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Comment by dijit | Hacker News Reader

Nobody talking about the price? $1,500 is more than any base iPhone- that's a really heavy price tag for a brand that has been dormant for so long.

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What do you mean by dormant? Motorola has been continuously making smartphones, and they are arguably one of the better low to mid-range choices in the United States. They’re owned by electronics giant Lenovo.

Motorola is far from dormant - they never stopped making phones, I had a Motorola smart phone as recently as last year. Verizon is currently offering five different Motorola phones on their website.

Yea, they still advertise and have tons of devices in retail locations. None of the big tech reviewers cover any Motorola products though; which is odd. When was the last time you saw Linus or Dave2D cover one? I think Marcus is the only big YouToober I've seen do reviews on them.

For the last 5 years or so I think Motorola has consistently had some of the best budget/mid-tier phones. If I'm not able to get a deal on my next phone, I'll probably get one of their $200 phones that is 90% as good as an $800 phone.

When the original Razr first game out the price was also ridiculously. $1500 in 2000s money. The design was literally cutting edge. Laser cut keypad as sharp as a razor. By mid-2000 it had been commodified and you could get one free on most 2 year contracts.

They only revived that trend in the Razr, but learned it with the StarTAC, which retailed for $1000 in 1996, or about $1600 in today's money. I'm sure the DynaTAC was no better before it.

Give it a few years and apple will release their own version at $800-1000 and call it the biggest step in phone technology since the first iphone.

This but it'll be $2000

And the masses will still buy it!

And Apple will support it for years to come!

(still bitter about Motorola's "support" of Z2 Force)

Do you mean the original or the 2nd one, and what happened? If you don't mind my asking.

...and the ESC key!

This needs to be an Onion article.

I'd totally buy a Razr if it had good camera and battery. Which unfortunately it doesn't. Yes it's more than any base iPhone but it's also a lot cooler phone design, and runs Android too.

Remember the price tag of the iPhone X? It also was the first OLED, the first "full-screen" iPhone, clearly targeted at "early-adoptors" and came with a steep price tag.

I think we need to wait for the Razr v3 (pun intended), which might be more suitable for the masses.

iPhone X was 1k USD and was considered to be grossly expensive at that price point, but other commentators point out that the note is similarly priced.

And hopefully a tad smaller.

If I'm getting the right idea about how big this is, I think I definitely want the iPhone SE version of this phone.

Here's hoping that's what they make the second V3.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is nearer to $2,000, but you do get a crease with that.

Even better, top of the line iPhone 11 Pro Max 512GB is still cheaper at $1449

$1,500 covers high expected warranty costs, I think. First gen on something this different is going to have failures. Later when they understands what's needed better, we can expect a likely cost drop.

it's on par with the Samsung Galaxy Fold

It's the first version. Targeted to early adopters.

Taking into consideration issues which iPhones and nostalgia this is perfect time for an iconic brand to enter the market

> Nostalgia

It's true, I was so excited as I scrolled down the page and convinced myself that I'd get one just because I loved my RAZR from 2005. But then I got to the $1500 price tag.

Now, I bought a $1350 phone a couple months ago so it's not that I wouldn't pay $1500 for a phone. The problem is everything that this phone is not (and that my other phone is). The folding screen is cool, and this is the perfect application for it. But, I think they're going to have trouble getting $1500 for someone's main phone if it only has one camera lens.

There will no doubt be some diehards, and if they can get the price of this down to typical Android flagship pricing then they might see some traction. But at $1500, it's going to be a very limited market (and maybe that's their goal).

> But, I think they're going to have trouble getting $1500 for someone's main phone if it only has one camera lens.

Has it really come to this?

I'd gladly buy a phone with a single mediocre camera as a daily driver if all the other specs are flagship-class (which sadly the Razr's are not) and if it means saving a few hundred bucks off the hardware and R&D of the latest and greatest camera tech.

Am I in the minority now?

I would never pay that much money for a phone without a very good camera. A cheaper phone with mediocre camera, why not, but a $1500 phone must have a perfect camera.

Early adopters are paying a premium because foldable screens are new, wait a couple years and you'll have cheaper phones in the same form factor.

It has two cameras, a 16MP front-facing camera and a 5MP camera for selfies. See the specs highlighted in the Verge article: https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/13/20963294/motorola-razr-n...

Fair enough. I was more thinking multiple primary cameras with different focal lengths. Most flagships now have 2+ primary cameras with different focal lengths.

What issues with iPhones?

the one thing i am nostalgic about are buttons. someone please bring buttons back! so i can once again dial a number without looking at my phone or letting the whole world know...

Unlike the iPhone which is really stale (coming from an iPhone user), this is actual innovation. This is the bleeding edge.

If the concept succeeds, I’m sure prices will drop eventually.

Yes technically it's bothering but we all know they're cashing in on brand/history/foldable factors for now. Not surprising.

If they release 300$ in 2021 they may sell a few of them. I'd be tempted, and I usually only buy 2nd hand moto g <n>

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