HMD partners with Mattel to launch Barbie flip phone this July 2024

Photo: HMD

HMD, the company behind Nokia phones for the last seven years, hopes to repeat its success with a new partner: Mattel. The two companies are teaming up to launch a Barbie flip phone this July, a retro feature phone that promises style, nostalgia, and a digital detox. The Barbie phone is part of HMD’s summer lineup, which also includes a new retro-inspired Nokia phone and an HMD phone. The latter is similar to the leaked device that 91Mobiles reported last month, with an HMD logo replacing the Nokia one.

The Barbie phone is not just a rebranded Nokia phone. According to HMD’s global head of insight, proposition, and product marketing Adam Ferguson, it will be a completely new device. "Barbie’s is not the kind of brand that you go, here's an off-the-shelf solution," he says. He also hints that more big and prestigious partnerships are in the works, but he won't reveal them yet.

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Apple and Nokia renew patent deal for 5G and beyond

Apple and Nokia have agreed to a new patent license agreement that will allow Apple to use Nokia's patented inventions in 5G and other technologies. The deal will replace the previous one expiring at the end of this year.

Nokia owns over 20,000 patents, including 5,500 related to 5G technology. Nokia offers its patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms, meaning other companies can license them for a fee.

Apple and Nokia have a long history of patent disputes and settlements. In 2009, Apple sued Nokia for allegedly copying the iPhone design, while Nokia sued Apple for infringing on its patents. They reached a settlement in 2011. Then in 2016, they sued each other again over patent royalties before reaching another settlement in 2017. That involved a USD 2 billion payment from Apple to Nokia, and brought Withings products back to the Apple Store.

The new agreement covers 5G and other technologies for a multi-year period. Nokia said it will receive payments from Apple but did not disclose the terms of the deal. 

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This Nokia feature phone has a hidden charger for earbuds

Source: HMD

Among the new feature phones that HMD recently announced, this new Nokia one offers a hidden charging compartment for included earbuds. The Nokia 5710 XpressAudio has a typical candy bar-style feature phone look in front, but you get a charging compartment on the back hidden when you slide down the plastic cover. It certainly makes it easier to pack away earbuds. These buds offer up to four hours of music playback per charge or around 2.4 hours of talk time. It doesn't look like the phone will have trouble recharging the device. According to HMD, the removable 1,450mAh battery gets you up to six hours of talk time over 4G and up to 20 days of standby with two 4G SIM card support.

Since this is a feature phone, you shouldn't expect access to services like Spotify and Apple Music. The Nokia 5710 XpressAudio runs on a stripped-back Series 30 Plus operating system. That means you can only play back MP3s or listen through the built-in FM radio. It is coming to the UK for £74.99 (around CA$116) later this month.

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MWC 2019: Nokia 9 PureView brings 5 rear camera setup to the masses

In terms of novelty, HMD Global has the upper hand now in the smartphone space. It has this new five-camera setup at the back that reminds us of spider eyes. It looks like there are seven lenses but the one spot is for the flash, while the other is for a time-of-flight sensor for depth mapping. The five cameras we do get include three 12-megapixel monochrome cameras and two 12-megapixel RGB sensors, all f/1.8, 28mm lenses. 

These extra sensors aren't meant to be used for extra zoom levels. Instead, these are designed to capture a big amount of data for HDR and depth-based photography. It'll allow you to edit depth after the fact, even when using Google Photos' depth editing feature.

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