Samsung Galaxy Z Flip: At last, a phone to be seen with

In recent years, gadgets have let us down badly.

Pose at a bar withthe latest iPhoneand you'll attract nothing but indifference. Dangle yourMicrosoft Surfaceover dinner for one at a fancy restaurant and no member of your target sex will suddenly find you attractive. Some may, indeed, consider you with pity.

As for theApple Watchit's just a Swatch with a heart monitor. How mundane is that?

The days, indeed, of gadgets offering a certain je ne sais quoi have been replaced by a certain je sais there is no quoi.

I'm therefore enveloped in some rapture at seeingSamsung's unpacking of the newGalaxy Z Flip. This phone takes on a familiar old form and reimagines it as something entirely of now. Fashion designers have been getting away with this for so long. It's so moving that Samsung is showing its inner Lagerfeldian skirts.

Here is a phone you can prop up on a bar, tilt to your required angle like a compact, and prepare for a collective fascination to bubble around you.

It's something of an ego Flip. Look at the colors it comes in: Mirror Purple, Mirror Gold, and Mirror Black. Mirror, mirror on the bar, who's the one they're all flipping for?

The Z Flip is a phone that's compelling you to see your best self within it. It's a phone that positively cries out to those whose life is all about themselves and what others think of them.

This isn't about the specs. It's about the spectacle. The mere action of flipping it open will create frissons all around you. The sheer confidence in placing it on the bar, and staring into it will entice everyone to wonder: "What a cool way to take a selfie!" Even if you're not taking a selfie at all.

With old clamshell phones, there was a certain awkwardness. With the Z Flip, I imagine flipping it open with your thumb will become a feature of only the most cerebral movies, in which Brad Pitt smokes kale and speaks Norwegian.

My colleague Larry Dignan reports that Samsung is havinga special Flipping event at New York Fashion Week. I do hopeBella, Gigi, Doutzen and Carawill be there.

Some aesthetes, however, will insist the Z Flip will go down best in the world's fashion capital, Paris.

"Zees is Zee Flip?"

"Non, it's zee Zee Flip."

No matter, $1,380 is but a small price to pay for a large fillip to your ego. Especially when you see that the massive, and massively dull in comparison,Galaxy S20 Ultrastarts at $1,399.

This is your moment, brought to you by Samsung. Please make the most of it. These things never last.

Remember, though, to carry with you the finest piece of Chamois leather you can find. I hear the Flipmay have trouble coping with soiled fingers. Well, the sensitive ones always need extra care, don't they?