[Gadgets]The Barbie Phone Is a Glittery Flip Phone That’s Very, Very Pink

[GreenBoys]

 

It's about a year late, but the Barbie Phone is finally here. This is not a smartphone, but a clamshell-style feature phone that's all pink and branded with Mattel's Barbie logo. The handset has a shiny mirror on the front and a host of accessories like charms and gem stickers to trick it out so you can fully bask in that late 1990s and early 2000s nostalgia. It even blurts out, “Hi Barbie,” when you power it on.

This is a real collaboration between Mattel and HMD, the company that used to make Nokia-branded smartphones. It's part of HMD's pivot to crafting its own smartphones along with feature phones developed in partnership with notable companies. That includes the Boring Phone from earlier this year, born out of a weird tie-in with Heineken.

The Barbie Phone runs KaiOS, an operating system designed for feature phones that adds a few smartphone capabilities, like 4G connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, and access to apps including WhatsApp, Google Maps, and YouTube. It'll still feel like you're using the Symbian operating system from Nokia phones of old, just with modern amenities.

https://www.wired.com/story/hmd-barbie-phone/