Hasta La Ideas

Motorola is dusting off the Razr name once again, with their forthcoming Razr Plus. The phone folds down to a compact size and features a 3.6″ screen on the outside; unfurled, the inside screen is 6.9″.

The company is touting the design as more convenient and user-friendly. Users won’t need to open the phone to take photos/video, listen to music, play games, send messages, et cetera.

The folding shape means it also doesn’t need a stand for viewing…

…and the designers reckon it’s easier to hold for capturing video.

I guess the question is whether the hinged-screen technology is actually ready for primetime, or will be plagued by its historical problems. If they’ve worked out the kinks, I’d definitely prefer the smaller overall form factor to my current brick, though I’m pretty sure I’d crack the outer screen in no time. It will be interesting to see what kinds of cases third-party designers come up with for this design.

The phone will retail for $1,000 and the company will start taking pre-orders on June 16th. No release date was named at press time.

Here are Motorola’s designers and developers describing what they’re going for: