If you’ve been glued to any and all information about Motorola’s folding Razr throwback, today is blessed indeed. On top of pre-orders being officially available for the device, Motorola also dumped a slew of videos from unboxings to device guides. Most importantly, however, is the fact that just as he did for a failing BlackBerry back in the bad old days, superstar producer / all-around dirtbag hero Diplo is shilling for the company on his Instagram, and it's a good guess that the Razr will find its way all over the cursed Grammys show airing tonight.
The facts —
The Razr was made available for pre-sale today for the not-insignificant price of $1,499, with early buyers getting delivery targets of February 6. The device comes in one configuration (128GB) and will only be available on Verizon. Apparently demand was high enough for the devices that Motorola is now showing February 12 for some arrival dates (if you ordered, be sure to check your email notification).
Not quite perfect —
One interesting tidbit from the videos Motorola released: in the "Caring for razr" clip on YouTube, the company says that its folding display won't quite be as flawless as it claimed during its launch event. "Screen is made to bend; Bumps and lumps are normal" reads a lower-third bit of text as an animated phone unfurls itself. As you probably know, "bumps and lumps" were an issue with Galaxy Fold screens that led to many of the devices breaking and an official delay and re-release from Samsung.
A promising camera, a fascinating box —
Screen terrors notwithstanding, the camera on the Razr looks somewhat decent (Diplo's video quality seems pretty okay?) and the company is copping some of Apple's ideas with "portrait lighting" modes. The video also shows some novel uses for the device's second screen (especially if you have kids). Additionally, an unboxing video for the phone shows the included wired earbuds and the use of the box as a kind of phone speaker / amplifier, which is nothing if not interesting.
It's unclear whether any of this novelty justifies the phone's price, but it's undeniable that I want a Razr for reasons even I don't understand.
