Retro: Motorola StarTAC

Submitted by Dave Won. on

Probably, one of the most well known phones the Motorola StarTAC was a great phone in its time. This was the first true flip phone that utilized both sides of the clam shell design. When the phone is opened up the speaker is at the top of half of the phone and the main section of the phone contains everything else.
When you first look at this phone, and I mean to look even at the very first StarTAC it’s hard to believe that a phone this small was out in 1996. Many different StarTAC models came out over the year improving small features over time. Until recently these phones have been sold new in Korea where they were on the market for a longer period than the States.

Motorola StarTAC

Photo: StarTAC 80071WNBPA

The phones sleek design made it a hit in Hollywood as this futuristic phone was the ultimate accessory for an actor to have on the movie set.

Manuals and other resources:

ST7860W_E_1UP.pdf
ST7868W_User_Manual_E.pdf
ST7868W_User_Manual_Spanish.pdf
StarTAC3000_User_Manual_E.pdf
StarTAC3000_User_Manual_Spanish.pdf
StarTAC_6500_User_Manual_E.pdf
startac_ug.pdf

Motorola StarTAC (The first Real flip phone)

Photo: StarTAC 80071WNBPA

Here are some of the movies that the StarTAC phone has appeared in:

  • The Game (1997) starring Michael Douglas
  • 8mm (1999) starring Nicolas Cage
These phones were reintroduced by French company Lekki during 2010. The StarTAC models are the GSM 900Mhz models, as the other networks that were used by Original StarTAC models have been out of service for over a decade

Models:

Analog phones

  • StarTAC 3000
  • StarTAC 6000
  • StarTAC 6500
  • StarTAC 8500
  • StarTAC 8600

Digital phones
  • StarTAC 70
  • StarTAC 75 - GSM 1800[5]
  • StarTAC 80
  • StarTAC 85 - GSM 900[6]
  • StarTAC 130 - GSM 900[7]
  • StarTAC 7000g - GSM 1900
  • StarTAC 8000g - GSM 1900
  • ST7760 (AMPS/TDMA)
  • ST7762 (AMPS/TDMA)
  • ST7790 (AMPS/TDMA)
  • 80071WNBPA (FCC IHDT5VG1) AMPS/TDMA (832/2412 MHz)
  • ST7797 (Tri Mode/Dual Band 800/1900 MHz. TDMA/800 MHz. AMPS)
  • ST7860 (Dual Mode/Single Band 800 MHz. CDMA/AMPS)
  • ST7867w (Dual Mode/Dual Band 1900 MHz. CDMA/800 MHz. AMPS)
  • ST7868 (Tri Mode/Dual Band 800/1900 MHz. CDMA/800 MHz. AMPS)
  • ST7890 (Tri Mode TDMA?)
  • ST7897 (Dual Band TDMA)
  • StarTAC 2004
  • StarTAC I