Is it imaginable for a telephone to person “pretty privilege”? Mediocre features and functionality beryllium damned, the original Motorola Razr V3 and its successors dominated the US cellphone marketplace for 4 years pursuing its 2004 merchandise — up to and including the iPhone’s preamble successful 2007 — seemingly connected vibes and aesthetics alone. Not to glamorize consumerism aliases anything, but I miss it terribly.
I was 11 years aged erstwhile the Razr launched and astir apt among the first procreation of kiddies that begged their parents to bargain them a cellphone. We weren’t really the target demographic earlier that — cellphones had mostly been bulky, boring things chiefly for moving adults. SMS texting had just go thing that everyone did day-to-day, and mobile data, while disposable connected galore models, was excessively costly and slow to moreover return into consideration. The only “flippable” tech I cared astir until that constituent was the Game Boy Advance SP.
But the Razr had thing that different handsets had mostly neglected: it was hot. The creation innovatively revitalized Y2K Futurism popular civilization and is moreover now fondly remembered arsenic a figurehead for the “Chromecore” and “McBling” aesthetics. It seemingly prioritized manner complete function, and that felt desirably caller compared to the emblematic blobs of chunky integrative that had go commonplace (looking astatine you, Nokia 1100). Motorola’s erstwhile caput of design, Jim Wicks, erstwhile told The Verge that the institution had intentionally group retired to create thing that “would trim against everything everyone other was doing pinch handsets astatine the time.”
The razer-thin handset lived up to its namesake. It was conscionable 10mm thick, astir half the size of astir phones astatine that time. It was besides overmuch wider than its competitors, to make capable room for a larger, super-flat keypad that could beryllium utilized without hitting the incorrect keys. The lawsuit was partially constructed from metallic and solid for added rigidity. That, on pinch its backlit and laser-etched aluminum keypad, made it look for illustration thing taken correct retired of a sci-fi movie. Motorola leaned difficult into that vibe, pinch immoderate early Matrix-inspired ads.
It yet didn’t matter that Motorola’s package was really ass, known for being laggy and infuriating to navigate, aliases that galore of the original Razr’s features — specified arsenic its lackluster 0.3-megapixel camera — lagged down what different phones connected the marketplace could offer. It looked, and felt, incredibly premium. Even the eye-watering $500 value (with a two-year contract) didn’t forestall that first, confusingly named “V3” exemplary from trading complete 130 cardinal units, astatine a clip erstwhile different “fun” handsets for illustration the $280 Nokia 3220 costs importantly less.
The luxurious value whitethorn person really boosted the Razr’s status. The original Razr was launched to a crowd of manner journalists, not tech bloggers, astatine the Arken Museum of Modern Art successful Copenhagen. The instrumentality was past cleverly marketed arsenic a personage must-have, promoted by everyone from Paris Hilton to Bono. Meryl Streep utilized 1 arsenic Miranda Priestly successful The Devil Wears Prada, arsenic did Jack Shephard successful play 3 of Lost. You could yet bargain a Razr successful almost immoderate colour to champion lucifer your individual style and identity.
People were particularly thirsty for the pink models, which were supposedly custom-made for celebs for illustration Nicole Richie and Maria Sharapova earlier being made officially disposable to the wide public. The pinkish Razr was rumored to person sold 3 cardinal units successful the UK alone. Rihanna was still utilizing hers each the measurement successful 2014, agelong aft flip phones had fallen retired of favor. The popular civilization relationship runs truthful heavy that Motorola brought backmost Paris Hilton to beforehand the basking pinkish 2024 model.
This cult status, alongside Gen Z’s obsession pinch Y2K “bimbo” and “Barbiecore” culture successful general, helped immortalize the original Razr V3 arsenic the “it girl” telephone of the mid-2000s. And arsenic Y2K fashion has surged successful fame among younger generations, the Razr has erstwhile again go astir intolerable to ignore. The incredibly kitsch 2005 Dolce & Gabbana model was arsenic overmuch an iconic “accessory” arsenic Ugg boots and Juicy Couture tracksuits. There’s moreover a rising trend of Millennials and Gen Z switching backmost to the iconic flip phone arsenic a measurement of detaching from emotion permanently online.
We tin still spot Razr’s celebrity- and fashion-focused advertizing playbook being applied, albeit little successfully, by today’s ascendant telephone makers. Apple debuted the Apple Watch during 2014’s Paris Fashion Week and hired former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve and Burberry main Angela Ahrendts into elder roles. Tune successful to immoderate of Samsung’s telephone motorboat events complete the past fewer years, and you’ll spot plentifulness of attraction connected celebrated faces, from BTS to Sabrina Carpenter. And that curen is particularly noticeable successful its foldable lineup — various artists and online influencers starred successful a bizarre promotional video for the Galaxy Z Flip erstwhile it launched successful 2020, and there’s been a large attraction connected personage trading for consequent exemplary releases since then.
But the nosy facet simply isn’t the aforesaid anymore, and smartphones person progressively stagnated into heavy glassy rectangles since the iPhone appeared connected the scene. Experimental creation is an costly consequence now that apps (which are typically optimized for ample touchscreens) person go the main logic we usage our phones, and manufacturers each adopt the aforesaid universally celebrated features for illustration biometric scanners and wireless charging. Even Motorola hasn’t been capable to replicate its ain occurrence successful repeated attempts to revive the Razr brand. Holding a 2020 Razr didn’t make maine consciousness for illustration a fashionista aliases a drunk statement girl. Mostly, it conscionable made maine consciousness aged and wistful.
The Razr marque yet became a unfortunate of its ain success. Motorola stuck pinch a visually akin creation for astir 4 years crossed the various Razr and Razr2 models, agelong capable to consciousness outdated compared to Apple and Samsung’s “innovative” touchscreen slabs. Now, aft 16 years of phones mostly conforming to the blueprint Apple set, the astir divisive prime US consumers typically look isn’t creation — it’s what colour your matter bubbles should be.
I ne'er did get a Razr, and I don’t really want 1 anymore. The 2024 type looks bully but can’t moreover aspire to beryllium what the V3 erstwhile was. But I’d springiness thing for Motorola, aliases personification else, to spell backmost to making cool-ass dumbphones.
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