HMD, maker of Nokiaannounced plans to launch a branded flip phone Barbie in July this year, in partnership with Mattel. The revelation was made at MWC, the largest technology fair in the world.
The Barbie phone is just one of the devices that HMD plans to bring to the market in the coming months. The company also said it should launch a Nokia-branded retro feature phone and a smartphone yes the HMD brand.
According to The Verge, no prices, specifications or features have been announced for the as-yet-unnamed Barbie phone, but it is expected to be a traditional flip phone rather than a smartphone. In an interview published by the website, HMD’s global head of product insight, proposition and marketing, Adam Ferguson, confirms that it will be an entirely new device.
Ferguson said that HMD planned to stop producing exclusively Nokia-branded products and start selling devices under its own name, in addition to collaborating with interesting partners, such as Mattel. The executive said that partnerships like this with other companies should continue.
As for the private-label phone, HMD didn’t give specific details, but it should be launched in the middle of the year, according to The Verge. The announcement comes just over a month after images of a smartphone which looks a lot like the company’s existing Nokia phones, albeit with an HMD logo.
This doesn’t mean that HMD is abandoning the Nokia brand. Ferguson denied that HMD is exploring other brand names because of Nokia’s declining popularity. The company says it plans to bring back an iconic phone this summer, similar to its other retro revivals of devices like the Nokia 3310 and Nokia 8110.
*With information from Exame/ Cover photo: Reproduction / Youtube
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