Clamshell

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A clamshell phone, open

A clamshell phone, closed

Opened Sharp Electronic Organizer (sold as Sharp Wizard in the US) model QZ-770.

The flip or clamshell is an electronics form factor which is in two or more sections that fold via a hinge. Motorola has a trademark on the term "flip phone",^[1] but the term "flip phone" became genericized to be used more frequently than "Clamshell" in colloquial speech.

This design is often used in technology, particularly portable devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers, subnotebooks, the Game Boy Advance SP and the Nintendo DS. When the clamshell is open, the device is ready for use. The interface components are kept inside the clamshell, which offers more surface area than when the device is closed. Interface components such as keys and display are protected when the clamshell is closed, and it is less long or wide, making the device easier to carry around.

History

The form factor was first used by the laptop manufacturer GRiD (who had the patent on the idea at the time) for their Compass model in 1982.^{[citation needed]}

Clamshell design of phones is generally agreed to have been inspired by the Star Trek original series communicator.^[2] A key difference, however, is that the grid that opens on the TOS communicator is solely an antenna, according to The Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual, while the upper part of the clamshell phone contains much of the functionality of the phone itself (the antenna is either internal or extends from the top of the lower half of the phone).

The first Motorola model to sport the clamshell design was the StarTAC,^[3] created in 1996, although General Telephone & Electronics (GTE) held the trademark since the 1970s for its Flip Phone^[4] (one of the first small hand-held electronic phones), until 1993.^[5]. The design has since been copied by other mobile phone manufacturers, most notably Samsung, and Motorola is still best known for its clamshell models such as the RAZR.

The clamshell design has also been used in the Nokia Communicator series, with the first model released in 1996. Early models were very expensive and Nokia did not adopt the traditional clamshell phone design until 2004^[6]

A folding cellphone with the hinge along the long side, as in the LG Voyager (VX10000) is called a "lateral clamshell".

Uses

Bookbinders build clamshell boxes in which valuable books or loose papers can be protected from light and dust.^{[citation needed]}

The form factor is most closely associated with the mobile phone market, although the design is also used on some landline phones, particularly cordless phones.^{[citation needed]}

Other appliances like pocket watches, sandwich toasters and the George Foreman Grill have long utilised a clamshell design; a very similar concept is used in racing and road legal cars, like the Ford GT40 and Ferrari Enzo, where the whole rear end can be lifted to access the engine compartment and suspension system.

It is also an informal name for General Motors full-size station wagons (manufactured 1971–1976), that featured a complex, two-piece "disappearing" tailgate, officially known as the "Glide Away" tailgate.^[7]

Alternative mobile phone forms

Bar, a slab-shaped form
Slide, a form made of two or more parts that slide against each other
Swivel, a form made of two or more parts that swivel around
Brick, an overly "bulky" form, that can be Flip, Bar, Slide, or Swivel, but is usually Bar