5 weird old phones that should totally get the Razr treatment

Motorola made history by revealing the first foldable phone that actually looks kinda cool. As you may have heard, the Razr has risen like a Phoenix with an ultra-thin, flip-phone design that was the coolest thing about 15 years ago.

If you're old enough to remember a world before 2007, phone makers had some absolutely wild ideas before smartphones took over the world. Phones really felt different.

Here are some other classic (or just plain weird) phones that deserve the Razr refresh treatment, even if they weren't especially great the first time.

T-Mobile Sidekick

This was as cool as phones got back in the day.Credit: Chris Polk/FilmMagic

Back in 2002, the Sidekick was one of the sleekest phones anyone had ever seen. Before touchscreens took over, any phone that had a full keyboard had an automatic advantage over everything else. The texting revolution was in full swing, and you needed as much control over your typing as you could get.

T-Mobile released a 4G version of the Sidekick in 2011, but phones have obviously come a long way in the past eight years. It technically got a refresh in the form of shoes in 2018, but we need a real Sidekick revival. Give it a bigger and better screen with modern accoutrements and a full keyboard. While we're all used to touch keyboards by now, there's no replacement for a good, tangible set of keys to type on.

Would we buy it? Maybe not. But we'd appreciate it nonetheless. For now, all we have is the official Sidekick website, which tells us "You never know when the phone that changed everything will make a comeback!"

LG Chocolate

If you won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to Boyz II Men.Credit: Joe Coomber/Getty Images

Before the most likely point of failure on fancy phones was a flimsy foldable screen, you had to worry about wearing out sliding parts and hinges. The LG Chocolate was one of the more flashy sliding phones of its era, with a touch-sensitive directional input on the front that you could use when you didn't want to slide up to reveal the keypad.

Mashable Light SpeedWant more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories?Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter.By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Thanks for signing up!

Oh, and it could play music from both WMA and MP3 files. Talk about versatility!

Later iterations would introduce a clamshell design and even a touchscreen by the end, but there's something cool in a very 2006 way about the default Chocolate design. Slap a modern touchscreen on that thing and it'll be golden.

Nokia N-Gage

There's a reason mobile gaming didn't take off in the U.S. until smartphones came around.Credit: L. Cohen/WireImage

Of every old phone on this list, Nokia's delightfully ill-considered N-Gage is probably the least deserving of a modern re-release. It was unequivocally a bad device that tried to be both a handheld gaming console and a cell phone in 2003, while being terrible at both.

SEE ALSO:Everything you need to know about Motorola's new foldable Razr

But still, with the prevalence of mobile gaming now, putting physical gaming inputs on a phone isn't the worstidea of all time. The basic idea of the N-Gage could be reimagined as something sort of compelling in a modern context.

All I ask is that any new version of the N-Gage retain the thing where you had to hold it up to your head like a taco to talk on the phone. It became so much of an internet meme that Nokia fixed it for the updated N-Gage QD model, but the world needs it back.

Motorola Pebl

The Motorola Pebl was a neat little phone.Credit: Billy Farrell/Patrick McMullan via Getty Image

Since Motorola brought back the Razr, they might as well bring back one of the many other phones from that era they made with goofy, four-letter names. While the Slvr and Rokr are quality candidates, we've gotta hand it to to the Pebl. Yes, they named it that because it kind of looks like a pebble.

It wasn't the most remarkable flip-phone when it launched in 2005, but it did offer some limited voice commands several years before we were introduced to Siri. It also just looks cool. I want to hold it in my hand. If Motorola released a modern take on it, I would at least play with one for about 20 minutes.

Any iPhone from before 2016

Beautiful simplicity.Credit: Jason Kempin/WireImage

This is a harrowing fact to consider, but one must consider it anyway: The iPhone is now 12 years old. It's the same age as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which just got a reboot of its own. That means Apple could probably make a quick buck by retrofitting some old iPhones for modern use.

Honestly, a new version of the old iPhone with Apple's inherent sleekness and without modern-day software bloat could be kind of appealing. Most of all, this could be Apple's way to bring back the headphone jack.

This would also be a good opportunity to sell an iPhone for less than $800 with smaller screens for people who don't have gargantuan hands.

最新评论