Like most film remakes of the past few decades, Motorola’s attempt at re-invigorating its RAZR smartphone (the original clamshell foldable phone from the 2000s) fell flat. While the fact that it folded in half was commended, its high price tag, creaky hinge and lacklustre features left it wanting.
Not to be discouraged, Motorola has just unveiled its second attempt at foldable greatness: the Motorola RAZR 5G. It builds upon the best parts of the first one, and supposedly fixes the problems, with better cameras, new software and much-hyped 5G connectivity. But it still isn’t cheap. So, does Moto’s second RAZR do enough to warrant a place in your pocket?
Overall, the design is incredibly similar to the first one, and indeed its precursor from the year 2000. Anyone who had the original RAZR (and considering Motorola shifted more than 130 million over the years, that’s a lot of people) will be immediately familiar with the flip open and shut design. And like the original, it snaps open and shut with a satisfaction previously unfelt since smartphones became thin slabs of metal and glass. That comes courtesy of an upgraded hinge that Motorola says will better stand up to daily wear and tear.
There are a number of welcome changes under the hood, including a speedier processor and 5G support. Don’t let the marketing fool you, 5G is still very much in its infancy here, but that updated processor certainly makes flicking through Google’s Android operating system that much smoother. The camera is the real improvement, however, boasting 48-megapixels.
While the first RAZR was Motorola’s attempt at proving it could re-invigorate its original foldable phone, this second take actually makes it a viable smartphone. It’s still expensive, costing upwards of Dhs5,000 (that’s what you get for wanting bleedin’ edge tech these days) but the new Motorola RAZR 5G is a solid smartphone (at last).
Dhs5,499. Available for pre-order www.motorola-arabia.com/moto-razr-5g.
Blast from the past
The Motorola RAZR was the first great phone of the turn of the century. It sold more than 130 million units over its eight-year lifetime and has been inducted into the hall of fame as one of the most influential pieces of technology ever.
Before the first RAZR was released back in 2004, phones were big chunky plastic blocks. Nokia’s slab of plastic design had become the de facto standard for the industry, and there was little design difference separating mobile phones at the time.
So when Motorola turned up with a phone that was 10-millimetres thin (competitors at the time were more than double that), it went down a storm. The phone was so thin in fact that before going to market, its developers casually referenced it as being ‘razor-thin’. The name stuck, and in 2004 the RAZR became the first gadget that transcended technology to become generally cool.
