In an age of the iPhone 6 Plus and massive Android phablets, flip phones are inexplicably making a comeback.
No less an arbiter of cool than Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintourhas apparently dumped her iPhone in favor of a flipper. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, actress Kate Beckinsale and even Rihanna are just a few of the celebrities spotted proudly brandishing the famous piece of paleo-technology.
And, believe it or not, "dumb phones" aren't exactly the elusive unicorn that some of us think they are.
As of January, 56% of American adults owned smartphones, compared to a total of 90% who had a cellphone of some kind,according to the Pew Research Internet Project. Among millennials age 18-29, an overwhelming 83% of those who owned cellphones had a smartphone, but that leaves the other 17% who keep their mobile life more basic.
The hinged, snap-shut "flipper" form factor was originally introduced to the public in 1982 by laptop manufacturer GriD with its Compass computer.
Motorola, perhaps the king of flip phones with its Razr line, introduced the clamshell style in 1996 with its StarTAC phone (which, appropriately enough, was re-released for nostalgic techies in 2010).
Is this really all about going for retro, hipster street cred? There is, at times, a mystifying aspect of "cool" that centers around eschewing modern convenience for vintage ... well ... inconvenience.
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