As corporations journey over themselves to get retro toys again on cabinets for nostalgic adults, Fisher-Price is taking a special route. Its iconic Chatter Telephone has been loved by toddlers for 60 years now, and to have a good time that anniversary, Mattel has turned the toy right into a fully-functional smartphone accent that may really be used to position or take telephone calls.

Referring to this because the Chatter Telephone 2.0 isn’t totally correct. Over the last 60 years the toy has undergone numerous revisions and updates each to make it safer for teenagers to play with and additionally to replace its look. The play sample, nevertheless, has primarily stayed precisely the identical over the previous six many years. It rolls, its eyes transfer, the numbered rotary dial can spin, and historically it’s been powered by creativeness. But this new model swaps creativeness for Bluetooth and rechargeable batteries.

The upgraded Chatter Telephone connects to a smartphone over Bluetooth, so the rotary dial can really be used to position calls by dialing the particular person’s telephone quantity, digit by digit (which is one thing most of us will most likely need to search for in our telephone’s contact listing). When a name is available in it may be answered by merely choosing up the Chatter Telephone’s crimson handset and speaking into it, or by urgent the speakerphone button on the toy, which is the one actual indication that this model is completely different from the toy.

Hanging up the crimson handset additionally terminates a name, which is a satisfying expertise many people who at the moment are smartphone-only miss out on. The Chatter Telephone doubles as a type of fidget toy throughout a name, as its wheels permit it to be rolled forwards and backwards throughout a desk. It’s additionally battery powered, with 9 hours of speak time, 72 hours of standby, and charging through microUSB port.

The solely draw back to the toy’s upgrades are a brand new price ticket that brings with it some potential sticker shock. You can nonetheless purchase the imagination-powered Chatter Telephone for about $10, however the Bluetooth mannequin, which is offered on BestBuy.com starting today, will promote for $60 as a substitute. Nostalgia doesn’t come low-cost, and these days when telephone calls often imply unhealthy information, the cheaper Chatter Telephone toy that doesn’t make telephone calls really sounds extra tempting.