Motorola Razr Making a Comeback

During the early to mid-2000s, flip phones were dominating the market for mobile phones. Among the numerous smartphones that were available to consumers at the time, Motorola’s Razr was a notch above the rest.

Motorola’s Razr was released in 2004 and was marketed until 2007 before the phone’s popularity began declining. The phone continued to be sold after marketing ended and over the course of its 4-year run, “the Razr V3 model sold more than 130 million units, the most successful flip phone to this day”. Its popularity is shown by its presence in pop culture:

• The adventure reality show “Treasure Hunters” had contestants use Moto Razrs for communication
• In Counter-Strike: Source, one of the original characters can be seen holding one
• In The Devil Wears Prada, the main characters use Moto Razr phones

Due to the success of the Moto Razr, in 2007, Motorola revived the Razr with the Razr2 series; ultimately ending in a flop. In the same year, the first generation iPhone was released marking the beginning of the smartphone era. From 2011 to 2013, Motorola rereleased the Razr series through the Verizon Droid Razr, marketed as the world’s thinnest phone at the time.

Now in 2019, Motorola is once again reviving the Razr brand through its Moto Razr 2019, a foldable smartphone sporting Android software.

The hype surrounding this contemporary model stems from its nostalgic appeal and its unique folding feature. This model has been praised as “an admirable job of reviving an iconic design in a new foldable form factor that defines what it means to stand out”. The Moto Razr 2019’s folding feature is in common with Huawei’s Mate X and Samsung’s Galaxy Fold.

Let’s take a look at the specs of the Moto Razr 2019 to see how it stacks up with its competitors:

• Unfolded dimensions: 172 x 72 x 6.9 mm
• Folded dimensions: 94 x 72 x 14mm
• 205 g
• Screen size: 6.2 inches
• Android 9.0 (Pie)
• Qualcomm SDM710 Snapdragon 710 (10 nm)
• 16 MP, f/1.7, 1.22um, Dual Pixel PDAF
• No headphone jack
• PRICE: $1500 or 10500 RMB

While exhaustive lists of specifications for this phone can be found online, these are some of the more important factors that customers look at. From there, it can be seen that the Moto Razr 2019 does not ship with the latest version of Android and its processing chip, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 710, is considered to be mid-range. Furthermore, the camera is not on par with its competitors. A bit underwhelming considering the expensive price tag that comes along with this device.

Perhaps it’s best to allow foldable phone technology to advance and become more affordable before considering buying these phones. For now, sticking to our more traditional smartphones from big brands such as Apple, Huawei, or Samsung among others, is the way to go. Despite this, it is refreshing to see phone producers experimenting with new designs and features that further revolutionize the mobile phone industry.