Tribute To Motorola Razr


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Let's take a fond look back at the design classic that was the Motorola Razr. 130 million sales made it the most popular flip phone of all time. Seven years ago it was the best present you could hope to receive.

It has been seven year's, Seven years since I unwrapped a present from my Girlfriend and set my eyes on the Motorola Razr. It was my first proper Clamshell cell phone.

The Motorola Razr was the first cell phone that I can remember seeing that kindled some desire. This phone was so stylish it was worth extra overtime. It was a sleek, black design with a dual display and it flipped open to reveal a futuristic nickel-plated keypad. It came in a black leather holster. The aluminum body felt reassuringly tough. It was also really comfortable to use – the fact that it flipped open and had a hinge in the middle meant that your mouth was naturally at the microphone and the speaker could be held to your ear, something that still feels odd on candy bar designs.

I eventually replaced it with a Nokia 6600, but while the Nokia is long gone, I still wish that i had retained my Razr. Even after being a decade old it still looks pretty good. I loved my Motorola Razr and I wasn’t alone.

Razr on the cutting edge

Before the smartphone and iPhone revolution, there was a period in time where the Motorola Razr ruled all. By the summer of 2006 Motorola had sold over 50 million Razr handsets and the manufacturer was continuing to churn out new variants with subtle improvements every few months. There was a hot pink version, new models to support GSM and EDGE, and various hardware improvements to the displays, the camera and the internals. The line would eventually account for 130 million sales at the end of its four-year run. That made it the best-selling flip, or clamshell, phone of all time.

The Motorola Razr was first released in 2004 and it wasn’t intended to be a mass market phone. It was a high-end fashion conscious release designed to show off Motorola’s skill and style. It cost around 30K+ when it first hit our market, but by the time I got one in 2005, the price had come way down and Motorola had a massive hit on its hands.

Motorola’s monster

There’s no denying the Razr was a fantastic phone, although beyond calls and texting, the early versions were limited. The V3 had 5.5MB of storage and a VGA camera. You could send and receive email, and browse the web … slowly. For a feature phone it was actually pretty light on features so Motorola just kept adding to it while retaining the iconic design.

You could argue that the Razr’s success ended up hobbling Motorola because the company was afraid to move on to new designs. When the BlackBerry and then the iPhone started to take off in 2007 Motorola was still flogging the Razr and by 2008 it was definitely the proverbial dead horse. In fact, a 2008 report revealed that 24 percent of new iPhone owners in the U.S.(Motorola's home market) switched from the Razr.

Motorola was slow to the smartphone party. A revival for the Razr brand in the shape of the V13 in November 2009 didn’t go as planned. It had a touch screen and a 5-megapixel camera, but demand for the clamshell form factor was gone and it wasn’t coming back. Increasingly big touchscreens were the new trend and Motorola had to get with the program.

After Google's high profile take over of Motorola, can we expect Razr to come back with a bang ?

I really hope so...
 

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I agree Visran the Razr was one sexy phone. Infact when I went to buy my previous phone was very tempted to by the Razr XT. A phone with carbon fibre on it!! wow!!
 
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I love this phone ! couldn't get my hands on this at least till the trend was there

The movie Don marketed it even more, DON carries the RAZR and the villain carries the L6
Also im a great fan of Motorola, i had an L6 before... i do have a Moto Q8 which was manufactured in 2005 and still has some features which only other brands are coming out with recently !

This phone is still going strong !

Pics from Google

moto1.jpg

moto2.jpg

moto3.jpg

can we expect Razr to come back with a bang ?
Wish it is released again !
 
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i loved the Razr and still do. When my uncle had asked me to which phone I would want him to gift me with no budget constraints, I told him Motorola Razr even though there were much superior phones in the market. it just looks so BOSS. my sister had one in US and brought it back when she came back. but somone stole it here in a public event. :( still remember it soo well that phone. I love it the most. Eventually I got the iPhone but still my heart lusts for the Razr. Damn I want one now. let me see what I can do.
 

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@archit

If you find one, do let me know. Even I want one. Was too poor to buy one at that time.
 
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I just gave away my Razr to one of my cousin, nothing could beat that phone, smash it, throw it bang it anything, loved that phone and still do.Hope moto can bring out something like that again with andriod platform.When we went to buy this phone my friend who is a dealer of mobile handsets smashed and banged it on hard top table to show me the reality of this handset, pretty awesome mighty phone it was and still is, my cousin still uses it though some screen issues but works:)
 
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100% Visran.

I still miss my razor and wish I had not traded it in. A design classic even now.

My current phone is a Motorola Atrix and while I have used other brands (Sony, Samsung, LG), I find the Motorola's to be build tough. Easily take a few hits and still go on.
 
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My current phone is a Motorola Atrix and while I have used other brands (Sony, Samsung, LG), I find the Motorola's to be build tough. Easily take a few hits and still go on.
Agree with you, even i have tried most of the brands which are available in our market but nothing comes close to the longevity and durability of Motorola.
 

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