Earlier this week across the UK the retro styled Nokia 3310 went on sale in mobile phone shops across the country with demand for the device being called astonishing. The original 3310 was released 17 years ago, selling over 100 million devices becoming a cult classic for the ages. The biggest gripe with smartphones today is battery life, something that the 3310 had no issues with previously holding up to two weeks battery life, this is something that has been reintroduced into the new style 3310 which gives you 22 hours of talk time. The new phone isn’t for everyone, and is lacking many smartphone functionalities, but for those only after a phone to make calls and send text messages, this would be the phone for you.
The world has changed a lot in the last 17 years, and with it so have mobile devices, so what is with the new influx of interest in retro gadgets, why the sudden affinity for nostalgic products? To put it simply retro is cool again, anything 70s, 80s, and 90s is making its resurgence, you only have to look at the cinema industry to see that old popular household names are making a comeback. This nostalgic comeback isn’t a simple coincidence, it is the product of clever decisive marketing, companies know that people whose childhood were in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s are likely to now be employed with some being in top paying jobs. These companies appeal to their demographic through nostalgia from their childhood, as a strategy to sell them their product, with this people possibly being in high paid jobs, they are able to charge slightly more, and still make healthy sales.
As with everything, when there is a trend on the consumer market, it generally makes its way across to the promotional market too. We are seeing more and more customers asking for retro styled items, from confectionary to fashion and yes technology also. A great example you can see here is a retro Bluetooth speaker, in the style of a nostalgic FM radio this speaker gives you’re your flashback nostalgia with Bluetooth connectivity. This is a concept we have already started seeing and will see more of, modern day technology in retro styling.