HMD Global Unveils Barbie Phone with Retro Charm for US$131.24

HMD Global collaborates with Mattel to introduce the HMD Barbie Phone. The phone, which costs 99 pounds, provides basic functionality but does not provide social media access. Barbie's 65th anniversary is commemorated with a design with glowing keypad elements.

Credit: HMD

This phone, priced at 99 pounds (US$131.24), is now available for purchase, enabling basic calling and messaging operations while avoiding social networking applications.

The Barbie Phone was created to commemorate Barbie's 65th anniversary. It features a Barbie-pink keypad with whimsical designs like hearts, flamingos, and palm palms that light up at night to give its vintage appearance a magical touch.

Credit: REUTERS

This release falls on the heels of the success of the Margot Robbie-starring "Barbie" film from the previous year, which took in an incredible US$1.4 billion globally. Chief analyst at CCS Insight Ben Wood predicts that although a lot of people would be lured to buy it for entertainment purposes, our dependence on smartphones may make taking long pauses difficult.

According to CCS Insight research, HMD might sell more than 400,000 Barbie phones in the UK, with Argos and Vodafone carrying the line. In addition to this whimsical Barbie partnership, HMD, a Finnish firm backed by Google and Qualcomm, has a history of bringing back beloved Nokia phones like the 3210 and 3310.

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• HMD Global partners with Mattel to launch the HMD Barbie Phone

• Priced at 99 pounds, the phone offers basic functions sans social media access

• Barbie-themed design with glowing keypad motifs celebrates Barbie's 65th anniversary

Source: REUTERS