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News & ArtsWednesday, April 4, 2012
Life / Tech Farewell, Sweet Razr
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 6:00 AM
- E.S.
- RIP
A week ago, I was one of these people. If I was calling or texting (or sexting), it was being accomplished via a scratched up Motorola Razr V3 that I’d been using for something like five years. No, I was not ashamed.
The old thing still fit neatly in my pocket, slim, unobtrusive, a matte black classic of the form factor wars, once so desirable it was given away in gift bags at the Academy Awards and bought by 50 million people. Yes, that was in 2006. I'm aware that the Razr is not so desirable these days. Still, I loved mine—it was my first real cell phone love—and it worked just fine, provided I kept fresh electrical tape strapped across its back to hold the battery in place.
So I accepted the laughs, the pity, the reminders that "resistance is futile." I accepted the constant archeological interest in my “ancient” device. I accepted my iPhone-having boyfriend’s running Razr impersonation, spoken in a raspy voice: “Please… Just let me die… No more electrical tape… My back’s been thrown out too many times… It’s broken… I don’t want to live… Do… Not… Resuscitate… Let. Me. Die.”
I understood this to be the price of Razr-clinging, and it was a price worth bearing because the Razr-mockers were wrong. They were embracing a culture that had far too quickly tossed this perfect, uniquely pleasing design out the window while speeding off in pursuit of some new, more expensive phone with new, more impressive abilities.
I did not consider myself to need a new, more expensive phone with new, more impressive abilities.
- E.S.
- It was so thin! (But you know what? The new iPhone is actually a bit thinner.)
I was doing just fine with e-mail at my desk rather than in my pocket—suspected I might actually be living a better life for being only semi-technologically-tethered, actually.
No, I did not need a better phone-camera. I already had a camera that was better than the Razr’s “1.3 MP / 8xZOOM.” It was called a camera. It traveled with me in my shoulder bag while the Razr rode around in my pocket, each performing their functions quite well.
People acted like living this way was a huge sacrifice (when they weren’t acting like living this way was something close to self-harm). I didn't agree.
Yes, I still had to tap out texts on T9. In 2012. Yes. And I will repeat, because everyone is always so incredulous: I was willingly on T9 in 2012 (and in all relevant post-T9 years previous). So what?
I liked that T9 offered fewer illusions about what could be accomplished simultaneous to texting (very little, don't even try). I also liked that each letter was work. It gave me a little more time to think.
Beyond the T9 situation, the Razr met all real needs—calls, voice mail, an alarm clock, a calculator every once in a while if I could remember the right button progression to get there.
I did sometimes think about getting a smarter phone. But then I weighed having to buy the occasional $2 roll of electrical tape against having to spring for an upgrade and a monthly data plan. The answer was easy: There were better things to do with my money.
Plus, as mentioned, the Razr was perfection.
It had delivered on the promise Star Trek made to me when I was young, flipping open to allow instant communication with anyone, anywhere. I was grateful for this, and intended to express my gratitude through loyalty. (Q: What kind of person receives everything he has been promised and then demands more? A: A horrible person.)
Not only did the Razr open with the action of a promise kept—it also closed.
Phones do not do this anymore, so maybe there are some people out there who are unaware, but:
- E.S.
- This is a phone that hangs up properly, as depicted in the mural ringing the ground floor of Coit Tower in San Francisco. Coit Tower, which was built in 1933, sits on the former site of the first western telegraph station, which itself was built in 1856. Now, in 2012, I can go to Coit Tower and use my iPhone to tell a blog what a telephone used to look like. But I can't slam down my receiver afterward. Progress!
Back in pre-history, a person hung up a telephone. It was extremely satisfying. You can yell, “I’m hanging up on you don’t ever call me again!” all you want into your smart phone, but you’ll still have to pull the phone away from your face at some point and press a button on a screen to enact an approximation of the ancient art of hanging up.
