phone-calling. 

Not to forget it comes with Snake, the game the Nokia phone has long been known for.

For those sci-fi fans out there, the release of the 8110 will be in May. The price in the UK is expected to be around £70.