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Smartphone Screen Real Estate: How Big Is Big Enough?
MojoKid writes "Aside from the terrible nickname (it sounds like a term for the spoiled offspring of fabulous people), phablets are somewhat controversial because they seem to be the epitome of inflated phone sizes. A lot of people wanted bigger, and this is 'bigger' to the extreme. A larger screen on a smartphone is attractive for obvious reasons, but surely there's a limit. So how big is too big? If you're not into parsing out the particulars of form factors and use cases, here's a really easy way to figure out if your phone or phablet is too big: Can you hold the device in one hand and 1) unlock the phone, 2) type out a text message with your thumb, and 3) adjust the volume with the rocker without using your other hand? If not, you might need a smaller phone."
..and it fits perfectly in my breast shirt pocket. I don't put phones in trouser/pants pockets ever since I broke a screen of one by doing so.
I love the Note as its large display makes a great GPS device when in its car holder.
The main thing I want in a smartphone now is enormous battery life as well as the features. I do miss the days when you could charge your phone once a week, but not so much I'm willing to go back to having a basic phone.
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Karma: Chameleon
I've played with the device quite a bit (I'm planning to buy one) and I think the Galaxy Note II would be about the limit for devices that need to fit into trouser pockets and can be held to the ear without looking like a clown.
Unless future fashion changes to accommodate "handsets" and handsets become more about the functions other than voice calls.
MojoKid, go back to your job, milking mice with your tiny hands.
We're good.
You are saying we need to put a grip like a hand gun on it in the bottom right (or left) corner so you can hold it. Swipe an arch with your thumb and have all the text in a semi arch keyboard near the corner. Then we can have a 20" screen for our phone?
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
The criteria presuppose that you *want* to be able to use your phone with only one hand. I am mal-coordinated enough that I can only use my phone with two hands, no matter how big or small it is, so surely the criteria for me are: 1) does it fit in my pocket? 2) can I hold it up to my ear and make a telephone call comfortably? 3) can I hold it in one hand and use it with the other comfortably? 4) is the screen large enough that it can display what I want to see at a reasonable resolution?
I'm still waiting for a modern clamshell formfactor phone. Has to be small enough to fit into my pocket easily.
Can you hold the device in one hand and 1) unlock the phone, 2) type out a text message with your thumb, and 3) adjust the volume with the rocker without using your other hand? If not, you might need a smaller phone.
None of the above points are arguments for/against screens of any size. All of those "problems" can be solved without even thinking about the size of the screen on a device.
1) unlocking schemes for phones can take on any number of different forms, not all requiring you to swipe from edge to edge to unlock.
2) usability of the virtual keyboard has nothing to do with screen size, but a matter of placing it in the correct location on the screen
3) adjusting the volume on a phone has nothing to do with screen size, and everything to do with placement of the rocker button.
... whatever
I think between 3 and 3.5 inches is perfect, assuming you have good eyesight to be happy with small fonts on a very high resolution display.
I grew up when a Trimline, so I expect a phone to take up a certain amount of space on my face when I'm talking. Given that "candy bar" phones are shrinking like nobody's business lately, phablets are where my comfort zone exists nowadays. I kinda want to have the pickup at least somewhere where my mouth is, and I'm not an alien being, so my mouth isn't behind my ear, and hinges break, so no clamshells for me. I've found that the 7" phablets are a nice fit on the face, if a bit wide for my taste.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
I don't care that I need two hands to do any of those things... Why don't you just go on with our life and let me have my big screen and battery?
Those are some of the dumbest, most arbitrary reasons to tell someone their phone is too large - is he/she being paid by Apple? I want a phone with a screen large enough for me to read web pages comfortably and not need a tablet. I would be fine with a 7 inch phone - not everyone has the hand size and lifting strength of a teenage girl.
"Too big" is when not enough people will want to buy it to make it worthwhile to produce.
Anything else is just subjective.
To me, a 9.7" tablet is too big, but iPad's continued sales prove that this is merely my subjective (minority) opinion.
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r u sirius? txtg is soo yesrdy ;-)
The number ONE question should have been:
Can you comfortably phone someone or receive phone call without resorting to earplug?
But the iPhone 4 is just the right size for me. The 5 feels already too long. I'm worried that if Apple jumps on the 'my phone is bigger than your phone' bandwagon I'll be left with no replacement, as all the Android small phones are el cheapo versions with slow hardware.
Btw, I'm male, and I don't have particularly small hands. I can reach around a 4-4.3" screen with one hand, I just don't want one.
I apologize for the lack of a signature.
My preference is still the iphone up through version 4. After that it gets bothersome to carry and use. I'm still reluctant to get a 5 with it's 1/2" longer screen. The old dimensions were just about perfect.
I have a company-issued Galaxy SII. It sits unused on my kitchen counter, calls forwarded to my iphone. I can't stand the SII's size -- and it's really not that much larger than an old iphone - maybe 1/2" all around. I think it's excessively large. I used it almost exclusively for a month and gave up on it. This time any "cool" value of being "different" (android vs. ios, anyone else vs. apple) was destroyed by the way the phone feels in my hand and pocket. Sorry. It just doesn't work for me, and I honestly feel it's the extra size.
