Motorola RAZR Takes Center Stage In June 9th Event Teaser

Motorola, and Lenovo, seems to be playing the Throwback Thursday card in teasing its upcoming event where it is expected to reveal a rebranded flagship line. Motorola unequivocally calls to mind the success and ubiquity of its RAZR flip phone, especially among the youngsters of the previous generation (a.k.a. today's professionals). Of course, the video's real motives are open to interpretation and speculation, but suffice it to say, Motorola is trying to drum up hype and expectation that would be equivalent to the prestige that the RAZR enjoyed back then.

The RAZR is probably the phone, not a smart one, that catapulted Motorola's name back into the front page. Although one of the pioneers of the mobile phone market, Motorola saw its market share and popularity overshadowed by the likes Nokia and then Sony Ericsson. While clamshell type flip phones were still the rage back then, the RAZR proved that such devices can be incredibly thin and stylish.

It is almost too easy to interpret the teaser video as hinting that the next Moto X, if it will still be called that, will be a clamshell smartphone. While that's not entirely impossible, it is more likely that Motorola is drawing on the past to advertise its future. Or to be more specific, it's implying that its next smartphone will again give the market pause, followed by a maddening rush to go out and buy one.

We've already seen or heard leaks about the next Moto X, and to be honest it might not exactly stand up to the hype. But Moto can still manage to pull out a rabbit from its hat at the last minute, so we'll give it the benefit of the doubt. But perhaps the more interesting aspect of the smartphone is going to be its name. This is the first Moto X fully under Lenovo's ownership and it seems that the Chinese OEM is putting its foot down on the branding. According to the rumors, it will combine its more premium VIBE Z brand with Motorola's, calling it the Moto Z, effectively retiring the Moto X name. (Almost ironically, Sony just retired its Xperia Z line and replaced it with an Xperia X). That name will still have suffixes attached, depending on the model, like the "Play" and "Style" of last year's generation, or "Droid" for the Verizon exclusive.

Those speculations and questions will finally be put to rest when Lenovo finally unveils the new Moto smartphones on June 9. Until then, TTYL.