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Cellphones Technology

Motorola's RAZR Is Returning As a $1,500 Folding Smartphone (theverge.com) 65

Posted by BeauHD from the back-from-the-dead dept.
A new report from The Wall Street Journal says the Motorola RAZR might be making a comeback as a $1,500 foldable screen smartphone, and it could launch as early as February. The Verge reports: The original RAZR was one of the most iconic cellphones ever made, and it seems that Motorola's parent company Lenovo is looking to cash in on that branding with an updated foldable phone (similar to the one that Samsung has teased for later this year). Per the WSJ, the new RAZR will be exclusive to Verizon in the U.S. with a planned February launch, although the device is still in testing and details have yet to be finalized.

Also unknown is nearly any concrete information about the phone. There's no word yet on things like screen size, specifications, or even form factor. Will the revived RAZR just borrow the name but use a more traditional landscape folding display? Will Lenovo follow the original RAZR design and have some sort of super long vertically folding screen? According to the WSJ report, Lenovo is hoping to manufacture over 200,000 of the new RAZRs, which may seem optimistic for a $1,500 luxury smartphone. But considering that the (admittedly much cheaper) RAZR V3 model sold 130 million units over its lifespan, if lightning does manage to strike twice, that goal might not be so hard to hit.
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Motorola's RAZR Is Returning As a $1,500 Folding Smartphone More

Motorola's RAZR Is Returning As a $1,500 Folding Smartphone

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  • $1500 dupe (Score:4, Insightful)

    by bobstreo ( 1320787 ) on Friday January 18, 2019 @06:07AM (#57980938)

    That is more than my monthly total mortgage payment.

    that's way too shiny a toy for most people.

    Since no information is available we'll have to wait to see if it has a removable battery, sd slot, or headphone jack...

    • forgot;

      originally posted:

      https://mobile.slashdot.org/st... [slashdot.org]

    • That is more than my monthly total mortgage payment.

      that's way too shiny a toy for most people.

      This will be the simplified phone for people who hate those high Apple prices.

    • That is more than my monthly total mortgage payment.

      that's way too shiny a toy for most people.

      Since no information is available we'll have to wait to see if it has a removable battery, sd slot, or headphone jack...

      I'm going to assume not. You can't expect all the bells and whistles for that kind of price!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by e3m4n ( 947977 )

      I had the razr and didnt like it. Like most clam shell phones, they are too thin, making the art of balancing the earpiece between your shoulder and ear, while trying to use two hands for other tasks, damned near impossible. It was not comfortable. The only plus was butt dialing was almost eliminated.

      • I had the razr and didnt like it. Like most clam shell phones, they are too thin, making the art of balancing the earpiece between your shoulder and ear, while trying to use two hands for other tasks, damned near impossible. It was not comfortable. The only plus was butt dialing was almost eliminated.

        If only someone could invent a hands free headset!

        Just a crazy dream, I know.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by e3m4n ( 947977 )

          You mean something with only an hour of talk time that gets drained out my first two hours of work? Nope. I’ve never had to go out in the field to troubleshoot a network failure at a remote POP and be on the phone for six hours straight trying to diagnose fiber issues. I’ve never needed both hands to do that when my goddamn headset dies. Did I mention that the minute you fold the clamshell up it hangs up on you? You can’t answer a clamshell with it closed, or couldnt back then. Wired? A

          • My current blue tooth headset lasts for 7 hours of talk time. Usually a little more. The one I had prior was good for 9 hours, but it finally broke after a couple of years. I would have bought the same model if they still made it. But the new one has better sound for both me and who I'm speaking with.

            I only had one Motorola clamshell in the past and it wasn't a Razer. But the one I had could be closed while talking via speaker or wired headset. It had caller ID on the front when it was closed and I cou

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by e3m4n ( 947977 )

              I’m fairly certain that you did not have a seven hour talk time Bluetooth headset when the razr was out. For me anything then or than an iPhone is just too thin. I have Bluetooth now but when I answer the phone it’s not like I can let the damn thing ring and ring and ring while I’m trying to finish out a headset. At least the speakerphone doesn’t create echo like they used to. They do however seem to pick up a lot of background noise.

              I do tend to go through a lot

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by lgw ( 121541 )

            You you try a phone with his fancy new thing called a "headphone jack"! Apple and Samsung haven't gotten there yet, but some of the higher tech brands have this awesome feature. No separate battery, and lower battery drain on the phone in a noisy area.

            I do miss my old pre-smart phone for calls though - 10 hours talk time, and could be charging one battery while using another, quicker to swap batteries than to boot a modern phone.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by e3m4n ( 947977 )

              Yea everyone is working on removing that jack and giving out adapters. Just one more thing to get lost or ‘lost’ in the bottom of a bag. I dont believe the bs that they needed that space. The damn phones keep getting bigger. The new xl size looks like someone is holding a small dinner plate to their face. They look like what we joked about with gillette shaving razors; that one day its going to have 15 blades and look like a coffee cup saucer was being drug against your face. Guess phones had to

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by tsqr ( 808554 )

              You you try a phone with his fancy new thing called a "headphone jack"! Apple and Samsung haven't gotten there yet, but some of the higher tech brands have this awesome feature.

