It is a couple of yr late, however the Barbie Cellphone is lastly right here. That is not a smartphone, however a clamshell-style function telephone that is all pink and branded with Mattel’s Barbie emblem. The handset has a shiny mirror on the entrance and a number of equipment like charms and gem stickers to trick it out so you possibly can totally indulge in that late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s nostalgia. It even blurts out, “Hello Barbie,” whenever you energy it on.
It is a actual collaboration between Mattel and HMD, the corporate that used to make Nokia-branded smartphones. It is a part of HMD’s pivot to crafting its personal smartphones together with function telephones developed in partnership with notable firms. That features the Boring Cellphone from earlier this yr, born out of a bizarre tie-in with Heineken.
The Barbie Cellphone runs KaiOS, an working system designed for function telephones that provides just a few smartphone capabilities, like 4G connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, and entry to apps together with WhatsApp, Google Maps, and YouTube. It’s going to nonetheless really feel such as you’re utilizing the Symbian working system from Nokia telephones of previous, simply with fashionable facilities.
{Photograph}: HMD
By default, HMD’s new flip telephone could make calls and ship texts. The corporate is on a little bit of a campaign about decreasing display screen time and distractions, so the thought is to make use of this telephone as a second telephone when you do not need to be pinged whereas kicking it on the seashore with the Kens.
HMD is hardly the primary to construct a product round this idea of unplugging from the always-on life. There have been just a few like-minded telephones through the years, like the Mild Cellphone or the redesigned Palm from 2018. Of an analogous thoughts are the app timers and different screen-time discount options which were constructed into Android, iOS, and even the function telephones HMD made beneath the Nokia model identify, just like the Nokia 3310.
Assume Pink
The surface of the Barbie Cellphone’s lid has a reflective end that serves as a mirror (bear in mind the LG Shine?) with a hidden digital clock embedded within the center. Flip it open and also you get a pleasant 2.8-inch show. You should use the built-in backlit keyboard to textual content, and there are a bunch of tiny Barbie-themed tidbits right here and there, just like the palm tree icon across the quantity 7. And by my depend, six Barbie logos—whether or not it is the complete textual content or simply the letter B.
{Photograph}: HMD