Flat-slab smartphones have been all the rage for the better part of the last decade, but folding screen technology could bring back the classic clamshell smartphone. Motorola’s streamlined Razr is a touchstone for the entire generation, but the older Motorola MicroTAC is arguably the phone that started this trend.
First manufactured as an analog cell phone in 1989, the MicroTAC featured a unique folding keypad cover that also functioned as a mouthpiece. Eventually, this design evolved into a reverse of Motorola’s iconic StarTAC design, with earbuds on top and buttons on the bottom. Mobile phones will never be the same again.
7. Minolta MAXXUM 7000
Illustration by Eleni Debo from Gear PatrolNowadays, most cameras can not only focus automatically, but also recognize faces and lock eyes automatically. In the ’80s, it just wasn’t the same. By the time Maxxum was released, companies like Nikon and Pentax had already released SLR cameras with autofocus capabilities, but there was a complication. These implementations required a motor in the lens itself to achieve the magic.
In contrast, Minolta’s product was the first SLR to integrate an autofocus sensor and motor into the camera body, allowing lenses to be smaller and cheaper, an approach that would eventually become commonplace. Minolta didn’t have much time to celebrate its success. Maxxum’s autofocus technology was eventually found to infringe patents held by Honeywell, and in 1991 Minolta was ordered to pay him a $127 million settlement.