• by P.J. Bednarski  @pjbtweet, February 6, 2020

After months of waiting, Motorola’s new version of the popular Razr is back again, via Verizon.

Like the Samsung Fold, the new one, as seen here, has a 2.7-inch kind of convenience screen on the outside of the clamshell for routine cell phone tasks, and a bigger 6.2-inch touchscreen when it’s opened up.

From 2004-2006, Motorola sold 50 million Razrs, which for some consumers was the model that brought them into the (sort of) modern age of mobile phones.

It would seem most consumers shouldn’t get that excited this time. It lists for a cool $1,499 --  or $62.49 spread over the next two years, via Verizon.

But enough consumers have been excited that Motorola late last year delayed its introduction.

Back in December, the company reported that “demand has been high, and as a result, has quickly outgrown supply predictions. Motorola has decided to adjust Razr’s presale and launch timing to better meet consumer demand.”

That pushed the Razr's launch to now, when Verizon starts taking orders for delivery that will begin March 3.

It’s fair to say all those clamoring would-be clamshell consumers haven’t been swayed  by early reviews, which have suggested Motorola is charging a pretty penny for a phone with what many would describe as a mid-range processor and camera.

“The specs are more like a $400-$500 phone, so really what you’re paying for is that foldable screen, and you know, a little bit of nostalgia,” opined CNet’s Andrew Gebhart in that tech site’s unboxing video.

Other reviewers fear the flip-top hinge seems hinky, which is the same problem the Samsung Fold (which costs $2,000) faced when it debuted last year --after an embarrassing delay caused by some not-perfect engineering, including its hinge.

Probably because of the pricetag, which keeps foldable phones as a novelty item only really acquisitive early adopters want, there’s still a very small market. But judging by the effort being expended to produce them, foldables may still be the phones of the near future.

Samsung, not at all coincidentally, is expected to unveil its Galaxy Fold 2 next week. It also folds like the Razr does. The Huawei Mate X also debuted last year, mainly in China, and costs $2,400.

The New Delhi tech site 91Mobiles.com reports today that Apple has applied for a U.S. patent  showing drawings that seems to indicate it’s prepping a foldable phone, too. The site says the drawing shows a “unique hinge mechanism that prevents creasing where it folds, thanks to the movable flaps.