It is not the same. The Razr, showing far more respect for its heritage and purpose, closed with a soft but definitive smack, the beveled earpiece nesting perfectly in the beveled mouthpiece, the tiny screen coming flush against the T9-enabled keypad, the conversation unquestionably over.
I don’t know how many times I closed and opened my Razr over the years we were together, but another part of the device’s perfection is that my Razr still, to this day, opens and closes with that same perfect smack.
This wondrous smacking is the hallmark sound of “clamshell” phones—the species of phone from which the Razr comes, and over which it unquestionably rules. Other clamshells fail to compete because they are way too literal about being clamshells: fat on both sides, with two roughly equal hemispheres coming together to form a bulbous whole. The Razr's genius was that it nested within itself when it clammed up, becoming thin and sharp and ready to either hide or do communications battle, whichever the next moment required. And because of this unique design, it had that unique smack, one I could probably still pick out among the rest of the smacking clamshell crowd: more metalic, sturdier, declarative in a way that leaves no wiggle room. (All of which probably contributes to the Razr remaining, to this day, the best-selling clamshell phone in the universe.)
In further praise of that no wiggle room: When you think about it, it is really quite an achievement to have produced zero wiggle on a complex electronic device whose success or failure hinges on a hinge. The Razr, of course, accomplished this in the most sensible way possible: by having a great and lasting hinge. It is a hinge that, continuing with the theme, respects its purpose and delivers on its promises.
You can’t do this anymore. You can't buy a new cell phone and expect it to live in a long-term relationship with you and not once come unhinged. You can't have Razr-style dedication and duration. Instead, people now buy phones expecting the relationship to last only 17 months before they face either structural collapse, technical obsolescence, or peer mockery. Who does this most benefit? Not people like me.
So what happened to cause me to become a person not like me?
It wasn't that my Razr finally died. It was that I finally got on Twitter.
I can theoretically Tweet from a Razr V3, I know. But it would be a bit like using a stick to beat whipped cream instead of an electric mixer. And believe me, I tried Twittering from my laptop. That is not what Twitter is about. What Twitter seemed to be especially about, in my case, was reminding me that the demands of the ever-present interface had leapt ahead of my interfacing abilities. Once I'd decided I wanted to Tweet like a real Twitterer, that was it: my Razr resolve started to crumble.
Also, apparently all that iPhone stuff is contested so it's fine to get one now?
Also, I'd begun feeling a little less zen about T9 when, all around me, phones suddenly began taking dictation. Also, smartphone cameras were becoming just as sharp as my camera camera. Also, I was going to visit San Francisco, a city whose layout has always confused me, and having GPS and Google maps and transit apps in my pocket was kinda irresistible. Also, and speaking of my pocket, it turns out the new iPhone is actually slimmer than my old Razr.
So now I have an iPhone 4S.
Now the Razr sits, dark and uncharged, in a place of honor (I will not allow it to be recycled, sorry Umicore). Now I walk around dictating little notes to Siri—and the boyfriend, unable to tease me about the Razr anymore, calls me “the dictator.” Now, to pass boring moments, I ask Siri a lot of questions.
“Siri, where is my boyfriend?”
“I do not know who you are, and I do not know who your boyfriend is.”
“Siri, how do you feel about the Motorola Razr?”
“I am well.”
“Siri, do you know what the Morotola Razr is?”
“I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Siri, do you appreciate what I’ve given up for you?”
“I suppose it’s possible.”
- E.S.
57
The paragraphs about the closing "smack" are a my favorite part of this article. Nicely written.
I'm plugging along with an LG EnV 3. (Clunky flip phone, QWERTY keyboard, etc.) I still have protective stickers on the screen, but the phone has been laughably unreliable, turning off at random several times throughout the day. I stopped using it as an alarm clock when I realized I can't trust it to wake me up. I'm more than ready for a smartphone.