              The Samsung S9 has a headphone jack and a memory card slot. My S8+ has a headphone jack and a card slot. My old S6+ didn't have a card slot, but it did have a headphone jack. Maybe you're confusing Samsung with Google? I hear the Pixels don't have headphone jacks.

              • Nah, just like with my Note 8 (headphone jack, SD card slot), Samsung is getting lazy and leaving those features in whilst designing new phones. Sometimes I am so embarrassed to be seen with a phone without any courage...

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by lgw ( 121541 )

                Samsung is on the "no jack" bandwagon with some new phones, though they're less committed to it than Apple. I got an LG because they went the other way, saying not only do they love the jack, they added audiophile DACs to it for music listening. Not sure that matters, but I like their spirit.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sjbe ( 173966 )

      that's way too shiny a toy for most people.

      If it's priced that high then it isn't intended to be sold to "most" people. If the device is compelling enough there are plenty of people who would consider forking over that kind of money for it. (probably self included) But it had better be AMAZING and well beyond anything else available to justify that kind of price point. I would love a well designed phone that morphed into a small tablet - the idea is pretty compelling if the execution is right. But getting it right is going to be tricky and none

      • "none of those features are deal breakers for most people in the market for smartphones"
          of course they aren't for iPhone users. They never had the option of having them and don't know what they're missing. The one thing they did have was a headphone jack and Apple took that away. Anecdotally, I know many iPhone users who would jump to Android if they weren't so heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem. I also know many Android users for whom those items ARE a deal breaker.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Tensor ( 102132 )
      for $1500 it'd better fold out to an xps-13 with uhd display.

    • That is more than my monthly total mortgage payment.

      You can probably get a mail-order bride now for less than the price of a Mobile Phone... probably last longer too.

  • Returning from it last appearance... (Score:3)

    by enriquevagu ( 1026480 ) on Friday January 18, 2019 @06:10AM (#57980944)

    ... two days ago: https://mobile.slashdot.org/st... [slashdot.org]

  • This double post is proof that, at least on Slahdot, lightning may actually strike twice, and usually does.

  • shouldn't be too hard to find 200.000 idiots with too much money on this planet.

  • Found it too thin to hold. So another thin phone is not my cup of tea, even if I convince my self to pay 1500 for a phone.

    But motorola Android One phones are the replacement for the Google Nexus line. No crapware added by the manufacturer and Google updates android straight, not waiting for the manufacturer. So would buy a Moto X1 or something but this one is too late to the party. Average sale price of cell phones are trending down, not up.

  • I make it a policy to never judge before seeing a device. Maybe it will be brilliant but I have my doubts based on what I've seen so far. If it's like Samsung Galaxy F or Royole Flexpai [tomsguide.com] then they shouldn't bother. That form factor is impractical and doesn't appear to be very robust. (it looks terribly easy to break if you put it in a pocket) I think the basic idea of a device that can morph from a phone size to small tablet size is a solid concept but it will all be about the execution. I don't think

    • I make it a policy to never judge before seeing a device.

      Fair enough...

      And $1500? It better be an AMAZING device to justify that price point.

      I can't think of any single (realistic) feature that will make a phone be worth that price. I can't think of any combination of realistic features that will make a phone be worth that price.

      This phone better be something out of Science Fiction.

      • I can't think of any single (realistic) feature that will make a phone be worth that price. This phone better be something out of Science Fiction.

        I'm struggling as well. I think you are right that the technology just isn't there yet for the things needed to seriously blow our minds. Would love to be wrong of course. I think it's just going to be an overpriced me-too device made to keep the Motorola brand quasi-relevant rather than a serious attempt at a serious device.

      • I phone that didn't butt dial all the time would be nice... but still not worth the $1500 price.

    • Relying on the hope for nostalgia from a 20 year old dumb phone to market a (supposedly) cutting edge modern smartphone should result in some marketing idiot losing their job.

      It worked. It is being talked about here and many other forums/news sites. Marketing-wise it is already a success.

      • It worked. It is being talked about here and many other forums/news sites. Marketing-wise it is already a success.

        It only worked if the name results in actual sales because of the name. Just generating buzz is not successful marketing. Personally I think they are hugely overestimating the appeal of the RAZR brand in today's market. Furthermore you aren't asking whether we are talking about it because of the RAZR brand or because of the fact that it's foldable or because of the price or something else.

        Brand confusion is a real thing too. Think about how Microsoft has had problems when they've used the Windows brand

  • Like everyone, I had one at the time.

    Like everyone, I thought they looked cool.

    But I seem to remember not liking the design much. Didn't the edges cut into your hands when open? And I seem to remember something about the side buttons being maddening...

    Maybe this rebirth will address physical issues from the past model.

  • But at a $1500 price point, it will sell in the DOZENS!
    At a $500 price point, it would sell millions...
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • This is awesome!!! $1500 for dumb phuck flip phone.
  • Wow, this is awesome

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