Ticos may have gone crazy over the iPhone in 2011, camping out outside of ICE offices and methodically signing up for innovative Kölbi plans which, while considered a good deal in Costa Rica, surprised people familiar with iPhone data plans offered in other countries. Ticos may have also gone crazy over the new Android smartphones, particularly when the new wireless reality kicked in, allowing new carriers Claro and Movistar to bring truly innovative phones like the Xperia Play.

The mobile phone that most Ticos chose in 2011, judging by its omnipresence on buses, park benches, sodas, multiplazas, mercados, and even at church right before Mass begins, was not powered by Android or iOS. It wasn’t a smartphone, and it didn’t even have a touchscreen. It wasn’t even offered by ICE. The mobile phone that Ticos really warmed up to in droves during 2011 was a “dumbphone” known as the Nokia 2730 Classic.

How did the decidedly unassuming Nokia 2730 Classic end up being the favorite among Ticos in a sea of fancy iPhones, addictive Blackberries and nifty Android smartphones? It’s not even the cheapest phone on the market; that distinction could go to a handset along the lines of the Huawei G2103 offered by Movistar; a phone so basic that it boasts text messaging as its most advanced feature. The reason why the Nokia 2730 Classic became a staple of Tico life in 2011 has a lot to do with the haphazard management of wireless infrastructure by ICE.

An Accidental Favorite

When ICE began phasing out EDGE and TDMA 2G technologies in favor of GSM and 3G in 2009, Ticos began to notice that their old mobile phones no longer worked as well as they used to. While rolling out the new and improved 3G wireless network around the country, ICE neglected to maintain the existing 2G radio antennas. This resulted in very poor service for 2G customers, particularly those living outside of the San José metropolitan area. Exasperated customers made a beeline to ICE offices to complain about their dwindling cell phone signal.

ICE eventually got around to notifying their customers in 2010 that the implementation of the 3G network would cause major interruptions to the 2G service. The sensible solution for those customers was to upgrade to a 3G SIM chip and 3G mobile phone. ICE did not plan accordingly for the avalanche of customers who either wanted, or absolutely needed, to upgrade to 3G. Branch offices soon ran out of affordable 3G handsets, leaving many 2G customers in the dark. It didn’t matter that sometimes 3G calls were of lesser voice quality than on the old 2G network, there simply was no more signal for many people.

ICE customers who faced waiting weeks without mobile service marched to the first cell phone store and simply asked for the cheapest 3G mobile phone they could purchase. The most likely answer was the Nokia 2730 Classic, which in those times could easily command about $180. It seemed like a lot for a plain candybar Nokia phone, but it was the most affordable entry into the 3G world. The initial street reports of the 2730 Classic were mostly centered on the fact that they worked. Once the new owners of this plain-looking candy bar phone began tinkering with it, the word got out about it.

A Versatile Workhorse

The Nokia 2730 Classic does not play Angry Birds, nor is it able to run Waze to prevent its owners from getting lost. These shortcomings are quickly compensated by the fact that it’s a high-quality quad-band phone with a number of very useful features packed into a slim 109.6 x 46.9 x 14.4 millimeters and 88 grams (the current average weight for smartphones is over 130 grams). The screen technology is the old TFT encased by high resistant plastic. The 2.0 megapixel camera with zoom feature takes surprisingly clear pictures. Storage space is limited to 20MB, but the included MicroSD card extends it to 1GB, and it can further be upgraded to 2GB.

For entertainment there is a media player that supports several different audio and video files (such as MP3 and MP4), as well as an FM radio; both which come in handy during long bus rides. The included hands-free headphones play high-quality audio, and there’s also additional connectivity thanks to Bluetooth and a mini-USB connector.

The Nokia 2730 comes loaded with the Opera Mini browser and it features an e-mail program which connects to the most popular providers such as Hotmail and Yahoo!, but that can be configured to pick up other SMTP accounts. The phone’s built-in drivers allow it to be used as a modem on Windows computers, and the Nokia Ovi Suite enables easy PC synchronization and the ability to transfer files and download free content from the Ovi Store. The SMS interface allows predictive texting in English, French and Spanish.

Standard useful programs such as daily planner, calculator with loan and scientific function, converter, instant messenger, notepad, and others are included. A number of apps can be installed on the 2730, including the popular Facebook for Every Phone and Nimbuzz. The fact that Nokia routinely makes free content available for the 2730 has also been a major draw.

It is not a flimsy phone by any means, and it easily withstands heavy daily use. A new battery can yield 7 hours of talk time. Once more smartphones came into the mobile market in Costa Rica, the 2730 Classic dropped in price and more Ticos snapped them up. As a result, it is highly ubiquitous, and still highly sought-after. Many cell phone stores no longer carry it, but it sees a brisk trade on the online marketplaces. A brand new 2730 -if it can be found- goes for about $100, while used ones usually sell for $60.

2012 might prove to be the last year for the 2730 Classic. As Nokia begins to sell its new Windows smartphones next year, the 2730 Classic will more than likely become an afterthought and a fond memory of a dumbphone which served Ticos well.