I'm plugging along with an LG EnV 3. (Clunky flip phone, QWERTY keyboard, etc.) I still have protective stickers on the screen, but the phone has been laughably unreliable, turning off at random several times throughout the day. I stopped using it as an alarm clock when I realized I can't trust it to wake me up. I'm more than ready for a smartphone.
56
I have one foot in each world. For work, I've been issued a shiny iPhone which I appreciate for its ability to do maps, email, and Words With Friends. But I also still have my Samsung flip-phone from 2007, which I keep around for its tiny size, sturdiness, and singleness of purpose.
55
"Yes, I still had to tap out texts on T9. In 2012. Yes. And I will repeat, because everyone is always so incredulous: I was willingly on T9 in 2012 (and in all relevant post-T9 years previous). So what?"
Sorry, the Motorola V3 "Razr" did not have T9 predictive text. They had their own inferior implementation of predictive text called iTAP. T9 was a predictive text tool from Like many other things from Motorola it was inferior to other products that were supposed to do the same thing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T9_%28pred…. If you read here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITAP you'll see it was developed by Motorola for their phones. It's a competitor to T9.
Sorry, the Motorola V3 "Razr" did not have T9 predictive text. They had their own inferior implementation of predictive text called iTAP. T9 was a predictive text tool from Like many other things from Motorola it was inferior to other products that were supposed to do the same thing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T9_%28pred…. If you read here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITAP you'll see it was developed by Motorola for their phones. It's a competitor to T9.
54
I loved the Razr form factor but hated the UI, so used other flip phones (mostly Samsung) until the iPhone. I'd love a flip iPhone, though.
52
@50:
That even used to be the case in the personal computer world. I recently bought a new printer, only because my HP LaserJet IIIP finally failed after 20 years. I'll be happy if its successor lasts about 20% as long.
That even used to be the case in the personal computer world. I recently bought a new printer, only because my HP LaserJet IIIP finally failed after 20 years. I'll be happy if its successor lasts about 20% as long.
50
Once upon a time, people would buy a well-crafted product and expect it to last a good long time. If it wore out too soon, people would feel angry and cheated, and would not replace it with another of the same but rather a different and one hopes better-made product.
Later, people were trained out of the expectation of durability, and now buy things fully expecting them to wear out or break in a really very short time.
But that wasn't enough, and now we are being trained to replace products that are not in any way worn out - that are still fully functional - simply because a More Awesome iteration has been developed.
It is totally insane to me that not only will people buy a new phone or a new computer just because it exists. Let alone do so every year or two.
Later, people were trained out of the expectation of durability, and now buy things fully expecting them to wear out or break in a really very short time.
But that wasn't enough, and now we are being trained to replace products that are not in any way worn out - that are still fully functional - simply because a More Awesome iteration has been developed.
It is totally insane to me that not only will people buy a new phone or a new computer just because it exists. Let alone do so every year or two.
49
@45, with enough jiggery-pokery you can set up a Google Voice number to simultaneously ring every line you have or any combination thereof. I've got mine set to ring my office line, mobile phone and iPad all at once, and there's a fabulous feature where you can listen to someone's voicemail as they are leaving it, then pick up if you like. Just like the olden days of screening callers with an answering machine, but better because you can listen in from anywhere. Plus you can record a whole call if you need to, plus get hilariously approximate automatic transcription of voicemails texted or emailed to you with a copy of the message, however you wish.
48
I just lost my beloved Samsung flip top. They were only a few months behind the Razr....the swivel camera was totally boss...
46
It'll help a lot to stop thinking about iPhone, or Android or Win-powered phones as 'phones'. They are not. They are not smartphones, they are not camera phones, they are not phones.
They are pocket computing devices capable of communication in a broad range of formats, one of which happens to be telephony.
The current series of these pocket computers is at least equal in power to the standard desktop PC of ten years ago.
So you didn't get a smartphone. You have a computer.
They are pocket computing devices capable of communication in a broad range of formats, one of which happens to be telephony.
The current series of these pocket computers is at least equal in power to the standard desktop PC of ten years ago.
So you didn't get a smartphone. You have a computer.
45
This post reminds me: God I wish you could set up a single number on multiple phones. I'd love to carry a tiny old phone when I'm out doing anything physical.
Most of the time, I do not need a bulky smartphone.
Most of the time, I do not need a bulky smartphone.
44
If you click the Home & Lock button at the same time, your new iPhone will take a screenshot of it's screen and save it to your Photos.
Instead of whatever you did to get your example of Siri being dumb.
Instead of whatever you did to get your example of Siri being dumb.
41
don't put the phone in your breast pocket anymore. 5 years of slow cooking your nipples is enough.
39
I don't even have a flip phone. This is my phone:
http://www.motorola.com/staticfiles/Admi…
I've thought about upgrading to a smart phone, but right now, I pay about $30 every three months on my prepaid plan. I really don't need my phone for anything more than occassional phone calls and texts. When I need a camera, I have a camera that is not also my phone. When I'm bored, I can play Tetris, which can occupy me for a good long time.
Yeah, I'm a relic. But I'm a content relic. Plus, I'm not expected to respond to e-mails from work immediately, because the boss knows I don't have a smart phone (I don't have internet access at home, either...but that's another story).
http://www.motorola.com/staticfiles/Admi…
I've thought about upgrading to a smart phone, but right now, I pay about $30 every three months on my prepaid plan. I really don't need my phone for anything more than occassional phone calls and texts. When I need a camera, I have a camera that is not also my phone. When I'm bored, I can play Tetris, which can occupy me for a good long time.
Yeah, I'm a relic. But I'm a content relic. Plus, I'm not expected to respond to e-mails from work immediately, because the boss knows I don't have a smart phone (I don't have internet access at home, either...but that's another story).
38
Gus @34, the perceived need for writers to jump in to twitter is particularly baffling to me. How can anyone who is serious about writing think this is a good idea? How can you effectively express a meaningful thought in 140 characters? You'd be hard pressed to keep a decent haiku under 140 characters, much less a coherent thought. Twitter will be the cause of even further dumbing down of America.
/rant
/rant
37
No Razr here, but I'm still sporting a Chocolate 2 from 2008 and half the fun of it is flipping it open and shut, open and shut, open and shut. Maybe someday I'll get a smartphone but for now I'm going to savor the flip phone action while it lasts.
36
LOL. I was a flip phone devotee starting with a StarTAC and ending with a RAZR.
Thankfully, I lost the RAZR somewhere in Volunteer Park, bought an iPhone (begrudgingly), and finally saw the light.
Thankfully, I lost the RAZR somewhere in Volunteer Park, bought an iPhone (begrudgingly), and finally saw the light.
35
Call me antediluvian. I still rock the flip phone, proudly. It was a "disposable" phone I bought at Best Buy years ago for $29. It fits in any pocket, has great reception for phone calls and texts. And that's it. And that's all I want. My DSLR takes far better photos than any phone, and I have it with me a lot of the time. I neither need nor want "apps". I cringe at having to deal with a Siri. I don't want any Angry Birds in my life. The only twitter I want to appreciate comes from the chickadees outside my kitchen window. (Now get off my lawn!)
34
@32, I wish I could find a flipper that offered the junk I've sadly grown used to having on a phone. Movies and tv shows always prefer flips - so much more vivid than pressing a rectangle to one's cheek or dabbing at it with a dainty finger.
I share your view of Twitter, too, but I believe it's a common worry among writers that they'll be forgotten if they don't jump in.
I share your view of Twitter, too, but I believe it's a common worry among writers that they'll be forgotten if they don't jump in.
33
The Dictator! So funny. Great post Eli.
I had an old Nokia that I affectionately called "the toaster" because I could drop it from three floors up on a concrete stairwell. It would break into four pieces, I snaped them back together, and continued my T9ing with no worry of damage to the phone. I also loved how Nokia's always had the same charger connection for all of their phones.
