Fisher-Price’s Chatter Telephone was an instant sensation among children when it debuted in 1961 and now, Mattel is reviving the nostalgic toy for adults.
Now equipped with Bluetooth, the mobile phone can make and receive calls through the user’s existing phone plan.
The Chatter Telephone still features the iconic smiling face, red wheels, connected handset and the retro rotary dial.
Pre-orders are available only at BestBuy.com for $60, but a release date has yet to be announced.
soooFisher-Price’s Chatter Telephone was an instant sensation among children when it debuted in 1961 and now, Mattel is reviving the nostalgic toy for adults
Fisher-Price’s Chatter Telephone was the best-selling toy for most of the 1960s and 1970s, but it was also loved by generations after.
The toy was originally called the Talk Back Telephone, but parents were not keen on their children taking it as permission to talk back— so it underwent an early name change and landed on Chatter Telephone.
The original design did not include the pull-along string, but was only added after testing when designers noticed children were dragging it around by the receiver.
Otherwise, there have been only a few design tweaks over time.
The Chatter Telephone still features the iconic smiling face, red wheels, connected handset and the retro rotary dial
Now equipped with Bluetooth, the mobile phone can make and receive calls through the user’s existing phone plan
‘The design team did re-engineer it at one point putting a more modern touchpad on it, but it was rejected so we reverted back to the iconic rotary dial,’ Mike Sullivan, Director of Global Brand Marketing at Fisher-Price, said in a statement.
The toy was first made of wood and feature blue accessories, but fast-forward a few decades later and the Chatter Telephone is redesigned in plastic with red wheels and a more modern look.
In 2000, Fisher-Price changed the rotary dial for a push-button version with lights in an effort to modernize the toy, but consumers complained and the rotary version returned to the market the following year
Now, the toy has been revamped into a working mobile phone.
The Chatter Telephone includes a speakerphone functionality and a microUSB port for the charging cord. The device is also battery powered, providing nine hours of talk time and 72 hours of standby
The Chatter Telephone includes the ability to use speakerphone and a microUSB port for the charging cord.
The device is also battery powered, providing nine hours of talk time and 72 hours of standby.
Fisher-Price, which is now own by Mattel, was started by East Aurora New York mayor Irving Price, Herman Fisher, and Helen Schelle in 1930 to provide a financial boost during the Great Depression.
However, the company went on to sell countless early-childhood staples that are beloved from generation to generation.
