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BARCELONA—C’mon Barbie, let’s go make some flip phones. That may not be how the song goes, but that’s what HMD Global is up to at Mobile World Congress. Rather than announce new smartphones, the company announced that it is taking its company in a whole new direction. What does this mean for the designer of Nokia phones? HMD Global licensed the Nokia brand back in 2016 and has been making Nokia phones ever since. While most of its devices have been entry-level and mid-range fare, a few flagships have popped up over the years. It’s been a while, though, since HMD has done anything exciting in the phone space. With its first profitable year (2023) under its belt, the company is ready to change things up a bit. Moving forward, HMD will pursue four different businesses. First, it will design and sell its phones under the HMD Global brand. It says an important device is on deck for later this year. Second, it will design phones for other companies under a white-label operation. Third, it will work to score licensing with other brands, such as its new deal with Mattel and Barbie. And fourth, it will continue to make Nokia-branded devices. None of these new phones is ready for MWC year. HMD says we won’t see them until July. The event’s tagline was, in fact, “You don’t know what we’re doing this summer,” and rather than mock images of the devices the company showed blurred-out phone-like shapes.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
As far as HMD was concerned, Barbie was the biggest news of the day. The movie may have been a phenomenon back in the summer of 2023, but HMD is moving ahead with a Barbie-themed, kid-focused flip phone.
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“Say bye to endless screen time and hello to retro chic with this super stylish device for real-world adventures,” said the company in a press release.Hopefully, Barbie and HMD’s other new phones arrive in time for some summer fun.
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