I had an old Nokia that I affectionately called "the toaster" because I could drop it from three floors up on a concrete stairwell. It would break into four pieces, I snaped them back together, and continued my T9ing with no worry of damage to the phone. I also loved how Nokia's always had the same charger connection for all of their phones.
32
I don't have a RAZR, but I'm still carting around a dinosaur flip-phone. I periodically have tech envy of my friends with iPhones, but then I get my minuscule bill, and I see my boyfriend's cell bill, and my tech envy is quashed for another month. I know I'll give in eventually, but haven't yet.
But of everything in your delightful reminiscence, the only thing that bugged me was that you gave up your RAZR because of Twitter. Twitter? Really?!? I fucking hate twitter and everything about it. I despise twitter with an unhealthy passion. I know that I will someday give up my archaic phone and buy an iPhone, but the reason for my change will most certainly not be twitter. Ugh.
But of everything in your delightful reminiscence, the only thing that bugged me was that you gave up your RAZR because of Twitter. Twitter? Really?!? I fucking hate twitter and everything about it. I despise twitter with an unhealthy passion. I know that I will someday give up my archaic phone and buy an iPhone, but the reason for my change will most certainly not be twitter. Ugh.
31
I'm a butchy dyke, and my first cell phone was a pink samsung--I like to mess with other's assumptions. Though it went through the washer and dryer TWICE, it continued to work until I upgraded, three years later. Yup, I still have it. Thanks for the story, Eli.
30
::sighs nostalgically::
2006 was a good year to get my second cellphone (had to switch carriers when I moved, so said farewell to my HEAVY Nokia).
I loved the design of my Samsung flip phone (ugh, can't stand the term "clamshell"), especially because of its Star Trek roots and am still using it, even though the battery is worn out. But it hasn't lost any of its bits and bobs though I've dropped it on the floor too many times to remember. I've only used the camera a couple of times and almost never text, though the possibilities of apps are enticing. [ Oooh, shiny!]
However, I find the new flat phones without a protective cover to be annoying. Here's two reasons why.
#1) I have small hands and the flip nestled in the palm of my hand. Holding something larger WILL hurt.
#2) One Saturday evening, my cellphone rang. The ID showed it was my best friend, so I answered it, but got nothing but faraway sounds. The call didn't disconnect for maaaaaany minutes. When I talked to him a few days later, it turned out he'd been at a friend's, had leaned back against his jacket (his phone being in a pocket) and activated the last number dialled to call me. You can't do that accidentally with a flip phone!
Still, the tendrils of upgrading are probably going to ensnare me in the new few months.
2006 was a good year to get my second cellphone (had to switch carriers when I moved, so said farewell to my HEAVY Nokia).
I loved the design of my Samsung flip phone (ugh, can't stand the term "clamshell"), especially because of its Star Trek roots and am still using it, even though the battery is worn out. But it hasn't lost any of its bits and bobs though I've dropped it on the floor too many times to remember. I've only used the camera a couple of times and almost never text, though the possibilities of apps are enticing. [ Oooh, shiny!]
However, I find the new flat phones without a protective cover to be annoying. Here's two reasons why.
#1) I have small hands and the flip nestled in the palm of my hand. Holding something larger WILL hurt.
#2) One Saturday evening, my cellphone rang. The ID showed it was my best friend, so I answered it, but got nothing but faraway sounds. The call didn't disconnect for maaaaaany minutes. When I talked to him a few days later, it turned out he'd been at a friend's, had leaned back against his jacket (his phone being in a pocket) and activated the last number dialled to call me. You can't do that accidentally with a flip phone!
Still, the tendrils of upgrading are probably going to ensnare me in the new few months.
29
I was resistant to upgrading my phone as well ("If I have e-mail on my phone, I'll never be able to get away", and all that, but probably it was the expense that bugged me more). Finally made the switch to a smart phone last October. And I am continually amazed at the damn thing and how much it does, and how many things it replaces (camera, phone, music player, gps, e-mail, white noise machine).
