&gt; The market for $1000 mobile phones was a bit bigger in 1997 than the market for $3000 phones in 1989.<p>Not to mention adjusting for inflation the MicroTAC was 4 times the price of the StarTAC, not just 3.<p>Clearly the shell direction is the one thing which made the StarTAC. Not SMS support, not being 25% the price and 25% the weight (assuming a slim-battery MicroTAC), not the vibrate mode, it was the flip opening up instead of down.