Holographic Barbie is a 3D Personal Assistant for Young Girls
Move over Jem! After being a gamer developer and an astronaut, Barbie is getting her own hologram. One part personal assistant, one part toy and two parts fun, Hello Barbie Hologram is is designed to act as a sidekick for girls ages 6 and up. Though the device isn't due out for awhile, I had a chance to experience a preview version at Toy Fair.
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At this stage of the game, Mattel isn't sharing any specs including size or weight. But judging by eye, the setup looks to be about the size of a fairly large Bluetooth alarm clock. During my demo, I got to see a supersized version of the hologram in action. Holo-Barb interacted seamlessly with a Mattel representative, answering questions and dancing on command. She even hit the dab.
However, my favorite thing about this toy is the Change Your Barbie feature. By uttering that simple phrase, the digital representation of the iconic toy changed its ethnicity from white to black, complete with a fluffy afro. Another command changed her clothes from a white polo shirt and striped shirt, jeans and sneakers to a pink top emblazoned with a Girl Power logo, jeans and boots.
Using the voice-activated digital assistant, the rep inquired about the weather in Malibu. A window appeared in Barbie's room and after a quick glance out, she answered that the weather was a balmy 72 degrees and sunny. The rep also asked the hologram to help her celebrate her birthday and the toy asked the rep to save here a slice of cake.
To avoid the privacy concerns of the original Hello Barbie, Mattel claims that while the device keeps track of the date and time, outside of setting reminders, it won't retain any pertinent information. That should hopefully put parents worried about Barbie potentially eavesdropping on their child at ease.
Currently there's no word on when Hello Barbie Hologram will be hitting store shelves, but when it does, it has to potential to be the must-have toy of the season.