It's especially useful when I'm traveling. The white noise app is handy in hotels... When I fly, it lets me check the status of my next flight while I'm on the tarmac and look up alternatives if I've missed it. When I'm somewhere unfamiliar and want to know where's a good place to eat. And on... Once I got the thing, I was actually annoyed that I hadn't made the switch earlier...
It's especially useful when I'm traveling. The white noise app is handy in hotels... When I fly, it lets me check the status of my next flight while I'm on the tarmac and look up alternatives if I've missed it. When I'm somewhere unfamiliar and want to know where's a good place to eat. And on... Once I got the thing, I was actually annoyed that I hadn't made the switch earlier...
28
I think I still my mothers pink razr which was then passed to my father before the family (family plan) upgraded to keyboard phones.
I used a Nokia 3285 (brick kind w/extendable antenna) for around 2002-2007. No colour screen, no vga camera, no this, no that. It was my first cell and all the family (4 of us) got the same phone. I dropped the sucker many times and all I got was a small crack on the removable faceplate. I just replaced it with the faceplate of my mothers phone at the time when she decided to upgrade.
It lasted until a 2007 trip to florida and I found out that while (iirc) could call others I couldn't receive any calls. All calls coming to me and vis versa would go straight to voicemail. And it happened again a year later when my dad was using a hand-me-down (not more than 3 or 4 years old) phone from my mother. Damn you Verizon.
Well I've now got an LG Cosmos keyboard slider which should last until verizon decides that I shouldn't be allowed to make calls to anyone anymore.
I used a Nokia 3285 (brick kind w/extendable antenna) for around 2002-2007. No colour screen, no vga camera, no this, no that. It was my first cell and all the family (4 of us) got the same phone. I dropped the sucker many times and all I got was a small crack on the removable faceplate. I just replaced it with the faceplate of my mothers phone at the time when she decided to upgrade.
It lasted until a 2007 trip to florida and I found out that while (iirc) could call others I couldn't receive any calls. All calls coming to me and vis versa would go straight to voicemail. And it happened again a year later when my dad was using a hand-me-down (not more than 3 or 4 years old) phone from my mother. Damn you Verizon.
Well I've now got an LG Cosmos keyboard slider which should last until verizon decides that I shouldn't be allowed to make calls to anyone anymore.
27
@23 (&@4): That's why I haven't done it yet—the freaky factor.
Because, didn't I read in the manual that when you tell or ask Siri something, it's sent to Apple HQ for processing, answering, and... the freaky part... long-term storing? Not sure I want Apple to be holding a map of all my relationships.
Because, didn't I read in the manual that when you tell or ask Siri something, it's sent to Apple HQ for processing, answering, and... the freaky part... long-term storing? Not sure I want Apple to be holding a map of all my relationships.
26
Yes, I too had to give up my phone for an iPhone. A year later and I still want to fold it in 1/2 so I can stick it in my pocket.
25
This brings back the good old days. It's a lot cheaper to just get the floor model for their pay-as-you-go phones. They're about the same quality as Razrs without all the ridiculous signaling of an idevice.
24
I love this. Just this weekend my husband and I finally upgraded our phones, and mine was a purple razr that had reached the same back-falling-off state. It was a great phone for a long time, I think it deserves a eulogy. @19 -- I got a Samsung smart phone and all my iPhone nation family is pointing and laughing.
Except -- I like having a little keyboard I can use if I want, because seriously, I hate typing more than a word or two on that cramped little screen. I like not having to change carriers (T-Mobile). And I liked not having to pay a bunch of extra money. I'm not just too dumb to think about maybe getting an iPhone, people. I thought about it and I made a different choice for good reasons.
This iPhone triumphalism has got to stop. It seems kind of creepy, actually. Like our alien overlords are going to use them to issue the mind control rays.
