With the Nokia 3310 and Nokia 8810 re-releases having reminded us of a simpler mobile time, attention has now turned to Motorola to see if the company might treat its iconic Razr handset to a relaunch — and now a new patent suggests the company is mulling it over.
The patent (first unearthed by Mobielkopen), shows a handset with the same iconic flip-phone form-factor. However, rather than combining a screen on one half with a T9 keyboard on the other, the new design features a modern touchscreen on both halves, which can fold in the middle to fit the phone in your pocket.
Motorola isn’t the only smartphone manufacturer to be eyeing up a phone with a folding display (see Samsung’s Galaxy X for its most high-profile competitor), but its combination of the bleeding edge technology with a retro-inspired design has piqued our interest.
Image Credit: Mobielkopen
The usual disclaimers about patents such as this apply of course. The patent doesn’t actually refer to this phone as the Razr by name, and nor is there any guarantee that this design will actually see the light of day.
Although we’d love to see the Razr brand make a return, we’re not sure if we’re entirely sold on this particular form factor. A folding screen makes much more sense conceptually if it folds lengthways to offer a tablet-style experience, while this patent shows an unfolded display with a super wide aspect ratio that doesn’t seem very useful. Maybe if you’re reading very long articles? We’re not convinced.
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Don’t forget about Razr
Motorola’s phone devision hasn’t been an independent company since it was sold to Google way back in 2012. Since then it’s been sold on to Lenovo, which has used the brand to release a stunning lineup of budget smartphones under the Moto branding (most recently the Moto G6).
But the legacy of the Razr has always been keenly felt by the company. Back in 2016 it released a trailer featuring the iconic clamshell phone, but it appears that nothing came from the firm’s promise to “Flip back to the Razr days of yesteryear and get ready for the future.”
We’d love to see the Razr make an official branded comeback, and if Lenovo can get a folding screen integrated then we’ll have a reason to take a serious look at it beyond nostalgia.
Would you like to see the Razr make a comeback? Let us know @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.