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The flip or clamshell is an electronics form factor which is in two or more sections that fold via a hinge. Motorola used to have a trademark on the term "flip phone", but the term "flip phone" has 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.fact: date=December 2007

Clamshell design of phones is generally agreed to have been inspired by the Star Trek original series communicator. 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 support the clamshell design was the StarTAC, created in 1996, although General Telephone & Electronics (GTE) held the trademark since the 1970s for its Flip Phone (one of the first small hand-held electronic phones), until 1993.. 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

Uses

Bookbinders build clamshell boxes in which valuable books or loose papers can be protected from light and dust.fact: date=December 2007

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.fact: date=December 2007