Except -- I like having a little keyboard I can use if I want, because seriously, I hate typing more than a word or two on that cramped little screen. I like not having to change carriers (T-Mobile). And I liked not having to pay a bunch of extra money. I'm not just too dumb to think about maybe getting an iPhone, people. I thought about it and I made a different choice for good reasons.
This iPhone triumphalism has got to stop. It seems kind of creepy, actually. Like our alien overlords are going to use them to issue the mind control rays.
23
@4 - You can actually do all that through Siri. Tell Siri who you are, then say, "My boyfriend is ____" and as long as that person is in your address book, it'll remember. Then if you and the BF have Find My Friends turned on, Eli's example of "Where's my boyfriend" will work. It's freaky.
22
The single best thing about smartphones is watching young folks fall off of curbs while fondling theirs. All day long, all over the city, gadunk, stabumble, whoops.
21
Beautiful.
But I had absolutely horrible experiences with the Razr. I went through two of them and both of them deteriorated quickly. After just a few months phone calls became unintelligible static.
But I had absolutely horrible experiences with the Razr. I went through two of them and both of them deteriorated quickly. After just a few months phone calls became unintelligible static.
20
@ 19, to be fair, there are actually excellent deals to be had for smart phones and data plans. (Not for iPhones or anything running 4G, though.) If you can afford regular cell phone service, you can afford these plans, and they're not shitty deals either.
That's not a sales pitch, just an observation. I got along with a regular flip phone until last fall, when mine fell in the toilet and my wife got a new job in the same week. We decided to upgrade our phones then.
We all should try to be satisfied with what we have and not believe we need the latest and greatest and run in a fucking rat race for status, which is what drives these trends. And, as you say, really only benefits the phone makers and service providers.
That's not a sales pitch, just an observation. I got along with a regular flip phone until last fall, when mine fell in the toilet and my wife got a new job in the same week. We decided to upgrade our phones then.
We all should try to be satisfied with what we have and not believe we need the latest and greatest and run in a fucking rat race for status, which is what drives these trends. And, as you say, really only benefits the phone makers and service providers.
19
It was my first phone, too. Loved it. Pissed when T-Mobile no longer supported it (meaning when mine needed to be replaced via insurance, they sent me a cheap Nokia).
It's amazing to me that everyone believes they (and everyone else) need an iPhone. I find it totally obnoxious, too.
I realize this may shock some people, but I can't afford an iPhone and I don't need a smart phone (I am disabled and unable to work and pretty much have a laptop on my lap at all times) but occasionally I DO NEED a cell phone. I now have a trac phone - a Motorola, but not a RAZR. I pay for talk and text and live with having to deal with a crappy phone. As for my laptop - it's a 2006 macbook (I was working and not sick or disabled when I bought it) and it's a been nothing but a piece of shit since I bought it - with 5 HD replacements (the first was 4 months after buying the brand new computer - and all the Genuises had to say to me about it was "did you back it up?") - IT WAS FOUR MONTHS OLD.
We are all suckers in the tyranny of technology and it's dumbing us all down while corporations rake in billions in profit.
Not everyone can afford an iPhone and the tyranny of technology with regard to smart phones and data plans simply widens the gap between classes in this country.
It's amazing to me that everyone believes they (and everyone else) need an iPhone. I find it totally obnoxious, too.
I realize this may shock some people, but I can't afford an iPhone and I don't need a smart phone (I am disabled and unable to work and pretty much have a laptop on my lap at all times) but occasionally I DO NEED a cell phone. I now have a trac phone - a Motorola, but not a RAZR. I pay for talk and text and live with having to deal with a crappy phone. As for my laptop - it's a 2006 macbook (I was working and not sick or disabled when I bought it) and it's a been nothing but a piece of shit since I bought it - with 5 HD replacements (the first was 4 months after buying the brand new computer - and all the Genuises had to say to me about it was "did you back it up?") - IT WAS FOUR MONTHS OLD.
