Dave Mitchell is a 49-year-old devotee to his old cell phone and members of the UK press are claiming he’s the proud owner of the “oldest working mobile phone in Britain.” Considering the 17-year-old model he uses is a Nokia 3310, that claim is believable.
The 3310 was reliable, compact and it just worked. It was such a tough bastard that it even became a meme a few years ago — The Indestructible Nokia 3310.
Mitchell says that his phone has been through the wash, served him on a tour of duty in Iraq and it still only needs a charge “every couple of weeks.”
He tells the Sun:
It’s been through a lot with me. I have dropped to on numerous occasions, on the floor, in curry sauce, and it’s been through the washing machine.
Each time I’ve just cleaned it up, dried it off, turned it on again and it’s worked. It’s like it’s made of kryptonite — it’s indestructible.
It’s picked up a few scars over the years, but it’s still in good working condition.
I have a camera if I ever want to take photos, and I don’t do selfies.
He says he’s not a Luddite, he just prefers to use the internet on a computer and doesn’t like having all of the mental trappings that come with the ever-present smartphone world. The one big downside is that he can’t find a mobile carrier that will just offer him a text and minutes plan.
“I was given a newer phone with internet access by my son a few years ago but I just didn’t want it — my needs are very basic and the phone has a calculator and games like Snake 2 if I’m bored,” he says. After playing Snake 2 in my browser for five minutes just now, I can confirm it’s like the Nokia 3310 of video games — solid, timeless and it gets the job done.
There doesn’t seem to be any independent verification that Mitchell’s phone is the oldest still in use in England. Considering Nokia sold 126 million units of this model alone, I suspect someone else out there is still using one from the same era.
What matters is that this thing was a tough sucker that doesn’t stop and in an age of planned obsolescence, that’s impressive. If it ever dies, it might still have a purpose:
