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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Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup - 2/18- 2/24

Fujifilm follows up its viral camera with X100VI

Darkroom now supports auto backup and sync of user presets

Android 15's "Notification Cooldown" quiets the chaos

Apple's updated approach to wet iPhone care doesn't include a bag of rice

Threads tests drafts and in-app camera

Vision Pro users report mysterious cracks in headsets

Humane rewards early adopters of AI Pin with free subscription and shipping

Philips Hue users rejoice: Multiple bridges support coming soon

MediaTek Dimensity 9300 and 8300 chipsets now optimized for Google’s Gemini Nano model

Mercedes-Benz changes course on its EV strategy and reassures investors

Mercedes-Benz changes course on its EV strategy and reassures investors

Photo: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is adjusting its electrification strategy due to market difficulties. The German luxury brand is pushing back its aim to go all-electric by 2030, Reuters says. The company also assures investors that it will continue making vehicles with combustion engines well into the next decade.

In 2021, Mercedes—along with other automakers—was hopeful about the future of EVs. The company committed €40 billion, about CA$58 billion, to a strategy that would phase out the combustion engine and sell only EVs by the end of the decade. The plan was realistic for a company that was launching the EQ lineup, which was only EVs. It also aligned with the E.U.'s ban on new gas and diesel vehicles sales by 2035.

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MediaTek Dimensity 9300 and 8300 chipsets now optimized for Google’s Gemini Nano model

Image: MediaTek

Google launched Gemini Nano, its on-device AI model, last year. However, only a few devices could support it. But that may change soon, as MediaTek has announced that some of its chips are now “optimized” for Gemini Nano.

MediaTek has revealed in a press release this week that its flagship chip, the Dimensity 9300, and its lower-end counterpart, the Dimensity 8300, are both “optimized” for Gemini Nano support. 

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