Successor Motorola RAZR | ||
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First released January 3, 1996; 21 years ago (1996-01-03) Dimensions 94 mm × 55 mm × 19 mm (130) | ||
The Motorola StarTAC is a clamshell mobile phone manufactured by Motorola. It was released on January 3, 1996, being the first ever clamshell/flip mobile phone. The StarTAC is the successor of the MicroTAC, a semi-clamshell design that had been launched in 1989. Whereas the MicroTAC's shell folded down from below the keypad, the StarTAC folded up from above the display. In 2005, PC World put StarTAC at #6 in The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years.
Contents
The StarTAC was among the first mobile phones to gain widespread consumer adoption; approximately 60 million StarTACs were sold.
Release
Motorola applied for the StarTAC trademark name in September 1995. The StarTAC was unveiled in North America on January 3, 1996. Then the smallest cell phone available, this AMPS phone was an immediate success. Successor TDMA and CDMA StarTACs were equally popular. GSM models were available in North America through Powertel, VoiceStream and other early GSM carriers. The StarTAC, which closely resembles Star Trek´s Communicator, remained popular until the early 2000s, appearing in many Hollywood movies of the period such as 8mm starring Nicolas Cage. Many MicroTAC owners switched to this particular model due to its compact size and light weight. During its initial launch, magazine ads for the phone would include an actual size cardboard facsimile that could be pulled from the page to demonstrate the diminutive nature of the device.
The Motorola StarTAC mobile phone was introduced at the price of $1000.
Key features
Some key features of the Motorola StarTAC were:
StarTAC 2004
The StarTAC name was revived in 2004 for a new model designed for the South Korean market. It had:
In addition, a version with an 18K gold directional keypad and brightwork was released as StarTAC 2004 SE.
The regular edition was released without the Mobile Banking function as the Motorola V628 in China. The 18K gold edition remained Korea-only.
StarTAC III
Motorola once again revived the StarTAC by announcing the StarTAC III on February 27, 2007.
Model list
Analog phones
Digital phones
Lekki
In October 2010, French company Lekki, who revamp iconic and vintage products from the 1990s, refurbished StarTACs in new colorful covers. They are selling it for €220.