Nostalgic Phone Relaunch Events

Recently, I was invited to Los Angeles by Motorola for the latest launch of its iconic Motorola RAZR smartphone. The event was billed as the unveiling of “a reinvented icon,” with very few details provided beyond that. When I arrived at the event, large screens played several ads from 2004 for the original RAZR device, giving visitors a nostalgic look at where the phone started.

At the event, guests and I were lead into the venue in small groups where we saw a set-up of freezers with ice sculptures in them as we entered. They contained a variety of memorabilia from the heyday of the original RAZR, including studded belts, pink cowboy hats, and ice sculptures of people with old RAZR phones pressed to their ears. We walked through this room and looked at all the sculptures in the freezers while we could hear a heavy bass in the distance.

Once we passed through the next barrier, we entered an outdoor area with a DJ, hors d’oeuvres, and bars with signature cocktails. Eventually, executives from Motorola US and Verizon came onstage to announce the new RAZR -- this time a foldable smartphone that is available through an exclusive partnership with Verizon that will be available to consumers within the United States. So far, only a US launch has been announced in January 2020, with no word as to when the rest of the world could see it. After the announcement, Diplo came onstage to perform a set for all the attendees.

Following the announcement and surprise performance, Motorola opened a new room for all the attendees to try its new device out. Some attendees even brought their old RAZR models for comparisons. I got to play with the phone and try it out, and unlike some of the other foldables currently on the market, the RAZR lays flat when unfolded with no crease and functions like any other smartphone. The attendant there also showed me that you could use the classic Motorola double twist feature to open the camera, even when closed, which means you can use the 16MP back camera to take selfies using the smaller screen on the outside of the phone instead of the 5MP front camera the phone features when opened.

I also learned about how the plastic screen opened differently than the other foldables available and was flush when closed into the iconic RAZR clamshell. On the outside screen, I learned how you can respond to messages with voice commands and even have a video call without even opening the phone. The signature lip on the bottom of the RAZR still exists, but like everything else about the phone, with new technology -- this time in the form of a fingerprint sensor.

Overall, I had an amazing time at Motorola's RAZR launch in Los Angeles and felt the phone was a new and innovative take on an iconic device.