Did anyone expect Motorola to have the guts to bring back the RAZR name? After all, it wasn’t too long ago that folks were talking about whether or not Motorola would be around for much longer. But, thanks to the Motorola and Verizon deal, it looks like Motorola Mobility is in this for the long-haul. And let’s not forget that proposed acquisition by Google, right? So now Motorola has Android in their fold, which has been the case for quite some time, and they seem to be bolstered by the little green ‘droid. Nothing wrong with that, and even if Motorola is indeed washing out the DROID name, I’m secretly excited to see what other brand names they resurrect from the dead.

I wasn’t actually thinking this would be a conversation we’d be having. In truth, I thought Motorola would only bring back the RAZR name, and I thought that was more about the marketing than anything else. After all, marketing the thinnest 4G LTE-equipped device on Verizon’s network would take some gusto, so tagging the RAZR name (“Hey, it’s as thin as a razor, ha-ha!”) onto it just makes sense. But, I thought that’s as far as it would go. This is one time where I’m happy I was wrong, because I am so excited to see what comes next.

And it all starts with the DROID RAZR Maxx. For those of you out there who have been watching the mobile industry for more than a few years, then you probably remember the original RAZR MAXX. Surprisingly enough, as it happened back then, the RAZR MAXX wasn’t actually that bad of a device. It was touted for having a remarkably thin body, and despite it looking a lot like the RAZR that spawned the family name, it was actually anticipated. Shocker, I know. But people wanted flip phones back then. In any event, the name has popped up again as a device that’s reportedly coming soon, and that’s pretty exciting.

No, it isn’t exciting to think that, yet again, Motorola will more than likely render a device pretty much obsolete by releasing another one, but that’s just something we’re going to have to get used to, apparently. We don’t have any idea what the DROID RAZR Maxx looks like, but rumors suggest it will be reminiscent of the DROID RAZR, but feature a bigger battery and a better display. So while it may not be all about the redesigned body, it is all about the name, and the possibility that Motorola could be inclined to bring other dead devices back to the mainstream.

And not all of them can look like the DROID RAZR, right? Of course not! So, can you imagine how interesting these new devices would look? Just think about it for a second. The DROID SLVR? Or, what about the DROID KRZR. Or, even something like the Motorola DROID ROKR. All of these devices ranged in popularity back in the day, so it’s certainly feasible that if Motorola is willing to bring not only one, but two devices back from the dead, then why wouldn’t they resurrect all of them? This could just be blind hope, but I’m okay with that.

And why am I so excited for Motorola to bring back to life a brand, or a lineage if you will, that has been dead for years? It is really rather simple: the Motorola DROID RAZR is one of the more unique looking devices out there (even if there are already tablet devices that are similar in design now), and I think that has a lot to do with the return of the RAZR name. The RAZR was iconic back in the day so Motorola needed to make an iconic device this time around. While the ROKR, SLVR, or KRZR may not have been as iconic, they at least embodied interesting and new design elements. And if Motorola is willing to bring back these names, and bring back those ideas of new design, then this isn’t just good news for Motorola -- it’s good news for the mobile industry as a whole.

I for one cannot wait for Motorola to resurrect these devices, if that is indeed what they are planning to do. Unless, of course, they’re just going to dismiss the design of these handsets and mass product DROID RAZR look-a-likes; if that’s the case, then, Motorola shouldn’t waste their (or our) time.