Motorola’s New RAZR is Hitting Me Right in the Nostalgia

Before there was iPhone, there were flip phones. And undoubtedly the king of all flip phones was the Motorola RAZR. It was the status symbol of the early 2000’s. My parents must have really loved me, because I was rocking a Motorola RAZR through my college years.

The RAZR was simply iconic. I still have fond memories of that phone. I’m a fidgeter, and flipping that phone open and closed over and over was fantastically satisfying. That hinge was rock solid.

Motorola has resurrected the RAZR as an Android smartphone with a folding screen, and I have to say, this is thus far the most interesting folding screen design yet. That might be the nostalgia talking, but I rather like the idea of a smartphone folding into something more pocketable — much more than I like the idea of a larger phone unfolding into a tablet.

And let’s be honest…this new RAZR gives off serious Star Trek: The Next Generation tricorder vibes.

For a heck of a lot better look at the new RAZR, be sure to check out MKBHD’s first look video.

While I think this new RAZR is super interesting and the design is a terrific tip of the hat to the one true RAZR…it’s running Android, and I’m just not down with that. I also think folding screen tech has a long way to go before it will be suitable for the masses. The mishaps of the Samsung Galaxy Fold showed there are legitimate durability concerns with flexible displays. But they will get better, and I am excited for that day.

I think Nicolas Magand over at The Jolly Teapot put it very well earlier today:

Maybe good to think of these foldable phones like supercars: terribly unpractical for everyday driving, quite expensive, unreliable, fragile, but they sure make heads turn, and the kids who see them passing by dream of owning one.