It disappeared from the world more than a decade ago, but Motorola’s nostalgic Razr is officially returning next month.
Pre-sales for the smartphone begin on January 26th and consumers can get their hands on one starting February 6th at Verizon, Walmart and its official website.
Selling for $1,499, the Razr is set to take on Samsung’s foldable phone that launches a few days later and comes with a higher price tag.
Motorola gave the world its first glimpse of the Razr in November, with a promise consumers could purchase it December 26th.
However, a week before the release date, the firm announced the smartphone would be delated until ‘sometime in January’.
Now the time has come and the American company has marked the official date for pre-orders and sales.
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Pre-sales for the highly-anticipated smartphone begin on January 26th and consumers can get their hands on one starting February 6th at Verizon, Walmart and its official website
‘We are excited to share that, in North America, the Motorola Razr will be available for presale on January 26th exclusively at Verizon, Walmart and motorola.com; and in stores starting on February 6th. Dates for other markets will be announced locally,’ Motorola said in a statement to Engadget.
Flip phones, such as the original Razr, were popular in the early 2000s.
The original devices had a screen on one side and a physical keyboard on the other, with a hinge in the middle that allowed the folded device too easily into a pocket of the owners’ cargo shorts.
The modern design now boasts a 6.2-inch foldable screen that bends in half to shut in the same way as older ‘clamshell’ phones.
Selling for $1,499, the Razr is set to take on Samsung’s foldable phone that launches a few days later and comes with a higher price tag
Motorola gave the world its first glimpse of the Razr in November, with a promise consumers could purchase it December 26th
When closed, Motorola said the new Razr also has a 2.7-inch Quick View Display on which users can view and respond to notifications.
Motorola said the design is the first of its kind, but follows other foldable devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Fold – which opens vertically like a book to reveal a large tablet-like screen inside the phone.
Unlike Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, the Razr claims to be splash-proof, with a stronger screen.
Users can expect the device to run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor, have a 2,730mAh battery, 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 64GM or 128GB of storage.
After the unveiling in November, Industry expert Ru Bhikha, from uSwitch.com, said the Razr has nostalgic value, but warned it may not have the high-end features to compete with the flagship phones in the mobile market.
The modern design boasts a 6.2-inch foldable screen that bends in half to shut in the same way as older ‘clamshell’ phones. When closed, Motorola said the new Razr also has a 2.7-inch Quick View Display on which users can view and respond to notifications
Bhikha said: ‘Some brands dominate their markets so completely that their names become bywords for the whole industry. Vacuum cleaners are ‘Hoovers’ and to perform an internet search is to ‘Google’
‘The original Motorola Razr was such an iconic design that, even now, when you think of a foldable phone, you are automatically reminded of the classic flip-phone of the mid-Noughties.
‘The Razr can’t compete with the performance of similarly priced rivals, boasting only a single 16 mega pixel rear camera compared to the iPhone 11’s three-lens set-up that includes a telephoto and two wide lenses.
‘The device is also less powerful in the CPU and battery departments due to the restrictions of the design, so we’re skeptical that users will get through the day on a single charge.’
WHAT PROBLEMS DID THE LAST FOLDING PHONE TO HIT THE MARKET HAVE?
Samsung debuted the $2,000 Galaxy Fold to great fanfare in February.
But journalists who received review units ahead of the Fold launch in late April reported experiencing issues with the interior screen.
After just one or two days of use, users said the display began to flicker and turn black before becoming completely unusable.
The South Korean tech giant had put the Galaxy Fold’s launch on hold after reviewers encountered problems with the device’s innovative folding screen, but released the updated device in September.
Journalists who received review units ahead of the Fold launch reported experiencing issues with the interior screen. The display would flicker and go black
The issues are believed to stem from the hinge causing too much pressure on the screen.
Some said they had removed a protective layer on the screen that was supposed to stay on.
Meanwhile, others said they didn’t remove the protective film, but the device still stopped working.
YouTube user Marques Brownlee said he removed the protective film and his device began having issues
A warning on the Galaxy Fold packaging instructs users not to remove the protective layer, according to a photo posted by T-Mobile Senior Product Manager Desmond Smith.
‘The main screen includes a special protective layer,’ it reads. ‘Peeling off the protective layer or using any adhesives on the main screen, such as screen protectors or stickers, may cause damage.’
Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman said his Galaxy Fold started operating abnormally after he removed the film and eventually became unusable.
Additionally, YouTube user Marques Brownlee said he removed the protective film and his device began having issues.
But Dieter Bohn, executive editor of technology news site The Verge, says he left that layer on and his screen still broke.
The issues raised questions about whether or not the Galaxy Fold can withstand normal use.
