HMD is crossing its fingers for a second Barbie summer time. The corporate, which has completely bought Nokia-branded telephones for the previous seven years, introduced that it’s going to launch a Barbie-branded flip telephone in July in partnership with Mattel. It's one among a number of gadgets that HMD has on the way in which this summer time, which additionally embody a brand new Nokia-branded retro telephone and an HMD-branded smartphone. Lastly, the corporate additionally introduced early plans for a brand new improvement platform it calls “HMD Fusion.”
No pricing, specs or options have been introduced for the as-yet-unnamed Barbie telephone, however we anticipate it to be a conventional flip telephone reasonably than a smartphone. In an interview, HMD's world head of product imaginative and prescient, proposition and advertising, Adam Ferguson, confirms that will probably be a totally new gadget. “Barbie's not the type of model you go for, right here's an accessible answer,” he says.
The collaboration is an extension of plans first introduced in September, when the Finnish firm (now referred to as “Human Cell Gadgets” reasonably than “HMD”) stated it deliberate to maneuver from completely making Nokia-branded merchandise to promoting them. gadgets below its personal identify, in addition to working with “thrilling new companions”. Mattel is the primary such companion, however Ferguson says it gained't be the final.
“Are there different partnerships in addition to the Mattel collaboration? Absolute. Are they as large and triple A as Mattel? Absolute. Can I let you know what they’re proper now? Completely not.”
As for the own-brand telephone, the corporate isn't prepared to speak specifics, however we all know it’s going to additionally will come this summer time. The announcement comes simply over a month after 91 Cellphones Pictures have leaked of a smartphone that appears similar to the corporate's present Nokia telephones, albeit with an HMD brand the place Nokia's was.
None of that is to say that HMD is abandoning the Nokia branding fully, and Ferguson denied that HMD is exploring different model names resulting from any decline within the reputation of the Nokia identify. “It's under no circumstances that we predict there's a drop in energy there,” says Ferguson, “it's simply that there’s, from a enterprise HMD viewpoint, we’ve the chance to do extra … with this multi-brand technique. “
The corporate says it plans to “carry again an iconic telephone this summer time,” just like different retro revivals of gadgets just like the Nokia 3310 and Nokia 8110.
Apart from the branding bulletins, HMD had just a few extra product-focused initiatives to announce. Probably the most attention-grabbing of those is the HMD Fusion, a brand new smartphone-style gadget that HMD is pitching as a DIY platform for DIYers. Like Moto Mods, however it’s a must to make and program your individual equipment.
Basically, HMD's purpose with the Fusion is to supply the sorts of modding potentialities of a Raspberry Pi, however within the type of a full smartphone with a built-in display screen and battery. It does this with a collection of six pogo pins on the again of the gadget, that are designed to permit hardware equipment to be connected. On the software program facet, it runs Android with an unlocked bootloader, and HMD calls the varieties of hardware you can construct across the gadget “clothes.” Between them, HMD's ambition is to supply a tool that finish customers and even companies can customise to swimsuit their wants.
“Let's say, for instance, you’re employed within the medical area and also you want to have the ability to assist check individuals's blood,” says Ferguson. “You’ve got a software program service, you’ve got an software that you just want, however it wants hardware connected. It may be costly and folks gained't essentially know use it. You construct an outfit based mostly on that, for the Fusion gadget, after which it will probably do the blood check, calculate it, determine if it’s essential to make an appointment and all that.” Different concepts Ferguson mentions are constructing a case with built-in flashing notification lights, or a streaming accent with a built-in high-quality microphone and streaming controls.
For now, HMD is simply asserting the Fusion platform and releasing preliminary designs and specs for the gadget to let prospects begin interested by how they could need to use it, however Ferguson cautions that these specs may change as they go alongside. individuals begin giving suggestions concerning the firm's plans.
Complementing its MWC bulletins, HMD additionally reaffirmed that it’s persevering with with the repairability initiative it began with the Nokia G22 ultimately 12 months's MWC, and that this initiative may even apply to its HMD-branded gadgets. The corporate's goal is for half of the telephones it sells this 12 months to be simply repairable, and it's additionally particularly enhancing how repairable its gadgets' screens are. “The truth that we did it with out glue and all that was an awesome step for the time, however it needed to be higher,” says Ferguson. However whereas he says it's “significantly better” this time round, we'll have to attend for the precise announcement of the gadget to learn how.