Motorola’s iconic flip phone ‘Razr’ set to make comeback with ‘foldable’ design

Remember the classic flip phone Moto Razr? Motorola is reportedly planning to revive the classic phone from yesteryear but in a new design altogether.

According to a WSJ report, Lenovo, Motorola's parent company, is going to re-launch the phone with a foldable design at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) next month. Ahead of the launch, Motorola has also teamed up with US telecom operator Verizon.

The latest report comes months after Lenovo acquired patent for a phone that could be folded inwards - similar to Samsung's foldable phone and Royole Corp's FlexPai.

Last year Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing had confirmed Motorola's classic Razr series will soon make a comeback.

"With the new technology, particularly foldable screens, I think you will see more and more innovation on our smartphone design," he had said.

"So hopefully what you just described [the Motorola Razr brand] will be developed or realised very soon."

Nostalgia and commerce

Companies often use nostalgia as part of their marketing tactics to gain wide attention. For instance, instant digital cameras like Polaroid are selling like hot cakes despite availability of digital cameras and high-end smartphones.

Prior to Lenovo, HMD Global has launched classic phones from the past such as Nokia 3310 and Nokia 8110. Both the phones have become quite popular despite stripped down features. Nokia last year revealed it had shipped over 70 million units of its 3310 redux.