The HMD Barbie Telephone is a dumb cellphone or characteristic cellphone. Briefly, it’s an old school flip cellphone that does not run on Android and doesn’t have the power to run apps like WhatsApp. It is a cellphone that is supposed to advertise your digital well-being and cut back your hyper-dependence on social networks and the eye financial system.
Nonetheless, it’s also, above all, a really cool and fairly costly toy with many equipment and references to the Barbie universe. Is it value its $129.99 price ticket? I will let on this full evaluate.
HMD Barbie Telephone: All offers
HMD Barbie Telephone design and show
Plastic, a lot of pink, and much more equipment. The HMD Barbie Telephone is all about design, after all. The field features a host of equipment to personalize the cellphone. Stickers, jewels, interchangeable shells, and a strap that may be adorned are all a part of the Barbie look, and the pink coloration and pastel tones are omnipresent. As quickly because the cellphone boots up, a voice alert greets us, “Hello Barbie!”
HMD Barbie Telephone design and show at a look:
- Inside display screen: 2.8″, 240 x 320 p, 143 dpi
- Exterior display screen: 1.77
- Weight: 123.5 g
- Detachable battery
- Detachable again shell
- Plastic design
The T9 keyboard shows all of the connected letters, which I discovered to be very stylish. It is also backlit, revealing hidden symbols once you use it at midnight. Nonetheless, the keys are fairly mushy, and the directional pad is frankly unresponsive. There are additionally bodily buttons on the suitable facet. One serves as a shortcut for calls whereas the opposite is a toggle button for quantity and display screen brightness.
Total, I like the design of the HMD Barbie Telephone. I like how the field is filled with equipment, reminding me of a kid’s jewellery field like those my sister had once we had been children. I liked how the detachable battery is painted pink and that there are substitute shells. Nonetheless, I additionally discovered the design to be fairly low cost. The cellphone creaks and squeaks with even the lightest of touches utilized.
Above all, what I believe is the largest affront, the music “I am a Barbie lady” is not even pre-installed among the many few ringtones supplied by default. I suppose it is a query of copyright, however nonetheless!
The interior display screen is very small as anticipated. Its decision is not going to blow your thoughts away, and neither will its brightness. In vivid daylight, legibility is significantly diminished. Nonetheless, I used to be stunned to have the ability to even modify the brightness. The quilt display screen is only a type of All the time on Show that exhibits the time. When switched off, it acts as a perpetually soiled mirror, coated in fingerprints.
HMD Barbie Telephone: Restricted efficiency and options
The HMD Barbie Telephone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 215 SoC that runs KaiOS 3.1, enabling WhatsApp, amongst different issues. Over in Europe, the Unisoc T107 SoC runs the antiquated S30, an OS developed by Nokia years in the past particularly for characteristic telephones. The expertise throughout the pond is drastically extra restricted, making US customers the winners right here.
HMD Barbie Telephone software program and SoC at a look:
- OS S30+ with Barbie UI
- Twin SIM 4G
- 4 GB storage
- 512 MB RAM
- Expandable storage through microSD (as much as 32 GB)
- Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Wi-Fi help
- USB-C port
The one recreation out there on the HMD Barbie Telephone is a particular model of Snake referred to as Malibu Snake. It is a basic, however the imprecise directional pad controls make gameplay a bit messy.
An internet browser, Opera mini, is offered, however it does not work very properly with HTML and made a hash of most web sites displayed.
Nonetheless, aren’t all these criticisms pointless and irrelevant once we’re speaking a few characteristic cellphone? The concept is to not stay on-line round the clock, losing time on ineffective functions. Whereas KaiOS does help WhatsApp for the time being, this can be very restricted in nature, making it just about pointless within the first place.
Do word that WhatsApp will cease supporting KaiOS by February 2025. What does this imply for finish customers? Those that are already logged in to WhatsApp on KaiOS-enabled gadgets bought earlier than June 25, 2024, can proceed utilizing the app till early 2025. As soon as February 2025 comes, there might be no extra WhatsApp updates or upkeep for KaiOS. To rub salt into the wound, the WhatsApp app might be faraway from the KaiOS retailer.