We are all suckers in the tyranny of technology and it's dumbing us all down while corporations rake in billions in profit.
Not everyone can afford an iPhone and the tyranny of technology with regard to smart phones and data plans simply widens the gap between classes in this country.
18
@11 I had the same experience with my StarTAC. It recovered from a 2 minute immersion in 4 feet of water. I left it in my car in the hot sun to dry it out. I don't think my iPhone would survive the same.
16
From what I've been reading, there have been some major technology breakthroughs that wil shortly make eveything we now use obsolete. Change or die.
15
hehe nice post
i had to track a new razr down for my mom when her last one broke, it's the only phone she'll use
i had to track a new razr down for my mom when her last one broke, it's the only phone she'll use
13
I keep my old magenta razr in a drawer because I loved it so much. When T-Mobile dropped me (I moved away and roamed too much) and I had to switch carriers, I chose the only flip phone I could get and used it until I dropped it in water. I love my iphone, but still kind of want my old razr back.
12
If someone calls a cellphone in a landfill and there's no one there to hear it, does it go to voicemail?
11
The RAZR was just an empty shell compared to the best clamshell phone ever: the Motorola StarTAC. That was a beautiful phone, both in form and function. It made calls in places where lesser phones just whimpered for mercy. It was solid, yet light weight. It lived through ANYTHING. Get it wet? Stick it into 4 socks and put it in the dryer for 20 minutes. You dropped it so the screen stopped working? Drop it again; that will fix it. It had a slight bend near the hinge which was its fulcrum when you balanced it, open, on a table top. It would only touch the table on that minuscule point, so you could spin it like a penny and it would spin for minutes, practically frictionlessly.
It did one thing, but it did that one thing better than any before or since. THAT was the phone.
It did one thing, but it did that one thing better than any before or since. THAT was the phone.
10
I used to carry around a RAZR and an iPod everywhere I went: to school, to work, on the train. Then I got an iPhone and it replaced both with a single device. Pretty easy decision, actually. I don't understand the RAZR love--the interface seemed rather horrible to me.
9
@ 5, 1996?
@ Eli, I got to the point when you started talking about hanging up, but had to quit there. I hope you got some catharsis out of this. And I hope you enjoy whatever you replaced your Razr with.
@ Eli, I got to the point when you started talking about hanging up, but had to quit there. I hope you got some catharsis out of this. And I hope you enjoy whatever you replaced your Razr with.
7
I didn't give up my beloved late-model StarTAC (heir to the original StarTAC, the first clamshell phone) until I think maybe early 2011. I still have it in a little shrine in my office. That thing was a rock.
6
I almost couldn't stop laughing at the thought of your boyfriend imitating your phone. "just..let me die!" I had tears in my eyes.
I have the Droid razr and I love it and in a year I'll switch to the latest and greatest and I'll love that too. I'm not big on nostalgia.
I have the Droid razr and I love it and in a year I'll switch to the latest and greatest and I'll love that too. I'm not big on nostalgia.
4
Go to the Contacts application and edit your card so it knows who your family members are. That way when you ask it to text your boyfriend, it can.
Also, if you need to get that hanging-up-the-phone experience, I recommend the Bluetooth rotary set (an actual rotary phone, hollowed out and hacked to include a bluetooth module inside it) here:
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9803
Also, if you need to get that hanging-up-the-phone experience, I recommend the Bluetooth rotary set (an actual rotary phone, hollowed out and hacked to include a bluetooth module inside it) here:
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9803
2
I understand the appreciation for the Razr's form factor. I didn't have one (have not had a good Motorola phone experience since my trusty StarTAC in the early 2000's), but had the LG VX8700, the stainless steel Korean equivalent. Best phone I ever had. Kept it until Verizon finally got the iPhone.
1
Feel your pain. I was forced to abandon my razr due to carrier change. Still the best phone I've ever had.
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