Motorola has produced several iconic handsets during its storied existence. The DynaTAC, the Vader, the v60 and of course, the Motorola RAZR. What Nokia did for the candy bar-style mobile phone in the 1990′s, Motorola did for the flip phone in the early 21st century. Thin, sleek and stylish, the RAZR was initially brought to market in early 2005. The handset was light, easily fit in the pocket and packed a flat, backlit keypad that proved itself to be a formidable text messaging obstacle. The device was so popular, in fact, that just over 1-year ago we were still talking about the handset — the RAZR3 — before it was scrapped by Moto in favor of Android-based smartphones. During its four year reign of terror, where it retailed for nearly $200 on-contract, over 110 million RAZRs were sold by dozens of carriers the world over. We still have an AT&T V3 lying around BGR HQ for posterity sake, and although its utility is diminished, the handset’s mystique remains. How about it: how many of you cell phone junkies were proud RAZR owners?

BGR’s Throwback Thursday is a weekly series covering our (and your) favorite gadgets, games, and software of yesterday and yesteryear.

We have to admit we were pretty blown away by the responses from our exclusive pics of the Motorola RAZR3. So with this in mind (and the fact that it’s Sunday) we thought we’d have a little fun today and share a gallery’s worth of pictures and information about how this particular phone, which also happens to star in a YouTube video, came to be. All of this — and more — is available right after the jump.

First and foremost, let’s take a moment to talk about the phone itself. For something that wasn’t a smartphone, it would have had enough features and functionality to make Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Average happy had it not been killed off. Here are the key specs of the prototype:

• 850/1900MHz UMTS/HSDPA
• Quad-band EDGE
• 420MHz ARM11 processor
• 109mb RAM / 19mb ROM
• GPS
• Wi-Fi
• Symbian UIQ OS
• 2.2″ QVGA internal display
• 2″ QVGA external display (touchscreen)
• 5 megapixel camera with LED flash
• Ad hoc internet sharing
• Mesh WAN support
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• microSD support up to 16GB
• Opera Mini browser
• MicroUSB

Now that the specs are out of the way, here’s the story behind how this particular engineering prototype surfaced this week. Travis, the gentleman who now owns it, recently spotted an eBay listing for a unnamed mobile phone that was literally in pieces. Immediately recognizing it as the same phone a Motorola rep once showed when he used to work at Rogers, Travis immediately bought the phone so he could assemble it and bring it back to life.

Pretty crazy to think this thing was scheduled to debut at the same time as the DROID, right? Anyway…

Click here to check out our Motorola RAZR3 gallery!

Thanks, Travis!

We’re sure by now you’ve all seen the video overview of the Motorola RAZR3, so instead of running with that we thought we’d do our part by sharing some previously unseen photos of the now defunct handset. There’s really nothing for us to say about the flip phone that packs a 5 megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G and Symbian UIQ, but it’s always neat to see what might have been, right? Hit the jump for some more pics!

Thanks, Travis!

The last and only time we talked about the RAZR3 aka Ruby was when we reported that Motorola had pulled the plug on it in order to allocate more resources towards developing Android-based handsets. But now thanks to Mobile-Review, press images of the RAZR3, apparently to be named the Ruby VE1, have surfaced which leads us to believe one of two things — either these are old photos or there is indeed a possibility that the clam shell with 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi and a 5 megapixel shooter might actually find a way to market. Now, there is also the possibility that Motorola did not kill off the RAZR3 but simply delayed it while trying to find a new OS — something that would be necessary as this phone was rumored to be running on Symbian’s now defunct UIQ OS. At this point we’re not even sure anyone cares enough to figure this out.

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Motorola’s plans are thwarted once again by canning the highly anticipated RAZR 3, codenamed Ruby. After putting some effort into reviving and continuing the RAZR line with this new phone, it looks like they’ve changed their minds and are shifting focus elsewhere. Though the original RAZR was wildly successful, going from overpriced down to free in just a year and a half after its release, the RAZR 2 failed to see the same results. It’s hard to say whether the RAZR 3 would have seen a come back for Motorola, but anything that can be said now is pure speculation. Jumping on Android and focusing on devices that will carry the platform, Motorola is taking another direction by being part of the Open Handset Alliance. The electronics giant is now ditching the Symbian platform that was originally intended for the new RAZR shortly after restructuring their mobile division. Will Moto be doing anything right in the near future? If they intend on staying in business, we should hope so. We’ve always got a special place for you in our hearts, Motorola.

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