SpecEagle review · Motorola
Motorola StarTAC review: 1996 first true clamshell phone.
SpecEagle Editorial·Jan 1996·$1000
Overall
60/100
Class rank
#1 of 1
Tier
Vintage
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front
Motorola StarTAC.
Motorola's 1996 StarTAC invented the true clamshell phone — sold 60 M+ units, defined flip era.
01Display
40/10040/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 1996.
TypeMonochrome LCD
Lines4 lines text
02Voice
70/10070/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 1996.
03Camera
0/1000/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 1996.
MainNone
04Battery
60/10060/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 1996.
Capacity~6 h talk
05Software
50/10050/100 — right at the average for vintage phones of 1996.
What works
- First true clamshell phone.
- 88 g featherweight.
- First vibrate alert.
- Sold 60 M+ units.
What doesn't
- $1,000 launch price.
- Analog AMPS network.
- 4-line LCD.
- No camera/data.
How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 1-phone cohort of vintage devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .