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What made old Nokia phones nearly indestructible?

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📓 The short answer

The Nokia 3310 was nearly indestructible thanks to its rugged double-shell plastic design, compact build, recessed screen, non-glued components, single Printed Circuit Board, and a company-wide emphasis on durability and reliability.

📚 The long answer

As internet legends have it, the Nokia 3310 cell phone is (nearly) indestructible.

Released in 2000, the Nokia 3310 sold 126 million units worldwide, blowing past its original sales goal by sixfold. Part of its popularity came from a reputation for being incredibly durable.

And it's no joke. The internet is littered with accounts of people saying they dropped the Nokia 3310 from tall heights, ran it over with a car, hit it with a sledgehammer, and more, with the phone still continuing to work. Let's dive into what made this old Nokia phone so strong.

Reason #1: Its double shell design

Unlike today's phones made of delicate aluminum and glass, the Nokia 3310 protected its inner components with a "double shell" design. The front and back covers (dark blue in the picture below) were made of hard plastic designed to absorb impact from falls. The inner plastic shell (grey in the picture below) was likely made of nylon, a plastic that is less rigid but still durable.

This double shell design offered significant protection from outside forces, and allowed the more delicate inner components to withstand damage.

Reason #2: Its small, thick size

The Nokia 3310 also is quite chonky. (If you're unfamiliar with this term, it's slang for "large and heavy or solid-looking." I had to use it here when I discovered "chonky" is in the dictionary.)

Its small and thick form factor makes it inherently more robust as it won't easily bend.

Reason #3: The screen was not flush with the outer shell.

Today's phones are notorious for their screens shattering on impact. Nokia reduced the risk of screen damage by strategically placing the screen about 1mm below the outer shell.

This design choice allowed the outer shell to take a hit before the screen, making it less likely to crack on impact.

Reason #4: No parts were glued together.

Even under strong impact, the Nokia 3310's components simply popped apart and could easily be reassembled.

Left source: iFixit | Right source: Digikey
​Note: The spring connector on the right is not an exact match of the ones in the Nokia 3310. I just wanted to show an example of a spring connector.

Unlike parts that are glued or soldered together, the Nokia 3310 used spring connectors to keep everything in place. This made it more likely that force could be released upon impact rather than break everything inside.

Reason #5: It had a single Printed Circuit Board.

Left source: iFixit | Right source: JerryRigEverything​

The Nokia 3310 also housed its computing on a single Printed Circuit Board (PCB). The engineers and designers behind the 3310 could have opted to use more than one PCB or go with a Flexible Printed Circuit.

Running the phone on a single PCB inherently made it more durable. This choice also likely minimized heat generation, which added to the phone's reliability.

Reason #6: Durability was a key value in Nokia's design philosophy.

When you learn more about the company culture at Nokia, a Finish technology company that's been around since 1865, it's unsurprising that they have designed such durable phones.

The designer behind the infamous Nokia 3310, Tapani Jokinen, has emphasized that the company's design philosophy included values that made durability a key factor.

“ Quality and reliability as well as social and environmental responsibility were embedded in Nokia’s values and design DNA....My goal was to create a phone that consumers would see as reliable and durable, vibrant and youthful. (Source) — Tapani Jokinen

Jokinen has continued to advocate for thoughtful design in creating products that last, emphasizing that 80% of a product's environmental impact is set during the design phase.

Aligned with these key principles, the Nokia 3310 likely underwent extensive testing to ensure its strength before the phone was released to market.

🐸 Bonus fact: The Nokia 3310 frog face

If you haven't already become a fan of the Nokia 3310's durability, perhaps a delightful design element will win you over. As Jokinen put it, there's a "Pleasant surprise" hidden in the backshell of the Nokia 3310: a frog's face.

--- Thanks for reading this week's newsletter! If you have any thoughts, questions, or favorite GIFs, my inbox is always open. Just hit reply to send me a note! :) ​ All my best, Caitlin ​Click here to read five facts about Caitlin​

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​Sources for this week's newsletter​

P.S. If my preview text ("🎵 Da-na-da-na, da-na-na-na, da-na-da-na-na 🎵") made no sense to you, maybe this will ring a bell.

🌐 Wikipedia article of the week

​Piano drop​

"A piano drop consists of dropping a piano, usually one already in poor shape, from a great height....

A piano drop occurred as part of a fundraiser for the Seattle underground newspaper Helix and non-commercial radio station KRAB....The drop, from roughly 150 feet, proved to be more logistically difficult than expected: the pilot miscalculated his slowing down and, in order to keep the helicopter stable, had to release the cable prematurely. The piano missed the pile of logs they were aiming for "by several yards, struck the soft earth, and imploded with a singularly unmusical whump."....
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Every spring, the residents of Baker House at MIT drop an old, irreparable piano from the roof of their six-story building. This event takes place on Drop Date (a.k.a. Drop Day), the last date one can drop classes at MIT."

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👀 Catch up on other curious questions

• ​How does your phone track steps?​​
• ​Why does glass break so easily?​​
• ​How should you charge your devices to maximize battery life?​​

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