Liberating and a huge pain: my week with a Nokia ‘dumbphone’

Using the reissued 3210 model left our reporter very frustrated – but less mobile-obsessed and in awe of its battery life

After about 10 minutes of furious tapping on the tiny buttons to write a still unfinished text the anger I’m feeling towards the “retro” Nokia 3210 I’m toiling over is mounting.

It is one of a new wave of “detox” or “dumb” phones aimed at techno-stressed individuals who want to escape the thrall of apps and notifications but, in this moment, I really want to smash it.