Counterclockwise: flip phones rise with the tide then sink

27 January 2019
The Motorola RAZR was once the hottest phone in the world, but it was killed by the same villain that put an end to sliders.

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bill jobs, 27 Jan 2019he didnt claim it, but did imply it... like all crapple fa... moreI suppose so.

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    • AppleXI
    • 0CT
    • 28 Jan 2019

    aplle should make one it would be so good

      • D
      • AnonD-731363
      • SH3
      • 28 Jan 2019

      I really wonder how phones flip phones would survive in current era.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • MkE
        • 28 Jan 2019

        I think Motorola is planning this 2019 to launch a new RAZER.....

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          • Anonymous
          • PA7
          • 28 Jan 2019

          Back then when you use razr especially v9 it feels like driving bugati veyron.
          Cristal talk along with great design.
          Motorola still pioneer in mobile, imotorola Is the reason android can stand iphone

            I had 3 HTC PDA phones with the tilting keyboards. When I went to the all screen smartphone, it took a little getting use to, but I don't see going back to that form factor.
            Design of phones these days, it's all about "style" not function. The FASHION of the phone, appears to outweigh functionality. Now everything has to be slim, colorful, sexy, fashionable.

              ...then rise again. The same as with sliding phones, but flip devices got way better future as not just bending phones will resembel them, but there will be computers as true flip devices, more like there already are(from Lenovo for example).
              Microsoft's coming ultra portable PC surface phone Andromeda/... is a flip devices in phone like size(no bending of screen).
              15inch ones may follow, but they would need to include force touch and resistance feedback so you can feel keys on fingers. That's the only thing missing.

                • m
                • m2k
                • gWE
                • 27 Jan 2019

                I remember my buddy had that first Startac. It was quite rare cuz before then u only had those big brick phones that was installed in cars or those very expensive handheld ones. It look like Star trek technology when he had to pull out the antenna each time before taking a call. Lol... Aww. Memories.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • SHi
                  • 27 Jan 2019

                  They haw short life.painted in metalic paint, plastic, coroded ports, dead bateries, waist of money.

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                    • Alien
                    • 3RM
                    • 27 Jan 2019

                    I would absolutely buy a smartphone with a laptop like design with real keyboard buttons..
                    Something between Galaxy S10+ and GPD Pocket PC :)

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                      • Finophile
                      • 7tp
                      • 27 Jan 2019

                      Jon.SWE, 27 Jan 2019Seems this article is written by one of the Apple-fan-edito... moreInteresting points. Something people forget is that the iPhone had a crummy camera until whitquite late. What it did have were some apps that allowed it to be an effective light meter.
                      As long as more people just want to look and not type much the screen keyboards will dominate. But they suck for writing and editing.

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                        • bill jobs
                        • krg
                        • 27 Jan 2019

                        Walter C. Dornez, 27 Jan 2019Did the OP claim the iPhone was responsible?he didnt claim it, but did imply it... like all crapple fans. they believe apple and the iphone is the first at everything, like their app store... i tell people i downloaded apps in my nokia 6610 back in 2002, and they are amazed... of course, the apps were very few and nokia only, but they were still apps and i was able to download them, right from an app store owned by nokia. and i listened to stereo music through my proprietary nokia digital headphones because it had no 3.5mm jack... apple just took all their ideas from the past and recycled them.

                        i pitty the millenial fools...

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • 6vx
                          • 27 Jan 2019

                          >That’s why touch-enabled laptops are fairly rare (if you have one, when’s the last time you >used touch?). Laptops did try the two-screen trick, but that didn’t catch on either.
                          Today.

                            Flip phones are coming back: https://www.kaiostech.com/meet-the-devices-that-are-powered-by-kaios/
                            Apps are the reason the flip phones disappeared. They kept selling them with old OS's without apps. Flip phones are great for old people and as a second device.

                              Jon.SWE, 27 Jan 2019Seems this article is written by one of the Apple-fan-edito... moreDid the OP claim the iPhone was responsible?

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • 2Au
                                • 27 Jan 2019

                                Jon.SWE, 27 Jan 2019Seems this article is written by one of the Apple-fan-edito... moreYou make a good point, after the Rzr series there will be no other hot flip phone on the market and that's the reason why flip phone has become obsolete.

                                  Seems this article is written by one of the Apple-fan-editors at gsmarena.
                                  Looking at the graphs, it is clear that the flip-phone drop in popularity started before january 2007, so it clearly can't be because of the iPhone.
                                  The Razr V3 didn't have a good camera and wasn't a good music phone, and the V3i or what is was called came with a slight boost in the camera resolution, still not a good camera phone, and still nog a good music phone. And by that time the V3 had fallen in price, and was sold probably in large numbers as a "cheap" phone.
                                  After that, there really wasn't any hot flip-phones that I can remember. There were a few quite good low end offerings, but nothing really with mass market appeal.

                                  It wasn't the iPhone that killed the flip-phone, it was the flip-phone that died all by its own. If anything it was the slider phone, that killed the flip-phone, but I would say it was mostly the lack of hot flip-phones, because the slider phones didn't really come with any benefits.
                                  It was simply the candybar phone that ruled that period.

                                    • J
                                    • Joe
                                    • JDx
                                    • 27 Jan 2019

                                    Flip phones would be here to stay if they were adequately priced and offered decent price to performance ratio. All we have are the low-end Galaxy Folders, China-exclusive $2000 Samsung clamshells and some pre-historic android models by Lenovo & Gionee or Japanese brands for local markets.
                                    I think the new RAZR would be a niche product, perhaps even a limited edition phone made to gauge interest and showcase that Moto still has some innovations left in them but I'd appreciate a new flip phone, as these could be bulkier and more durable, as well as could potentially get rid of the front camera like some of the manufacturers are now doing.

                                      "That’s why touch-enabled laptops are fairly rare (if you have one, when’s the last time you used touch?)"

                                      That's why most non-gaming mid-high end laptops are convertible 360° laptops now... They're not rare, even on low end, but most people won't buy >$1000 touchscreen laptop because of their specs are no compare to the non one at those price level. I remember back in 2013 my friend bought an HD 13" touchscreen ASUS Vivobook with i3 and integrated GPU only and that's around $500!

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