The Motorola StarTAC is a clamshell mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

 manufactured by Motorola

Motorola

Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...

. It was released on 3 January 1996, being the first ever clamshell/flip mobile phone. The StarTAC is the successor of the MicroTAC

Motorola MicroTAC

The Motorola MicroTAC was a cellular phone first manufactured as an analog phone in 1989. The GSM-compatible and TDMA/Dual-Mode phones were introduced in 1994. The MicroTAC introduced an innovative new "flip" design, where the "mouthpiece" folded over the keypad, although the "mouthpiece" was...

, a semi-clamshell design that had been launched in 1989. Whereas the MicroTAC's shell folded down from below the keypad, the StarTAC folded up from above the display. In 2005, PC World

PC World (magazine)

PC World is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal-technology products and services...

put StarTAC at #6 in The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years.

The StarTAC was among the first mobile phones to gain widespread consumer adoption; 60 million StarTACs were sold.

Release

StarTAC was unveiled in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 on January 3, 1996. Then the smallest cell phone available, this AMPS

Advanced Mobile Phone System

Advanced Mobile Phone System was an analog mobile phone system standard developed by Bell Labs, and officially introduced in the Americas in 1983, Israel in 1986, and Australia in 1987. It was the primary analog mobile phone system in North America through the 1980s and into the 2000s...

 phone was an immediate success. Successor TDMA

Digital AMPS

IS-54 and IS-136 are second-generation mobile phone systems, known as Digital AMPS . It was once prevalent throughout the Americas, particularly in the United States and Canada. D-AMPS is considered end-of-life, and existing networks have mostly been replaced by GSM/GPRS or CDMA2000...

 and CDMA StarTACs were equally popular. GSM models were available in North America through Powertel, VoiceStream and other early GSM carriers. StarTACs remained popular until the early 2000s, appearing in many Hollywood movies

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 of the period such as 8mm

8mm (film)

8mm is a 1999 mystery/thriller film, directed by Joel Schumacher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. It stars Nicolas Cage as a private investigator who delves into the world of snuff films.-Plot:...

starring Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...

. Many MicroTAC owners switched to this particular model due to its compact size and light weight.
During its initial launch, magazine ads for the phone would include an actual size cardboard rendition that could be pulled from the page to demonstrate the diminutive nature of the device.

The sleek Motorola StarTac mobile phone was introduced at the price of $1000— at a time when many mobile phone makers
started giving away their products in return for user subscription fees.

Key features

Some key features of the Motorola StarTAC were:

• SMS
  Short message service
  Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...
  
   text messages, although only the later digital models had the capability to send messages.
• Introduced clamshell design
• 88 grams (3.1 ounces)
• It could use an optional lithium-ion battery, at a time when most phones were restricted to lower capacity NiMH
  NIMH
  NIMH or NiMH may refer to:*Nickel-metal hydride battery, a type of rechargeable battery*National Institute of Mental Health, a part of the United States National Institutes of Health...
  
   batteries
• Was one of the first cellular phones to introduce vibrate alert as an alternative to a ringtone

StarTAC 2004

The StarTAC name was revived in 2004 for a new model designed for the South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n market. It had:

• A 128×160 262,000 TFT Color LCD
• 64-channel sound
• A Mobile Banking
  Mobile Banking
  Mobile banking is a term used for performing balance checks, account transactions, payments, credit applications and other banking transactions through a mobile device such as a mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant . The earliest mobile banking services were offered over SMS...
  
   feature supported by SK Telecom
  SK Telecom
  SK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
  
  
• A 2,800-entry contact book

In addition, a version with an 18k gold directional keypad, and brightwork was released as StarTAC 2004 SE.

The regular edition was released, without the Mobile Banking function, as the Motorola V628 in China. The 18k gold edition remained Korea-only.

StarTAC 2010

In October 2010, the French firm Lëkki re-introduced the StarTAC as a 'retro' phone. Refurbished second-hand phones using the original specifications (including the small screen and single-band communication) are available in yellow, green, pink, and black.

Model list

Analog phones

• StarTAC 3000
• StarTAC 6000
• StarTAC 6500
• StarTAC 8500
• StarTAC 8600

Digital phones

• StarTAC 70
• StarTAC 75 - GSM 1800
• StarTAC 80
• StarTAC 85 - GSM 900
• StarTAC 130 - GSM 900
• StarTAC 7000g - GSM 1900
• StarTAC 8000g - GSM 1900
• ST7760 (AMPS/TDMA)
• ST7762 (AMPS/TDMA)
• ST7790 (AMPS/TDMA)
• 80071WNBPA (FCC IHDT5VG1) AMPS/TDMA (832/2412 MHz)
• ST7797 (Tri Mode/Dual Band 800/1900 MHz. TDMA/800 MHz. AMPS)
• ST7860 (Dual Mode/Single Band 800 MHz. CDMA/AMPS)
• ST7867w (Dual Mode/Dual Band 1900 MHz. CDMA/800 MHz. AMPS)
• ST7868 (Tri Mode/Dual Band 800/1900 MHz. CDMA/800 MHz. AMPS)
• ST7890 (Tri Mode TDMA?)
• ST7897 (Dual Band TDMA)
• StarTAC 2004
• StarTAC III