Flashback Fridays: Clamshell Era

This week we're not focusing on a single model, instead we're focusing on a form factor which is now considered 'dead'. That is the clamshell.

Motorola produced their first clamshell phone in 1996 and since then flip or clamshell phones started to become popular. The most memorable clamshell/flip phone was no doubt the V3 Razr. The V3 set the benchmark for super slim designs and showed the world that it's possible to have a phone full of functions packed into a slim waistline. 

The clamshell design allowed manufacturers to create phones with large keys and screens without having to produce 'bricks'. Clamshell/flip phones were indeed and compact (well most of them anyway) and since the V3 era, flip phones became thinner and thinner (notably the Nokia N76).

Unfortunately due to the touchscreen craze, this form factor is now slowly being phased out. Who says you can't have a touchscreen with a flip/clamshell design?