In different phrases, WhatsApp might be absent quickly. I’m bothered by that reality, since I primarily use WhatsApp to name my sister, and I can not see myself doing with out it each day.
As for the remaining, I loved with the ability to join my headphones wirelessly to the HMD Barbie Telephone through Bluetooth. With a microSD card inserted within the cellphone, I used to be ready so as to add a bit extra music. Do take not that the cellphone is unable to acknowledge any microSD playing cards bigger than 32 GB.
HMD additionally provides some fairly gimmicky features, similar to a really fundamental meditation app and a few fairly extravagant digital wellness suggestions. In maintaining with the gimmick theme, sure Easter Eggs could be unlocked by getting into sure codes on the keyboard. It is enjoyable, however nothing extra.
HMD Barbie Telephone picture high quality
These dwelling within the US have it nice, because the HMD Barbie Telephone is provided with a 5 MP lens full with flash. Photographs are first rate at greatest, and solely beneath nice lighting situations. In any other case, deal with them as simply ghostly references of a blurry reminiscence from the previous.
HMD Barbie Telephone digital camera at a look:
- 1 single lens
- 5 MP
- Video recording is feasible
For people dwelling in Europe, HMD shortchanges you as soon as once more with the 0.3 MP digital camera. The picture high quality of the HMD Barbie Telephone in Europe is poor. Briefly, the pictures are unusable. Often, the low 0.3 MP decision of the VGA sensor (640 x 480 p) lends a sure attraction to sure pictures, with the suitable gentle.
The overwhelming majority of the time, pictures are only a jumbled mess of poorly outlined pixels. The picture utility even has the audacity to supply digital zoom. Truthfully, I wasn’t anticipating a 200 MP triple digital camera module with a variable-focus telephoto lens, however 0.3 MP?!?
You can even report video with the HMD Barbie Telephone. I do not know what number of FPS does it report video in, however I believe you possibly can depend them utilizing your ten fingers.
HMD Barbie Telephone battery and charging
HMD guarantees as much as 9 hours of discuss time on a single cost. In actuality, except you are on the cellphone on a regular basis, the cellphone can final for much longer than that.
HMD Barbie Telephone battery at a look:
In truth, the whole idea of the Barbie Telephone revolves round utilizing it as little as attainable. Personally, I used to be in a position to final virtually a whole week of 5 work days earlier than having to plug it in. I additionally observed that 4G calls drained the battery significantly.
The battery accepts wired charging through USB-C. The cellphone even provides a charging optimization operate to restrict charging to 80% with a view to protect the battery’s well being. Sadly, I wasn’t in a position to measure the charging velocity of the Barbie Telephone. I suppose that is not a shopping for criterion for characteristic cellphone customers anyway, is it?
Ought to You Purchase the HMD Barbie Telephone?
Would I like to recommend you purchase the HMD Barbie Telephone at $129.99? No.
That is the primary characteristic cellphone I’ve really reviewed. Therefore, I haven’t got sufficient factors of reference to find out whether or not it is a good or unhealthy selection. With its technical and software program limitations, the HMD Barbie Telephone fulfills its mission of a pressured digital detox.
Throughout my week of reviewing it, I made drastically much less use of my cellphone. As a substitute of scrolling on the commute, I learn a e book (Lord of the Flies). I did not pavlovianly seek the advice of Slack or Gmail within the night on my manner dwelling from work.
For my part, this quasi-digital detox imposed by “by-design” is not essentially the perfect answer. Above all, the intention is to get me off my cellphone, is not it? So why does the Barbie Telephone appear like a brightly coloured toy with quite a few little issues waving and making noise, capturing my consideration? Aren’t we merely changing one poisonous use with one other with this object-based gamification?
What do you consider the HMD Barbie Telephone after this complete evaluate?
The place to Purchase the HMD Barbie Telephone
The HMD Barbie Telephone has been out there within the USA since October 1, 2024, with an asking value of $129.99. You should purchase it from the official HMD retailer or on Amazon.
