The Barbie Phone, very like the doll it pays tribute to, is a factor of magnificence. However like that doll whose proportions, traditionally, are impossible, the Barbie Telephone simply isn’t constructed for the fashionable world.
Even when the ultra-feminine aesthetic isn’t your factor — and it’s probably not mine — you need to hand it to the Barbie flip cellphone. From the field it is available in, to the interchangeable again plates, rhinestone stickers, and Barbie-fied interface, it’s a delight. The charger and battery are each pink, although they’re a lighter shade than Mattel’s trademarked Barbie Pink (Pantone 219). The cellphone says “Hello Barbie!” once you flip it on. It’s the definition of committing to the bit.
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The Barbie Telephone is predicated on certainly one of HMD’s characteristic telephones, so it’s restricted to primary connectivity like calling, texting, electronic mail, and a rudimentary net browser. It’s a enjoyable collectors merchandise, however finally irritating to make use of in day by day life.
The breezy enjoyable of the Barbie aesthetic, Pantone 219 or in any other case, is at odds with the precise expertise of utilizing the cellphone. It’s based mostly on certainly one of HMD’s characteristic telephones, and it runs an working system known as KaiOS. The cellphone is designed for primary connectivity — texting, calling, emails — and even features a net browser.
In keeping with HMD, along with being cute, the nostalgic design and restricted characteristic set are presupposed to encourage you to disconnect and spend time with your folks IRL. There are a collection of “Barbie Suggestions” within the cellphone’s menus that advise you on this level.
“No want to surrender the smartphone totally,” reads Barbie Tip 1. “Discover a stability between your smartphone and your Barbie Telephone.” Barbie Tip 6 is titled “DreamHouse™️ Rule” and encourages you to “Make tech-free zones in your personal DreamHouse. Extra room for enjoyable!” By the way, Mattel says it sells a Barbie DreamHouse every two minutes. The DreamHouse retails for $199.99; the Barbie Telephone is $129.99.
The concept of popping my SIM card within the Barbie cellphone and operating away for a weekend of digital detoxing with my besties sounds nice. The truth isn’t really easy. Have you ever ever tried to enter your Google account password with an alphanumeric keypad? Have you learnt tips on how to discover the curly brackets in T9? I’ve and I do, due to the Barbie Telephone, and I don’t want that on anybody. Typing out messages with predictive textual content is extra tedious than I keep in mind; if I used this cellphone usually, I’d in all probability name individuals much more.
If I used this cellphone usually, I’d in all probability name individuals much more.
Other than texting, a number of the options of this characteristic cellphone simply didn’t work correctly for me. I efficiently synced my Google calendar, however my appointments seem on the flawed days for causes I can’t discern. I couldn’t get the FM radio app to acknowledge the wired earbuds I plugged into the three.5mm jack. The net browser is painfully gradual and refuses to render The Verge in any usable type, although I understand I’m in all probability the one one that would try to learn The Verge on the Barbie Telephone.
The delight I felt after I first unboxed the Barbie Telephone was positively fading. Even the entrance of the cellphone, which is generally coated by a mirror, seemed quite a bit much less charming coated in my very own fingerprints and smudges. And I assume having a mirror on the entrance of your cellphone is cute, as a result of you’ll be able to body up your selfies and examine your tooth for items of kale.
However you understand when it’s not cute? Having to have a look at your personal face each time you examine for a notification. It is a type of existential dilemma that Barbie doesn’t need to endure, as a result of Barbie’s make-up is pre-applied and he or she’s perpetually twenty two or no matter. I don’t wish to see my face after I’m checking texts, 4 espressos deep on a Tuesday morning with nary a drop of concealer below my eyes.
Barbie’s world is a dream. Sadly, the world during which the Barbie Telephone lets me escape the drudgery of contemporary connectivity additionally appears to be a dream. Certain, it let me take a little bit trip from my smartphone and nonetheless textual content my associates. However largely, it simply changed the annoyances of utilizing an ultra-connected system with totally different annoyances.
Somebody extra dedicated to utilizing T9 might in all probability have an satisfying time with the Barbie Telephone. In any other case, that is only a neat collectible merchandise; one thing to take out of the field and play with for some time, however finally go away in a drawer. Form of like a doll.
Images by Allison Johnson / The Verge
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