Barbie Phone Not A Toy Anymore: HMD Launches Feature Phone in India

The Barbie phone is no longer just a toy. It is a fully-packed feature phone with internet connectivity. HMD — which recently rebranded Human Mobile Devices alongside and discontinued the Nokia-branded phones — has announced the launch of the Barbie Phone in India. The launch comes weeks after HMD India's CEO vice president for India and APAC, Ravi Kunwar exclusively confirmed to Republic Tech the planned launch of the Barbie Phone. The Barbie Phone costs ₹7,999 and will be available exclusively from HMD's online store.

Launched first at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona last year, the Barbie Phone is an outcome of the partnership between HMD and Mattel, which also released the first Barbie movie featuring Margot Robbie. It is uncannily similar to the toy phone with Aqua's “I'm a Barbie girl” song fed into it. Not only can HMD's Barbie Phone play songs, but it can also let users make calls, browse the internet, and even click photos. However, in the end, it is a feature phone, so there is only so much it can offer. According to HMD, 38 per cent of users aged 16 to 24 years are concerned about using smartphones excessively, and the Barbie Phone is a good option for their digital detox.

HMD Barbie Phone features

The new feature phone has a 1.77-inch QQVGA display on the flip cover, while its main display measures 2.8 inches and uses a QVGA panel. It is a non-touchscreen colour display, so navigation is possible through a full T9 keyboard with buttons for menu, calls, and power. The phone has a 0.3MP camera on the back, 64MB of RAM, and 128MB of internal storage. However, users can store music, photos, and other files on a microSD card of up to 32GB. The HMD Barbie Phone is powered by a Unisoc T107 processor and houses a 1450mAh battery.

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