Dialling back time: Nokia 3310 'will be re-released this month'

It was one of Nokia (Milan: 23568.MI - news) 's most successful phones, selling around 126 million handsets worldwide when it was launched 17 years ago.

And now it looks like HMD Global, owner of the Nokia brand, are bringing back the Nokia 3310 mobile phone handset.

Known for its indestructible nature and long battery life, the affordable phone was a big hit with users, who have long regarded it as one of the most reliable handsets ever made.

Introduced as a replacement to the Nokia 3210 in 2000, the model was discontinued five years later.

However, according to a report, Finnish company HMD Global are now planning to re-release the phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month, along with three other new Nokia handsets.

The 3310 handset will cost around £50 (€59), according to technology website VentureBeat.

The competitive price is intended to lure nostalgic former Nokia 3310 fans, willing to supplement their existing smartphone with a second companion phone.

It is not yet known if the new handset will include the classic Nokia ringtone, made famous by comedian Dom Joly and his Trigger Happy TV big phone guy.

This is not the first nostalgia comeback.

Vinyl is having a revival that saw record sales overtake digital music sales for the first time in the UK last year, while artists including Eminem and Blink 182 have reissued classic early albums on cassette tapes.

Polaroid cameras, helped by Polaroid-style filters common on smartphones and Instagram, are also seeing a surge in popularity.