We check out the re-release of an old favourite feature phone and share how we detect the User-Agents.
The Nokia 3310 uses Opera Mini Data-Saving Mobile Browser
Opera Mini is a data-saving mobile browser with ad blocker. It is one of the world's most popular browsers for mobile, especially for basic feature phones where data-saving is important. 51Degrees can also identify when any device uses a data-saving browser with our 'IsDataMinimising' property (refer to our Property Dictionary). A similar data-saving browser which is very popular in regions like India is UC browser.
Currently, over 300 million people use Opera Mini to stay connected according to the Opera Mini website. Data-saving is important for basic feature phones like the Nokia 3310 as it enables users to get quick access to stripped down versions of websites in areas of low connectivity.
What does this mean for advertisers?
Adtech businesses will want to treat this low specification, small screen phone differently to a Smartphone in order optimise advertising revenue. Device detection based on User-Agent header (something sent by all web browsers which provides information on the device requesting web content) won't work with the Nokia 3310. This is not a problem for 51Degrees who use additional data points to identify devices.
What device are you using?
If you want to complete a quick test of our Device Detection solution, use this simple test page to retrieve some of the device properties we can identify for your mobile device. This kind of additional detail can be plugged into your current website analytics to give you a more competitive edge. If you have website visitors using a feature phone like the Nokia 3310, the next section explains how we can identify them for you.
Nokia 3310 Opera Mini Browser & HTTP Header User-Agent
51Degrees has discovered that the new Nokia 3310 does not appear to have a standard User-Agent compared to the majority of mobile devices we detect. The User-Agent for the Nokia 3310 comes as part of the HTTP header produced by Opera Mini which is the pre-installed browser for this device. A web application was built by 51Degrees to enable us to detect the ‘X-OperaMini-Phone-UA’ header and capture the User-Agent contained within the header. Knowing where the User-Agent lies within this Opera Mini header allows 51Degrees to collect more specific User-Agents from devices running Opera Mini. These can then be assigned accordingly to the appropriate devices ensuring greater overall detection for Smartphones and feature phones.
The Nokia 3310 User-Agent imported in our system is in the following format:
OperaMini(Nokia3310FW10.03.11_2;Opera Mini/4.4.39014;en-GB
Refer to Fig 1. below for an example of the standard User-Agent we would expect and the User-Agent we get using our web application
The image on the right shows the standard User-Agent that would be expected when the *User-Agent Tester is run on the device. It does not give any indication that it belongs specifically to the Nokia 3310. The image on the left shows the 51Degrees web application running on the Nokia 3310 and detecting the User-Agent within the *HTTP Header “X OperaMini-Phone-UA". This means we can now identify the device Vendor (Nokia) and Hardware Model, allowing us to map the User-Agent to the new Nokia 3310 Hardware profile.
*HTTP header fields provide required information about the request or response
**User-Agent Tester enables you to view a detailed properties list for the associated device including operating system, browser and more.
About the Nokia 3310
There are lots of articles and reviews where you can read more about the new Nokia 3310. The main themes being the nostalgia related to this feature phone with its long battery life and that it’s probably best used as a backup emergency phone but not something you would be using to access the internet very often as it only has support for 2G network.
The new 3310 is not an Android phone and instead relies on Nokia’s Series 30+ operating system. That means that you cannot download apps and games to it. However, you can play the new version of Snake which was redesigned for the new 3310.
Techradar rated it good for:
- Low(ish) price
- Fun for nostalgia
- Strong battery life
- Sturdy handset
Not so good for:
- Disappointing camera
- Only 2G connectivity
- Very limited storage
- The display is only 2.4 inches
- Low resolution at 240 x 320
If you want to know if your website visitors are using the Nokia 3310 to go online, we can provide the data to help ensure you optimise your online content and Ads for these basic feature phones to maximise conversions.