Flip Phones to Return to the UK?

This last week has seen not one, but two new flip phones announced.

These flip phones (or clamshells) have been popular for a long time, and most manufacturers have produced some flip models at some point.
They were most popular around 2004-2009, when there were some quite stylish designs around, making them a popular fashion accessory.

Three very stylish clamshell phones from circa 2008:

From left to right: Sony Ericsson Jalou, Sony Ericsson T707 and the Samsung Diva Folder S5150, with an AA battery for size comparison.

These clamshell designs were great, and some were even quite masculine, but as smartphones and touchscreens became the norm, these designs have become obsolete, save for a few bargain basement phones available on PAYG for as little as 99p from some retailers (with a £10 top up).

So what's with these two new phones?
The LG Gentle was the first to be announced, and it's an Android handset running 5.1 Lollipop.

The LG Gentle - A New Android clamshell for 2015

The second flip phone to be announced is the Samsung Galaxy Folder, which also runs Android 5.1

The Samsung Galaxy Folder

Out of the two, the Samsung Galaxy Folder has twice the RAM (2GB) of the LG Gentle, as well as a much crisper screen. The camera is also better at 8MP, rather than the 3MP camera on the LG - Yes, that's right - the three megapixel camera on the LG!

I'd hope and expect that LG are pricing their phone at an accordingly low price, as these specs aren't great.

Between these two phones, they both have that certain level of style that flip phones have always had, but the Samsung is the better looking of the two.

Given that both companies have put some thought into the production of a new flip phone, I might have expected a little "extra" in these designs - Almost all of the clamshells back in the mid to late noughties carried external displays and notification LEDs. Samsung and LG appear to have forgotten about the exterior of these handset designs, and as a result, they are very dull, which defeats the object completely.

But, clamshell designs have proven to be incredibly popular, and I would really like one of these handsets.

For various reasons, I've always preferred a physical keyboard as they are easier to use than touchscreens, but these phones will be limited to T9 text input, which I'm sure will feel incredibly slow compared to the various swipe-style text entry systems.

Maybe the BlackBerry "Venice" will be the Droid that keypad fans have been waiting for?

Is this the BlackBerry Venice?

Still, any design makes a change from black slabs. I don't care what the manufacturers think - Colour options such as white, pink and blue cannot be called designs. I could change my living room from "magnolia" to "Butterscotch Tempest" but this doesn't make me an interior designer.

The problem with these two flip phones is most likely to be availability. Both handsets are destined for South Korea and other Far Eastern areas, with no likelihood of a European release.

However, these aren't the first clamshell Android handsets - Similar phones have been on sale in the Far East for a couple of years already. Samsung know this market well and have sold a lot of these units, hence this new model.

If you want one of these older handsets, just take a look on eBay - They can be bought for around £100. Search for "Android flip phone" if you can't wait for either of these two new models.