Flip phones like the Motorola RAZR once ruled the world. They’re sleek, small, and can hang up with the flick of your wrist, which is simply one of the most satisfying things ever.
However, the need for larger screens eventually killed flip phones (and sliders and other forms), leaving only ubiquitous phones like “tablets.”
But even more ironically, it is the demand for larger screens that has brought flip phones back to life in devices such as the Moto RAZR 2019 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.
The foreign website GSMArena.com recently inventoried folding mobile phones.
▲Motorola StarTAC series
Flip phones came out decades ago, and Moto got involved. Motorola MicroTAC and StarTAC are representative products in early flip phones, in China, their name is “palm treasure”, at that time, the design advantages of folding form are obvious, protect the keyboard from accidental presses, move the earpiece (or microphone) to a more ergonomic position, and even protect the screen from scratches.
Of course, there are some disadvantages. The machinery is complex and more difficult to manufacture than a mobile phone in a straight form. It is easy to break or fold some of the cable and it is easy to damage. In addition, this design will also make the phone thicker.
Worst of all, you can’t see the screen when folded up. How do you know who’s calling? Or missed a call or received a message? The vendor’s solution was to add a second screen, large enough to convey important information (and perhaps display a clock). But this adds additional cost and complexity.
Sagem MC 959
The flipped keyboard protector is a branch of folding phones that already has some creative uses, let’s look at a few examples. Sagem turned it into a kind of stand that could support the phone. But in the era of black-and-white mobile phones, there is no such thing as broadcasting video or video calls, what is the point of doing so?
One of our favorite clamshell uses was Ericsson’s first smartphone, which covered part of the touchscreen with a clamshell. The keyboard also has a place to put it, it can be turned over for use or even completely separated.
The Ericsson R380 was the first phone to be called a “smartphone” and the first to run the Symbian system. Sony Ericsson later used this design for its P-Series Symbian UIQ devices.
▲Ericsson R380 Sony Ericsson P800 Sony Ericsson P900
Motorola made a similar design. Moto even found a way to eliminate the need for a second screen, and it’s as simple as opening a small window on the flip cover.
▲Motorola A6188, etc
Most flip phones have only one hinge, but what if there are two? Nokia took full advantage of this by turning the N92 and N93 into camcorders — the phone’s body was a grip, while the screen tilted to allow the camera on the side to shoot ahead.
With such a large camera module space, Nokia can plug a 3x optical zoom module into the N93. Of course, Nokia isn’t the first or only company to make double-hinged phones. For a while, this design was popular on phones with TV capabilities, as it allowed you to adjust the screen angle for a comfortable viewing experience.
Nokia N93 LG G7100 Siemens SF65 Sagem myMobileTV 2
There are other ways to entertain flip phones – Sony Ericsson radios, for example, put speakers and playback controls outside. It even has an FM radio receiver, although it requires wired headphones as an antenna.
Motorola’s signature clamshell design includes a thick chin at the bottom and usually houses a sturdy speaker.
▲Sony Ericsson R306 Sony Ericsson W380 Samsung Convoy 2
Text messages and emails are important for business people. So, having a QWERTY keyboard can really speed up typing. But where to put it? Behind it, of course, is the flipping mechanism. Nokia did this with some interesting designs.
▲Nokia 6800・Nokia 6810・Nokia 6820・Nokia E70
However, when touchscreen smartphones replace feature phones, the demand for flip phones disappears. Manufacturers try to innovate form factors in several ways, usually QWERTY keyboards.
Manufacturers have experimented with some quirky designs, such as the Motorola Backflip backflip, which has a full keyboard on one side and a screen on the other — both of which are exposed like an upside-down laptop.
▲Motorola BACKFLIP・Alcatel OT-808・Samsung T559 Return・Samsung DoubleTime I857
Under the offensive of full-touch screen mobile phones, soon only a few eccentric manufacturers remained. Samsung Galaxy Golden and several Philips products still have an old-fashioned clamshell design, but run Android. LG also tried Wine Smart, but quickly gave up.
These are usually expensive, not widely used, and seem to have only become popular in China, the representative being Samsung’s W series.
▲Samsung W series mobile phones
Recently, HMD, which holds the Nokia brand, tried to capitalize on the nostalgia factor and developed the Nokia 2720 Flip into a KaiOS-enabled phone. The latter is a system that has been well received in India.
▲Nokia 2720 Flip, etc
As we mentioned before, flip phones are back, but the top few of them have folding screens and become the highest-end devices.
Samsung Z Filp
▲Huawei’s folding screen mobile phone has been updated three times
The folding screen is not yet a mature technology, but with its help, the mobile phone has indeed ushered in a form innovation in 15 years. The driving force behind this is still people’s continuous pursuit of large-size screens.