The image is called "chorus image" and is on thecdn.vox-cdn.com.
The first phone I ever owned was a cell phone. The buttons of the mobile device are some of the best. The blue glow that appeared when pressed was like a sci-fi future, because the keypad was laser-etched out of a sheet of shimmering aluminum.
There was a button that I was afraid to press. I have never used the internet button on a Razr, but I have tapped it more than once or twice.
The internet button was located on the upper left side of the keypad, and it opened the internet browser. I didn't pay for data when I first got a cellphone in 2007, the problem was that. It was a recipe for getting hit with overage fees if you pressed the button.
:noupscale is a file on thechorusasset.com.
Would AT&T have charged me hundreds of dollars for using precious kilobytes of data to accidentally load a mobile site? I have no idea. With things like text messages and call minutes already heavily regulated by the carrier, I wasn't taking any chances.
I was not taking any chances.
The basic design of the Razr meant that the intentions were not always good. The internet button was placed right next to the green answer call button and next to the directional pad. It was too easy to launch over to the bare-bones web browser and pay the fees. The internet button is one of the things I have forgotten, followed by a frantic mashing of the hang up or menu buttons in a desperate attempt to exit out before I used up any data.
The internet button was aspirational. It is hard to remember when the feature phone is seen as the ultimate expression of the Razr. It was the final high of the era before the smartphones took over, with the iPhone and Android phones debuting a few years later. It cost $500 with a two-year contract when it was released in 2004, the same price as the entry-level model of the original iPhone.
:noupscale is a file on thechorusasset.com.
Even if the cellular and technological infrastructure we had then wasn't ready for the Razr's ambitions, it had to offer features like email and internet, even if it was a luxury phone ripped out of the future.
It seems almost funny that in the year 2021, internet-connected devices are table stakes and having cellular data on a smartphone is a given, where even devices that aim to avoid "smartphone" status offer some sort of mobile data. In the early 2000s, the 2G internet that the flip phone offered was cutting-edge technology, and it demanded a hefty toll on the data plans of whoever dared to press it.
The internet button was aspirational.
Despite its best intentions, internet and email were not the main draws of the Razr. The later versions of the device, like the V3m, would no longer have those buttons, but instead a dedicated camera shortcut and clear button.
The company added an Easter egg that allowed users to emulate the 2004 flip phone interface, which may have been the last laugh. The internet button on it was the one that would open the browser, with all the benefits of the internet.
