STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – HMD Global, that makes Nokia- branded telephones, said it has truly coordinated with toymaker Mattel to launch the HMD Barbie Phone – a pint-sized pink perform flip telephone with a retro structure.
The telephone, valued at 99 additional kilos ($ 131.24), is available starting onWednesday The software permits people to make phone calls and ship out messages nevertheless provides no accessibility to social networks functions.
The Barbie- pink keypad has truly hid layouts together with hand bushes, hearts and flamingos that illuminate at night time, the agency said.
The launch accompanies the Barbie doll’s sixty fifth birthday celebration this 12 months and complies with the success of in 2014’s “Barbie” flick starring Margot Robbie, which earned $1.4 billion on the worldwide ticket workplace.
“I’d imagine quite a few people will be tempted to buy it as a bit of fun, but in reality, everyone is so dependent on their smartphones that anything more than the odd day of detox will be a stretch,” said Ben Wood, main knowledgeable at examine firm CCS Insight.
Research firm CCS Insight approximates that HMD would possibly supply better than 400,000 Barbie telephones within the UK, the place it should actually be available by way of Vodafone and Argos.
Finnish firm HMD, which is backed by Alphabet’s Google and Qualcomm, has truly launched quite a few perform telephones, consisting of reissues of timeless Nokia telephones such because the 3210 and 3310.
($ 1 = 0.7543 additional pound)
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
