At yesterday’s BarbieGirls.com launch event, Mattel announced that in July a fashion doll-shaped Barbie Girl MP3 Player standing 4 ½ inches tall will be available at retail. When plugged into a computer, the device will extend the virtual play options on BarbieGirls.com.
Barbie Girl MP3 Player: What You’ll Get
Memory: 512 MB of built in memory – that’s 120 MP3 songs or 240 WMA songs. (You can purchase an additional 2 GB of memory separately)
Compatibility: Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows XP; Barbie Girls software is not Mac OS compatible; however, it will work with Mac computers that run Windows.
Music: The MP3 player will play any music transferred from a CD or bought online from non-DRM music stores.
Fashion: The device includes two sets of interchangeable fashion, so girls can switch out the face, hair, top and pants on the device.
Other Tech Stuff Included: Ear buds in varying sizes; a belt clip, and a docking station to connect the device to the computer.
The Device Is A “Key” To An Extended Virtual World. When you sync the device to the computer, it opens up new places on BarbieGirls.com where girls can play, shop and chat. Girls with the device can even adopt their own virtual pet (dog, cat, bunny or monkey) and make purchases at the virtual pet store. Girls earn “B Bucks” for purchases by playing games online, and spend the B Bucks at the mall.
What We Like: Girls can engage in two types of chat on BarbieGirls.com. B Chat is for chatting with everyone, and information is significantly filtered. Girls can have a secret B Chat with their “best friends” in their room only and chat on a more personal level. Even here though, the system will still block inappropriate chat. “Best Friends” are friends girls have in real life. To gain a virtual “best friend,” girls must have a Barbie Girls MP3 Player and physically connect it to one another’s computer docking station.
Cost/Availability: $59.99 at retailers in July in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia and New Zealand.
