The Barbie Cellphone is plastic, improbable, and impractical

The Barbie Cellphone, very like the doll it pays tribute to, is a factor of magnificence. However like that doll whose proportions, traditionally, are unimaginable, the Barbie Cellphone 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 must hand it to the Barbie flip telephone. 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 telephone says “Hi Barbie!” once you flip it on. It’s the definition of committing to the bit.

The breezy enjoyable of the Barbie aesthetic, Pantone 219 or in any other case, is at odds with the precise expertise of utilizing the telephone. It’s based mostly on one in all HMD’s characteristic telephones, and it runs an working system referred to as KaiOS. The telephone is designed for fundamental connectivity — texting, calling, emails — and even features a internet browser.

In keeping with HMD, along with being cute, the nostalgic design and restricted characteristic set are alleged to encourage you to disconnect and spend time with your mates IRL. There are a sequence of “Barbie Tips” within the telephone’s menus that advise you on this level. 

“No need to give up the smartphone entirely,” reads Barbie Tip 1. “Find a balance between your smartphone and your Barbie Phone.” Barbie Tip 6 is titled “DreamHouse™️ Rule” and encourages you to “Make tech-free zones in your own DreamHouse. More room for fun!” By the way, Mattel says it sells a Barbie DreamHouse each two minutes. The DreamHouse retails for $199.99; the Barbie Cellphone is $129.99.

The concept of popping my SIM card within the Barbie telephone and working away for a weekend of digital detoxing with my besties sounds nice. The fact isn’t really easy. Have you ever ever tried to enter your Google account password with an alphanumeric keypad? Have you learnt easy methods to discover the curly brackets in T9? I’ve and I do, because of the Barbie Cellphone, and I don’t want that on anybody. Typing out messages with predictive textual content is extra tedious than I bear in mind; if I used this telephone recurrently, I’d in all probability name folks much more.

Other than texting, among the options of this characteristic telephone simply didn’t work correctly for me. I efficiently synced my Google calendar, however my appointments seem on the mistaken 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 online browser is painfully gradual and refuses to render The Verge in any usable kind, although I notice I’m in all probability the one one that would try to learn The Verge on the Barbie Cellphone.

The delight I felt once I first unboxed the Barbie Cellphone was undoubtedly fading. Even the entrance of the telephone, which is generally lined by a mirror, appeared so much much less charming lined in my very own fingerprints and smudges. And I assume having a mirror on the entrance of your telephone is cute, as a result of you’ll be able to body up your selfies and verify your enamel for items of kale.

However you understand when it’s not cute? Having to take a look at your personal face each time you verify for a notification. It is a type of existential dilemma that Barbie doesn’t should endure, as a result of Barbie’s make-up is pre-applied and she or he’s perpetually twenty two or no matter. I don’t wish to see my face once 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 Cellphone lets me escape the drudgery of contemporary connectivity additionally appears to be a dream. Positive, it let me take a bit trip from my smartphone and nonetheless textual content my buddies. However largely, it simply changed the annoyances of utilizing an ultra-connected machine with totally different annoyances.

Somebody extra dedicated to utilizing T9 may in all probability have an fulfilling time with the Barbie Cellphone. 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 in the end go away in a drawer. Sort of like a doll.

Pictures by Allison Johnson / The Verge