We are in 2022 and the catalog dial phones more complete than ever before. More and more manufacturers are daring to break the standard design criteria that have accompanied us in recent years. While it’s a huge challenge, they don’t hesitate to bet on hinges and flexible displays to bring risky offers to life.

If we are to focus on the first modern foldables, we should say that they appear as of 2019. Royole presented us the FlexPai, Huawei Mate X, Motorola’s new Razr and Samsung’s first Galaxy Fold. These suggestions came just in time to renew the world of smartphones whose designs have become monotonous and even boring.

The only thing that folded in the first “fold” was the cover.

But before these foldable phones we all know were popular, there was another type of “folding” that didn’t include advanced hinges and flexible displays. we are talking about classic flip phones or “covered”. Motorola has undoubtedly been one of the leading players in this category.

One of the most iconic devices of the American company is exactly the Motorola RAZR V3. A slim and elegant cover terminal whose design has conquered millions of people around the world. As you might guess, Motorola was also responsible for the launch of the flip cell phones segment.

Following the DynaTAC series, which left its mark on the mobile phone before and after, Motorola in 1989, MikroCT 9800XA much lighter and more compact device than its predecessor, which includes an interesting innovation in terms of design and functionality: a small cover attached to the bottom of the terminal.

The designers did not forget about the details. Inside the cover was the Motorola logo placed diagonally above delicate blue lines. He also distinguished the brand’s logo in relief. At the top of the terminal, below the earpiece, was the inscription “MICRO TAC” in small blue letters.

As we said, the cover was not only a design element, but also fulfilled two functions. On the one hand, housed a microphone this allowed to improve the experience of calls. On the other hand, it was protecting the keyboard while moving to mobile. Yes, it was already small enough to be carried easily from one place to another.

According to The New York Times, Motorola’s R&D team has spent five years reducing the size and spacing of its next-generation phone’s components. They mainly focused on components such as the oscillator and the duplex system, which allow a person to speak and listen at the same time.

Thus, they became much friendlier and above all portable than a 33-centimeter-long and 800-gram “brick” style cell phone like the DynaTAC. Motorola MicroTac was 23 centimeters long when powered on and Weighs 350 grams with the smallest battery.

And of course, times have changed. Cell phones today do not need a cover to protect the physical keyboard because they do not have this element. Do not bring the microphone close to the user’s mouth. It’s common to find two or four microphones that take advantage of algorithms that improve sound as well as being more advanced.

Returning to the specifications of the Motorola MicroTAC, as we can see in the pictures, there is a dot matrix led display It can display only 8 characters, enough to dial saved phone numbers and check the log of previous calls, among other basic functions.

Can you imagine having a mobile phone without all the functions that accompanies us these days? In 1989, there weren’t even SMSs. Although this messaging system was designed in 1984, the first text message was sent on December 3, 1992. There was more conversation than conversation back then. Today it’s the other way around.

The prices of the devices were also very different. Access to one of these early mobile phones was limited to those who could afford it, although mobile phones have recently become more expensive due to inflation and various factors. $2,495 and $3,495 By Motorola MicroTAC.

If we adapt these prices to current values, we are talking about an expenditure of between $5,972 and $8,365 for a mobile device with the best technology of the moment. The fact is that in the following years Motorola released more advanced variants of MicroTAC and prices have dropped over time, making these phones more accessible.

Images: redrum0486

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