Verizon will basically pay you to buy the new, awesome Barbie phone

Once in a long while, a piece of telecommunications hardware comes along that changes the world. Today, Verizon is proud to announce that you’ll receive $180 in bill credits to your Verizon account when purchasing the legendary HMD Barbie Phone at the low cost of $130 — to say nothing of the full slate of accessories that help make this such an exciting device.

A phone unlike any other

Everyone likes it, and thinks it’s cool and pretty

To be clear: the HMD Barbie Phone is not a smartphone. Built to enable digital detox, it doesn’t support apps of any kind, and will force even the most touchscreen-dependent users to learn the ancient ways of T9 predictive typing. This old-school flip phone can manage contacts, make and answer phone calls, and send and receive SMS messages, and that’s about it.

There’s actually a lot to be said for that. A lot of living dinosaurs today grew up in a world where we didn’t have instant, handheld access to news feeds, ChatGPT, TikTok FYPs, and basically the entirety of human knowledge plus an infinite number of cat videos. In some circumstances, it can be good for mental health to recreate that archaic scenario.

What Verizon’s offering with the Barbie Phone

At $130, the Barbie Phone isn’t quite an impulse buy, but it’s far from a major investment. Verizon’s current offer promises $180 in bill credits over 36 months, essentially earning you a free $50 as a happy customer with one of the United States’ leading carriers.

And you get more than just a phone. In the box (see the above video), you get snazzy case covers, a set of awesome stickers, a beaded wristlet, a polishing cloth, and a charger, something nearly unheard-of these days. Man or woman, young or old, it’s a fun device to use out and about. I’m a 38-year-old dude who can’t hold a candle to Ken, and I’d be excited to use it on my nights out.

Why the Barbie Phone really isn’t a joke

Source: HMD/Consumer Cellular

First, there aren’t many new, refined flip feature phones, and the good ones aren’t typically much cheaper. But the reality is, while feature phones are far from “all the rage” right now, a non-zero number of users have found benefit in disconnecting from the constant stream of information smartphones enable. And, quite frankly, this head-turning phone looks outright cool.

HMD Barbie Phone

Because pink goes with every outfit

There’s nothing like the Barbie Phone. It’s a digital detox special that captures the whimsy, wonder, and seriousness of navigating life as Barbie, or one of her many, different-looking multiples. And, despite being a simple feature phone, it can also provide 4G hotspot access so you’re not left in the dark when you do need a connected Android app.

Possibly most important, the Barbie Phone supports 4G data hotspot use. So, if you want to add a foolproof layer of protection between you and doomscrolling, carry around a capable, low-cost tablet and connect to your Verizon-enabled Barbie Phone when you find a question that’s just dying for a Google Gemini answer. You’ll be glad you spend less time staring mindlessly at your phone, and when you’re done making voice calls and sending SMS messages, you can flip it closed with a characteristic slap sound ingrained in millennials’ heads, and use the outer mirror to touch up your makeup.

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