Maintain my ice cream, Ken: HMD’s long-awaited Barbie Cellphone is now accessible

What can we make of the HMD Barbie Cellphone? Lengthy promised, this little flip gadget was lastly launched to the general public on the finish of August 2024. This piece of pink tech comes from an organization that’s promised to do its utmost to deal with the problems of smartphone and social media habit, courtesy of its ongoing Higher Cellphone Venture. HMD’s CMO Lars Silberbauer had beforehand informed us that the HMD Barbie Cellphone would don’t have any social media performance; in business parlance, it’s a ‘characteristic telephone’ (you may in any other case understand it as a ‘dumb telephone’).

Make no mistake, that is an unashamedly bare branding alternative, relatively than a critical try to deal with the problems of digital distraction. Sure, HMD is pushing the Barbie Cellphone with the strapline ‘extra seashore, much less searching’, and perhaps just a few millennials will sling one of their weekend bag as a fast, quasi-ironic mode of digital detox. Maybe if the telephone had damaged cowl across the identical time as Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, there could be extra take-up amongst the chattering lessons, however the temporary but vivid affiliation between the Barbie model, empowerment and patriarchy-smashing has light somewhat.

As an alternative, we predict the first clients shall be youngsters. That’s not essentially a foul factor, given that children do want telephones each from time to time. What they positively don’t want is the angst and nervousness served up with trendy social media, therefore HMD’s disavowal of any smartness in any way. As an alternative, the Barbie Cellphone affords calling, SMS, and a really primary 0.3 megapixel digicam.

This supplies ‘genuine Y2K fashion photos’, which could be a tricky promote to these immersed on the earth of swift, infinite filters and AI modifying. The flip type issue has an inside and exterior display and is correctly pocket-sized and compact when closed. The onboard mp3 participant and FM radio are far more of a promoting level, particularly when paired with an extra MicroSD card to spice up the storage from a Nineteen Nineties-style 64mb as much as a relatively extra modern 32GB.

HMD has gone all-out on branding and options that reference the dazzling doll and her well-known posse. For instance, activate the telephone and it says, ‘Hello Barbie’, and also you’ll additionally see a (faintly creepy) missed name notification from Ken. The packaging scores a strong bullseye on the goal demographic, with a clutch of stickers, a beaded telephone strap with charms, and replaceable covers, all set inside a presentation field. There’s additionally a mirrored entrance (the closest to a selfie digicam you’ll get), and on display there’s a bespoke person interface with Barbie icons and apps, customized alarms and ringtones. Oh, and the charging cable is pink.

One senses a slight battle contained inside the Barbie Cellphone’s pastel pink casing. On the one hand, you could have HMD, stewards of the Nokia model and masters of the low-tech, high-retro flip and sweet bar type components. Then again, you could have Mattel, a freshly reminted media juggernaut able to depleting a whole nation’s provide of pink paint, bringing Dream Homes to life and being awarded a celebratory Barbie exhibition at London’s Design Museum.

There’s a sense that HMD’s ongoing analysis into telephone use issues not one jot to the boardroom at Mattel, who’ve jumped on the prospect to get a vivid pink handset out to a contemporary era of future toy shoppers. Maybe we’re being too cynical. This gadget is, in spite of everything, meant to be enjoyable. Simply don’t overlook to put in writing that in neon pink with a capital ‘F’, exclamation mark, and maybe a ™ as effectively.

HMD Barbie™ Cellphone, £99, accessible from HMD.com, Mattel.com