Whatever happened to flip phones?

Remember the time when the Motorola Razr rocked the world, Samsung had super slim flip phones and smart phones were just dressed up business phones? Well, that seems to have ended. Motorola seem to be concentrating on Android, Samsung have super slim touch phones and smart phones are what everyone wants. But what has happened to flip phones?


I remember my first phone, a Samsung E720. It was great until the screen came off, and I think that is the weak point of the flip. They are only as strong as their weakest point: their hinge. But, that cannot be the point that pushed people away from them; there must be something else.

It might be the fact that people didn’t like to use two hands to open it up. But, Motorola were at hand with the Pebble which did it itself. It was a bit gimmicky, though, so let’s forget about that one. Modern phones can all be used with either one hand or two, which is useful if you’re walking about and you just want to tap something out to your mates.

It’s not like flip phones have totally died out, Sony Ericsson have recently introduced the Jalou which is a flip phone. But, if you look at the carriers’ pages (Vodafone, T-Mobile, O2, 3 etc) then there are very few, if any, flip phones for sale. This means people have to buy them Sim-free which is never a good thing for manufacturers as contracts are notably the easiest way of selling phones.

However, when was the last time you saw someone using a flip phone. They all seem to have been taken over by sliders, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But flip phones mean the screen is protected, where is that now?

Anyway, do you still use a flip phone? Still with arguably the best form factor? Or have you made the switch to touchscreen? Comment below to have your views heard across the web.