“Remember the Motorola Razr from the early 2000s? Motorola’s super-thin, metallic flip phone that was the ‘it’ phone before the iPhone and Galaxy started a smartphone revolution,” Eli Blumenthal reports for USA TODAY. “Well, if a new report is to be believed, it will soon be making a comeback.”
“According to The Wall Street Journal, Lenovo, which owns the Motorola brand after buying it from Google in 2014, plans to bring back the Razr as a new phone with a foldable screen,” Blumenthal reports. “While additional details on the phone, such as its screen size or if it will have support for 5G, remain unknown, the Journal says that Lenovo is working with Verizon to release the phone, possibly as soon as next month.”
“The report also says that the phone will start at $1,500, putting on a sky-high price on the futuristic bit of nostalgia,” Blumenthal reports. “Initially released in 2004 as the Razr V3, the line set off a new trend for super-thin, stylish phones. The phone was so popular that Motorola sold more than 130 million units in four years, according to Bloomberg.”
MacDailyNews Take: The Motorola Moto Razr V3 was the very phone from which we graduated to the original Apple iPhone. The Razr was quite the head-turner back in the day.
Motorola RAZR v3
Steve Jobs killed Motorola as we knew it, among many others.
As with fingerprint and facial recognition, when Apple debuts a foldable iPhone, then foldable smartphones will have been done right.
They have planned this a few times and never got it off the ground I guess a folding screen is the only way to have a chance to do so but sometimes even great things are of their time and if you create a great folding screen phone you don’t need to tie it to a well past it icon. If on the other hand you want to try to sell such a phone thats both expensive and wanting then I can understand why you might try to disguise its limitations by tying it to a phone that was once the bees knees and maybe for some still is in their memory. Has worked in cars in a hit and miss sort of fashion.
The Razr was THE REASON the iPhone. The Razr had EXCELLENT voice coverage, it was very clear when talking, great battery life, it was stylish and easy to use. The problem? It’s carrier based implementation of “the internet” SUCKED. Within an hour of having Cingular’s “MEdia” I was on the phone with customer service asking “What in the hell is this SHIFT?!!” I started with why is MEdia spelled with a capital E? Branding was the response. The whole thing sucked, I canceled the “internet part” of my contract the next day, keeping the voice, messages and email part. When my contract was up in Oct 08, I went to get an iPhone. My only concern was would it fit in my pocket. A quick demonstration of “pinch to zoom”, and I bought it. I haven’t looked back.
Imagine in 2019 having to deal with your carrier’s idea of how the internet should be. My God.
I remember checking out the “ROKR”. It was SO RIDICULOUS that after about a minute and a half I put it out of my mind until you mentioned it. Apple should have never allowed iTunes on that thing.
I’m no marketing genius but that product was doomed to fail from the start.
Good memories. Bought the Razr the second week it went on sale. Coolest phone ever. The iPhone and Android FLAT slabs are certainly BORING. Hopefully, Apple can innovate. Oh hell, Cook is still in charge…
foldable cellphone what a joke.
They have planned this a few times and never got it off the ground I guess a folding screen is the only way to have a chance to do so but sometimes even great things are of their time and if you create a great folding screen phone you don’t need to tie it to a well past it icon. If on the other hand you want to try to sell such a phone thats both expensive and wanting then I can understand why you might try to disguise its limitations by tying it to a phone that was once the bees knees and maybe for some still is in their memory. Has worked in cars in a hit and miss sort of fashion.
The Razr was THE REASON the iPhone. The Razr had EXCELLENT voice coverage, it was very clear when talking, great battery life, it was stylish and easy to use. The problem? It’s carrier based implementation of “the internet” SUCKED. Within an hour of having Cingular’s “MEdia” I was on the phone with customer service asking “What in the hell is this SHIFT?!!” I started with why is MEdia spelled with a capital E? Branding was the response. The whole thing sucked, I canceled the “internet part” of my contract the next day, keeping the voice, messages and email part. When my contract was up in Oct 08, I went to get an iPhone. My only concern was would it fit in my pocket. A quick demonstration of “pinch to zoom”, and I bought it. I haven’t looked back.
Imagine in 2019 having to deal with your carrier’s idea of how the internet should be. My God.
Its not it’s. Sorry apple (still) needs help on auto non correct.
Actually, the ROKR was the impetus for the iPhone, at least from an “iTunes functionality” perspective.
I remember checking out the “ROKR”. It was SO RIDICULOUS that after about a minute and a half I put it out of my mind until you mentioned it. Apple should have never allowed iTunes on that thing.
I’m no marketing genius but that product was doomed to fail from the start.
sooooo Apple is a bunch of basssstrds for introducing a top of the line phone for $1000 to 1300 and gets head chopped off…..
Bring back a classic flipPhone for $1500 and it’s considered “Mensa” level………..mmmmmmmkayyyyyyyyyyy
Good luk wit dat…………….LOL!!
Funniest line in the article: “before the iPhone AND GALAXY started the smartphone revolution” (emphasis added).
Literally laughed out loud when I read that one!
That was my reaction as well….I mean, please…..”the great copier” was in on the revolution?? I think not.
Good luck selling one Motorola.
Good memories. Bought the Razr the second week it went on sale. Coolest phone ever. The iPhone and Android FLAT slabs are certainly BORING. Hopefully, Apple can innovate. Oh hell, Cook is still in charge…