Moto Resurrecting the Razr

[CoolRich59]

I don't know if this is old news, but I just learned that Motorola is resurrecting the Razr in the next couple of months.

That was a terrific phone. One of my sons and another friend both hung on to theirs for years before retiring them. It will be very interesting to see how the new iteration does.

Here's a review of it from the WaPo technology reporter: https://youtu.be/dOe1gy4b9Jc

 

[Amethyst]

I think it costs far too much, compared with other Moto offerings.

I'm in the market for a replacement for my 2015 Moto G3, trying to decide between the G7 and the G7 Power. Either can be had for less than $250 during the special Thanksgiving sale days.

I don't know if this is old news, but I just learned that Motorola is resurrecting the Razr in the next couple of months.

That was a terrific phone. One of my sons and another friend both hung on to theirs for years before retiring them. It will be very interesting to see how the new iteration does.

Here's a review of it from the WaPo technology reporter: https://youtu.be/dOe1gy4b9Jc

 

[Aerides]

that's a nice looking phone but a crazy price

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Well, it's a touch screen so outside of it being a "flip phone", I see zero similarities with the original Razr. I will stick with my Moto (actually Lenovo) that costs about $150 new out of the box.

 

[CoolRich59]

that's a nice looking phone but a crazy price

Yeah. $1,500 is kind of eye popping.

 

[ERD50]

Huge price, but a very clever design. So it depends on if the "pretty people" and movers/shakers see it as a status symbol. But that folding screen slides around the curve in the hinge, so it doesn't make such a tight radius. I do miss the "flip" part of my old flip phone. Maybe price comes into more popular territory in a few years. After all, the "brick" phone sold for $4,000 (with about 1/2 hour talk time!). I saw this yesterday:

https://www.anandtech.com/show/15106/motorola-brings-back-the-razr-flipphone-in-2020

-ERD50

 

[pb4uski]

I think it costs far too much, compared with other Moto offerings.

I'm in the market for a replacement for my 2015 Moto G3, trying to decide between the G7 and the G7 Power. Either can be had for less than $250 during the special Thanksgiving sale days.

We bought G7 Play at BestBuy on sale for $170 back in September.

 

[Amethyst]

Haven't quite figured out what the Play's advantages are, over the other models.

We bought G7 Play at BestBuy on sale for $170 back in September.

 

[Mdlerth]

Also, adopt Uhura's red miniskirt as regulation BDU for women in the military

In my flip phone days I always wondered why none of the big manufacturers offered a phone that resembled a Star Trek communicator. All they had to do was cover the popup with a sheet of that perforated gold foil, add the signature "skreek skreek" sound effect, and they would've sold one to every sci-fi nerd in the world.

And there are millions of us.

 

[Amethyst]

But only if the men wear kilts.

All these short skirts will sure look funny with regulation-issue underwear.

 

[JoeWras]

I'm staying out of the Star Trek fashion wars

Haven't quite figured out what the Play's advantages are, over the other models.

Cheaper due to slight de-contenting.

I'm a fan of the Moto G series unlocked phones. For a very good price, you get a decent phone. You could buy one every year and be equivalent to buying the high end Samsung or iPhone every 5 years. We end up replacing about every 2 to 3 years due to dropping, breaking or having issues*.

None of the G series have NFC. I don't really care. It is one of those "wouldn't it be nice" to use Google Pay. Oh well. Our local sports arena now is all E-ticket, but they'll still scan a bar code. NFC is nice for this purpose, but not needed.

The "play" series have slightly less screen space. Our experience has been that they don't seem to have as good reception or GPS as the regular series either. They seem to try to run the battery longer and that may be part of the reason.

* - GPS on the Play models seem to fail after a while (2 years). I'm not the only one noticing this according to the support forums. I suspect it is the power management and GPS needs the power they try to ration out aggressively on the Play. With an older battery this may become an issue. Just my guess.

 

[Amethyst]

Thanks, interesting points.

My only reason for replacing my 4-year-old Moto G is that the battery runs dry <2 hours after charging! I can keep it charged up in the car, but it's not very useful for travel.

