HMD, or Human Mobile Devices for brief, is introducing a Barbie- branded flip phone in July.
HMD
BARCELONA â $ ” Not yet tired of the Barbie film?
Soon, you’ll have the ability to get a flip phone from the hit toy franchise.
The business behind Nokia- branded mobile phones, HMD, brief for Human Mobile Devices, states it is introducing a Barbie flip phone this summertime, in collaboration with toy maker Mattel
Mattel is the business behind the Barbie style doll collection. It has actually produced and offered the popular kids’ toys and devices considering that 1959.
The gadget, which is slated for launch this summertime, “promises to embody the vintage chic of the original girl empowerment brand with a dash of pink and of course, sparkle,” according to a HMD news release.
It will not be linked to the web, making it a throwback to the “dumb phones” of the past before mobile phones ended up being popular.
So- called dumb phones have actually ended up being more popular, particularly with Gen Z customers, who are attempting to restrict their digital activity and move far from harmful material discovered on platforms like Instagram, TikTo k, Snapchat, and YouTube.
HMD was drawn out of Microsoft after the U.S. tech giant chose to offer the Nokia phone brand name, which it initially bought in 2014, to a group of previous Nokia executives.
HMD Global was developed in 2016.
Riding Barbie mania
Barbie mania ended up being a phenomenon in 2023 due to a smash hit film including the similarity Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and Will Ferrell.
The movie drew in over $1.4 billion at package workplace, making it the highest-grossing movie of 2023.
Lars Silberbauer, HMD’s chief marketing officer, informed CNBC the business was taking the “Lego model” of partnering with other prominent brand names, while offering tech knowledge and its own phone brand name.
Silberbauer formerly operated at Lego as a senior international director.
“We’re not a white label business. We want the HMD brand to stand for something,” Silberbauer informed CNBC. “There will be more collaborations. The next one is coming out in May.”
He recommended there would be plenty other offers and collaborations down the line.
HMD formerly dealt with James Bond film “No Time To Die” to promote the movie in 2020.
The brand-new gadget from HMD and Mattel will appear like a basic flip phone with buttons instead of a touch screen, and is available in a hot pink color, looking like the renowned pink flip phone device that features numerous Barbie dolls.
Information on prices and schedule has actually not yet been shared by the business.
The business is hoping the traction of the Barbie brand name will provide it an increase as a more globally acknowledged brand.
HMD did not expose the gadget at its press occasion in Barcelona, which came ahead of the Mobile World Congress innovation trade convention.
It is the very first gadget being offered by HMD under its brand-new brand, Human Mobile Devices â $” or HMD for brief. This is an action far from Nokia which is the brand name HMD generally has actually utilized to offer its dumb phones and smartphones.Â
Under a revamp, HMD strategies to still offer Nokia phones. But it will partner with other brand names to offer phones that represent both its brand name, and the partner’s.
Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of gadgets and analytics for Europe at research study company IDC, stated he thinks HMD will attempt to put for stars and influencers to promote its phones.
“This could help the brand get a more premium positioning, Jeronimo said in an interview. “They are really strong on function phones their sales on mobile phones are not that strong.”
HMD, which likewise reached success in 2015, offers countless mobile phones. But it’s not a family name like Apple or Samsung.
