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Motorola’s revived Razr flip phone was already pushed back from a January launch in Australia to February 24 (today), but now, customers are being told to expect to wait until “Mid to end of March” before orders start shipping.
Although not explicitly named, Motorola’s official statement (below) refers to the impact that the coronavirus is having on the company’s factories in China, with quarantines and disruption to regular operation inevitably slowing the process.
“This situation in China is inevitably impacting the launch and highly anticipated availability of the motorola razr. By far most of our factories in China have reopened and are operational, albeit on a limited basis due to health quarantine restrictions, and public transportation and travel limitations.
The remaining ones, located in the Hubei region, will open in line with the policies of the respective regional government where they are located. We are leveraging the full strength of our global manufacturing and distribution networks and anticipate the razr which be on shelf in Australia by mid to end of March.”
This is certainly not the only impact the virus outbreak has had on the industry, with Apple anticipating a shortage in iPhone supply, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip factory shutting down for the weekend, and the entire Mobile World Congress (MWC) getting cancelled due to fear of its spread.
The Motorola Razr is the company’s attempt at simultaneously producing a futuristic flip phone with a folding display and reviving the nostalgia associated with the earlier Razr series that first launched in 2004.
In Australia, the handset costs AU$2,699 and features a 6.2-inch folding display (2,142 x 876 pixels), a Snapdragon 710 chipset, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
Typically, these specs are more in line with mid-range handsets rather than premium flagship phones, but Motorola has had to cut them back in order to achieve a slimmer profile and to accommodate its folding form factor.
While no concrete date has been given to Australian customers as to when they can expect the handsets to ship, we wouldn’t be too surprised if the March timeframe was pushed further at this stage.