So my logic would be, the Moto G Power has a huge battery, why not buy it? Well, the (cheaper) regular Moto G has a bigger screen, nicer display and twice the storage.

I guess it's a win, either way.

(This sidebar doesn't help the OP, but I surmise OP wasn't actually looking for "help" )

Cheaper due to slight de-contenting.

I'm a fan of the Moto G series unlocked phones. For a very good price, you get a decent phone. You could buy one every year and be equivalent to buying the high end Samsung or iPhone every 5 years. We end up replacing about every 2 to 3 years due to dropping, breaking or having issues*.

None of the G series have NFC. I don't really care. It is one of those "wouldn't it be nice" to use Google Pay. Oh well. Our local sports arena now is all E-ticket, but they'll still scan a bar code. NFC is nice for this purpose, but not needed.

The "play" series have slightly less screen space. Our experience has been that they don't seem to have as good reception or GPS as the regular series either. They seem to try to run the battery longer and that may be part of the reason.

* - GPS on the Play models seem to fail after a while (2 years). I'm not the only one noticing this according to the support forums. I suspect it is the power management and GPS needs the power they try to ration out aggressively on the Play. With an older battery this may become an issue. Just my guess.

 

[pb4uski]

Haven't quite figured out what the Play's advantages are, over the other models.

We bought the Play because it is a little smaller... 5.7" vs 6.1" IIRC... comfortably fits in my pants pocket were the G7 and G7 Power do not.... that 0.4" is enough to make a difference to me.

The GPS was working fine on my 3 year old G4 Play.

 

[JoeWras]

We bought the Play because it is a little smaller... comfotrably fits in my pants pocket were the G7 and G7 Power do not.

The GPS was working fine on my 3 year old G4 Play.

Plays usually have a little less storage.

Hey, I'm not against Plays. They are a super great value. I actually like the larger size of the regular model. Haven't tried the Power version yet.

 

[Amethyst]

I would like a slightly larger screen than my G3 has. If the G7 isn't too much bigger, it should still fit in my little neck bag, where I carry it when in tour mode. If not, I'll get a phone lanyard.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

I think it costs far too much, compared with other Moto offerings.

I'm in the market for a replacement for my 2015 Moto G3, trying to decide between the G7 and the G7 Power. Either can be had for less than $250 during the special Thanksgiving sale days.

We selected the G7 power for halofires elderly Dad. He loves it. It's huge in my gand compared to my LG g6 but as far as screen size for visually impaired, buttin accessibility, easy to use, volume it's a winner. He uses it a ton on Wi-Fi, rarely has to charge it and when he does he says it charges really fast compared to his older iPhone.

 

[Amethyst]

G7 Power has dropped to $179.99 on Amazon. But, several negative customer comments say their phone will not work with Verizon.

 

[JoeWras]

G7 Power has dropped to $179.99 on Amazon. But, several negative customer comments say their phone will not work with Verizon.

I don't trust the phones on Amazon. A lot of them are grey market.

Wait for a sale at Best Buy and get one directed for the American market.

 

[ERD50]

I don't trust the phones on Amazon. A lot of them are grey market.

Wait for a sale at Best Buy and get one directed for the American market.

Yes, I bought an unlocked, Amazon purchased MOTO G4 for DW. I wanted to make sure she was set up the same as mine, and as I went through the menus I found it had a Software Channel: “attmx” (AT&T branded, Mexico?), while my G4 is “retus” (retail US?).

Seems we don't get the same updates, and some update notices for her were in Spanish. Not sure it's a big deal, but I'd rather not wonder about it. I suggest everyone verify that the phone is for the market they live in. I googled, no way (or at least no easy way), to change the Software Channel.

-ERD50

 

[dirtbiker]

Cool looking phone, and I really did love my old Razr phone... But the price tag solidly puts me in the 'no' category for this one. At this point, my two main concerns in a phone are battery life and price. This one appears to fail at both. My next phone will be a Moto G7 Power, or maybe the next version that comes out if it has even better battery life. I'm done with expensive flagship phone models.

 

[Freedom56]

We have still have our Moto G6 Plus and they are good enough. Everyone is going to copy the new Razr design and just like last time people will grow tired of them.