BARCELONA - The standout phone of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017, the world's largest gathering for the mobile phone industry, was not one with the latest teched-out specs or hardware.

The relaunch of the Nokia 3310 was a wildly surprising hit at the MWC, drawing huge crowds to the Finnish company's booth throughout the day.

Picking up the Nokia 3310 reminded me of how far smartphone technology has come since the original was released in 2000, almost two decades ago.

The new 3310 is light, colourful and just plain fun to look at and play with. Nostalgia undoubtedly plays a part when consumers are now faced with a choice of only similar-looking glass and metal flagship phones by other manufacturers. The 3310 proves to be a welcome respite.

Its 2.4-inch colour screen is an improvement from the original, and it comes with new features such as web browsing and a two-megapixel camera.

Unfortunately, Singapore users will not be able to use it to make calls or surf the web on its 2.5G connectivity as 2G networks are being phased out in April.

For an added dose of nostalgia, I fired up the popular Snake game on the phone, only to find a revamped version of the 2D game on it. There are more game modes, the graphics are more game-like, but it is not exactly the Snake of yore we know and love.

The original 3310 gained a reputation online, hitting peak levels of memes, for being sturdy and reliable - or even indestructible. I did not manage to put that to the test as the booth minders were surprisingly insistent that I do not attempt to harm the device.

The Nokia 3310 will cost €49 (S$72), with availability in selected markets to be announced at a later date.