The technology market is abuzz about the possible return of retro styled flip phones – thanks to a reported effort by smart phone giant Samsung.
Thanks to the likes of the Motorola Razr and Sony's V800, Flip phones were all the rage in the 2000s.
There are reports that Samsung is working on a folding, flip-style model of smartphone.
Spotted online, the newest Samsung device, which has been dubbed SM-W2016, appears to boast two screens.
Fashion conscious customers wishing to copy the likes of Adele, who recently used a retro handset in her music video for Hello, could be the target customer base for Samsung and the new flip phone.
According to industry sources, the phone has the internals of an Android smartphone even as the flip phone has an outdated design. There are media reports that the new Samsung phone runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and has an octa-core 64-bit processor with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
It is also rumored that the phone has been mounted with a 16MP camera on the rear and a 5MP front-facing camera for selfies.
Design-wise it looks a like the lovechild of a Samsung Galaxy S6 and older popular flip phone designs such as the Moto Razr.
The return of the physical keyboard on the new phone could make it popular among users who prefer physical keyboards to those that pop up on a screen.
This is however not the first time that Samsung is re-launching flip phones, the company did actually bring a flip-phone to the market back in July – but only in Korea. Named the SM-W2016, there are no reports about Samsung possessing any plans to bring the phone to Europe.
Samsung's rival LG recently revealed a flip phone called the LG Wine Smart. While enabling 4G calls, this handset has a 3.2-inch color touchscreen and runs Android Lollipop 5.1. After having been launched Korea, the phone is slated to be launched successively in France, Italy, Poland, Spain, Kazakhstan, Japan and the United Kingdom.
“Our goal with LG Wine Smart was to create a smartphone that fans of flip phones could embrace,” said Chris Yie, vice president and head of marketing communications for LG .
“Consumers shouldn't have to miss out on the smartphone revolution because they prefer a particular phone design over another. With LG Wine Smart, they won't have to,” he added.
In recent times, celebrities including Anna Wintour, Rihanna and Kate Beckinsale have all been spotted on vintage handsets. Perhaps driven by Apple's iCloud leak, in the last few years there has been a trend for other 'retro' technology such as Polaroid and Lomography cameras. Sales of Polaroid cameras rose by around three quarters in 2014 fuelled by celebrities such as Miley Cyrus using them.
Kaley Cuoco, who stars in The Big Bang Theory declared at the time: “Polaroids are the way to go. No one can get those.”
More recently, retro gaming has been making a comeback.
(Sources: www.dailymail.co.uk & www.theguardian.com)
Thanks to the likes of the Motorola Razr and Sony's V800, Flip phones were all the rage in the 2000s.
There are reports that Samsung is working on a folding, flip-style model of smartphone.
Spotted online, the newest Samsung device, which has been dubbed SM-W2016, appears to boast two screens.
Fashion conscious customers wishing to copy the likes of Adele, who recently used a retro handset in her music video for Hello, could be the target customer base for Samsung and the new flip phone.
According to industry sources, the phone has the internals of an Android smartphone even as the flip phone has an outdated design. There are media reports that the new Samsung phone runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and has an octa-core 64-bit processor with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
It is also rumored that the phone has been mounted with a 16MP camera on the rear and a 5MP front-facing camera for selfies.
Design-wise it looks a like the lovechild of a Samsung Galaxy S6 and older popular flip phone designs such as the Moto Razr.
The return of the physical keyboard on the new phone could make it popular among users who prefer physical keyboards to those that pop up on a screen.
This is however not the first time that Samsung is re-launching flip phones, the company did actually bring a flip-phone to the market back in July – but only in Korea. Named the SM-W2016, there are no reports about Samsung possessing any plans to bring the phone to Europe.
Samsung's rival LG recently revealed a flip phone called the LG Wine Smart. While enabling 4G calls, this handset has a 3.2-inch color touchscreen and runs Android Lollipop 5.1. After having been launched Korea, the phone is slated to be launched successively in France, Italy, Poland, Spain, Kazakhstan, Japan and the United Kingdom.
“Our goal with LG Wine Smart was to create a smartphone that fans of flip phones could embrace,” said Chris Yie, vice president and head of marketing communications for LG .
“Consumers shouldn't have to miss out on the smartphone revolution because they prefer a particular phone design over another. With LG Wine Smart, they won't have to,” he added.
In recent times, celebrities including Anna Wintour, Rihanna and Kate Beckinsale have all been spotted on vintage handsets. Perhaps driven by Apple's iCloud leak, in the last few years there has been a trend for other 'retro' technology such as Polaroid and Lomography cameras. Sales of Polaroid cameras rose by around three quarters in 2014 fuelled by celebrities such as Miley Cyrus using them.
Kaley Cuoco, who stars in The Big Bang Theory declared at the time: “Polaroids are the way to go. No one can get those.”
More recently, retro gaming has been making a comeback.
(Sources: www.dailymail.co.uk & www.theguardian.com)