Motorola Mobility, the smartphone manufacturer now owned by Lenovo, is really teasing us with a new video that strongly hints we’re about to see the return of a very popular phone — the iconic Motorola Razr. Set in a 90s school, the short video shows kids using the classic flip phone, while a teacher looks on enviously. The description text reads, “Flip back to the Razr days to yesteryear and get ready for the future.”
Whatever Lenovo is planning will be revealed on June 9, which is when Lenovo Tech World takes place in San Francisco, where a variety of new devices are likely to be shown off. Is it possible the Razr brand will return, and be stamped on a new flip phone, complete with classic Razr styling and a virtual representation of that unusual laser-etched keypad?
That’s what we want to believe based on the nostalgic video, but it’s pure speculation, as it could be interpreted a number of ways. The first is, obviously, a new Razr phone is coming. While the Razr name may be synonymous with flip phones, the name has also long been attached to more modern touchscreen phones without a flip. Flip phones themselves, while still produced, have limited appeal, and it’d be a risk — no matter how cool a modern reinterpretation of the Razr flip would be — to introduce a new one.
The second, and sadly more likely, interpretation is this is just Lenovo’s way of drawing on Motorola’s heritage to show how influential it has been in the mobile industry. Third, and perhaps the most unlikely, is Motorola and Lenovo are making a retro, phone-centric teen-school drama along the same lines as Beverly Hills 90210.
While we want a surprise from Lenovo, we’re cautious because the Razr name lost its luster over the years, having been used on less-than-exciting phones prior to Motorola’s sale to Google in 2012. Until we find out all the official details, have another watch of the video above, and see just how cool flip phones can look.
