Nokia 8110 hands-on: The Matrix phone is back

- Hey, it's Jake from The Verge and we have Nokia's
re-released Matrix phone.
They have updated the classic phone from the 90s,
the slider, the banana phone, for 2018.
It now has LTE, it has a larger screen but otherwise
it's pretty much the same form factor.
The shape is pretty ridiculous in 2018 but it works.
There is a ton of nostalgia here and having wanted one
ever since I saw The Matrix I love the fact that HMD Global
which now makes Nokia phones is bringing it back.
I think they're entirely relying on that nostalgia
for this thing to sell, but I absolutely don't care.
I buy into it in this case.
The device is gonna sell for under $100.
Basically, HMD says that there are still
over a billion people who are using feature phones
and they think that through some combination of nostalgia,
Nokia's recognizable brand name,
and just being one of the few people
still making decent feature phones they can
actually get some people to but this thing.
Obviously the big deal here is the design.
It has this curved shape on the outside which
is part of what give it the banana phone nickname.
Also it comes in yellow as well as a black color.
There is a headphone jack on top.
Charges over a micro USB, and it has
a 2 megapixel camera on back.
I've already taken a photo with it and I can tell you
it is terrible.
The slider is not exactly great but it's not
about whether it's good or bad it's about the fact
that it was in The Matrix 20 years ago.
And you know what?
That is probably enough.
You have to use a directional pad to navigate the interface.
You have to use T9 to type,
and I have to say going back
after a decade on smartphones is a real wake up call
as to how not great that experience was.
It's kind of usable if you're just navigating the menus,
but the buttons are really tiny and hard to use.
It's hard to quickly get around the interface.
You can actually get into a web browser here
and navigate things.
You'll control a courser with the D pad.
So even though you can't get Android apps
there is still an app store,
and Nokia has partnered with a bunch of companies
to fill it with some popular apps.
So there's gonna be Twitter, there's gonna be Facebook,
there's even gonna be a whole suite of Google apps
including the Google Assistant.
We're not really sure what that experience is going to be
like but the intention really seems to be bridging
the gap between a feature phone and a smart phone
by offering at least some of the functionality.
There is a two megapixel camera on the back of this thing
and I have to tell you it is really not good.
It is exactly like the last time you used a feature phone.
Everything is just big, blocky, chunky pixelated, mess.
I guess it's there because it has to be.
Don't take pictures with this and expect much.
And of course, this is a Nokia phone, and so there's Snake.
I have to tell you I've accidentally launched Snake
five times while filming this video.
It takes a lot of work to quit Snake.
This one also has LTE and while that
might seem kind of useless on a feature phone
it can also be used as a hotspot,
which I guess would be a little bit more handy.
That's also gonna allow it to work on more cell networks
around the world.
And this one is actually destined for Europe.
You're going to be able to buy it in May for €79.
There's also going to be a dual SIM model which
will probably cost a little bit more.
Thanks for watching.
For more check out theverge.com
and be sure to subscribe at youtube.com/theverge.
(humming)
What if I didn't.
What if I just described the scene in detail
based on memory?
Okay, so first.
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Nokia 8110 hands-on: The Matrix phone is back

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