It's not like I have tiny hands or anything -- and I'm sure everyone's different -- but I don't want a big phone. I'm sure there are others who think the same thing.
As for the satnav argument presented before, meh and double meh. Why should I put up with the compromises of even a large phone when I have a perfectly good top-shelf TomTom with humongous screen and a speaker that makes itself extremely intelligible at 65% volume even with the music going fairly loudly? That's something neither of my phones can do. For every job, a proper tool, yes?
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
How about another metric:
Can you dial a useful number without looking at your phone?
On a trusty old nokia 3310 (or similar) I could unlock, dial the last used, dial the top number in my phone book, dial emergency services and various other tasks without looking. There are few circumstances where this could be very useful (or save your life).
I dont think i could do it on any smart phone.
i want the biggest screen i can get without looking like an idiot for holding it to my ear. i do all the stuff he mentioned 2 handed anyway
This is a joke. I am joking. Joke joke joke.
I think that 15.6" with a fold out keyboard should just about do it.
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#4 Can you buy a bluetooth headpiece and pair it with your phablet?
If so then the first 3 arguments are moot. I think most people who are buying them recognize that in most cases the "ablet" portion is more important for them than the "ph" portion but don't want to have a phone and a tablet.
After HP bought out Palm, but before they ran it into the ground, they released the HP Veer 4G.
Tiny phone. 2.8" inch screen. Vertical slider with a physical keyboard that was on the small side of usable. More than sufficient for banging out an SMS or the occasional e-mail. Wireless inductive charging. A tiny phone, great when paired with a tablet.
So, how big is big enough? 2.8" for me. Wishing that someone would bring out a modern smartphone in that form factor... but it seems like the smallest smartphone at 3.5" is the iPhone 4...
Can you hold the device in one hand and 1) unlock the phone, 2) type out a text message with your thumb, and 3) adjust the volume with the rocker without using your other hand? If not, you might need a smaller phone.
Gee, thanks Professor! I never coulda worked that one out for myself.
Smartphone Screen Real Estate: How Big Is Big Enough?
The answer is: Big Enough is Big Enough, the definition of which varies from person to person and is usually obvious to said person within about five minutes of trying out the phone.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Clearly, we need resizeable phones. The phone should unfold to be the size of a tablet when it's in our hands, of course. We also need it to be seamless -- no unsightly hinges or gaps, please. But then when we make a call, we need it to squeeze down to be about 2-2.5 inches wide in our hand, and no more than 6-8 inches long. At a different time, the camera mode should have something about 5 inches by 3 inches, and a good half inch thick would be perfectly acceptable.
Don't laugh at me! *chuckle* But seriously, when we get flexible electronics, flexible displays, and a gel-like glass/plastic screen.. we're mostly there. Then the "phone" will truly be a one device for everything gadget, that expands, quite literally, to fit its current use. Add a slight electrical charge to make its current form rigid after it adjusts to the needed size.
Ok, there's the idea. Get on it, inventors!
I can understand the need for 4.2" - 5" screens from a 'sausage finger and less-than-20/20-vision perspective'.
But that leaves us geek girls horribly disenfranchised by the industry!
I'd rather have the same amount of pixels stuffed in a 3" max. (yes, THREE inch) screen. Everything larger feels as completely unnecessary bulk and only makes the design more prone to breakage. And... you need to be extremely 'gifted' to stuff a Galaxy Note in your bra!
Yes, there are some activities that work better with more physical screen space and in those cases anything less than 10" is cramped. But I already have a device for that; it's called a tablet. Horses for courses, DUH
The Nexus 4 is my first touch-screen phone and I wouldn't want anything larger. I can just stretch my thumb across the whole screen while holding it with one hand; any larger and I would either need to use two hands or be prone to dropping it.
What if phones came in a range of shapes and sizes so you could choose the size that suited you.
If only we lived in such a world...
NB: Samsung links for illustrative purposes only - different sized phones are available from other manufacturers - I believe Apple will sell you a rather fine phone if you believe that there is Only One True Phone Size. Odd, because Apple offer every other product line they do in a range of form factors...
Seriously folks - the right size of phone depends on your personal priorities. If you're a heavy voice/txt user then maybe a smaller, thumb-friendly phone is for you. If you only send the occasional voice call or txt, but want web, email, navigation, games in your pocket then phablets are more attractive. The Galaxy Note II is about the minimum size to be useful with a stylus and/or split screen multitasking - but maybe you don't want to use those (Samsung's split-screen multitasking is impressive, but I admit that the only reason I ever use it is to show people how impressive it is...)
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
I'm using a Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro (the second version). It's very small but chunky when closed (sort of the same size as the old ericsson handsets), has a good touchscreen, but slides open to show a really good small keyboard, leaving the entire screen clear. Sits in my pocket very easily, and is fast enough for whatever I need.
I think one-thumb typing is one of those silly arbitrary things - is it quicker to do that? If it isn't, why do it, unless it's for sending texts when you should be concentrating on something else.
I was never a blackberry user (did have a Nokia E61 before my last phone, an original HTC Magic). I do like to send emails, and properly punctuated, grammatically correct text messages (not old hat, whatever anyone tells you).
However, the entire mobile phone industry seems to have decided, even in the UK, that phones with keyboards are unmarketable old hat. Sony, having bought out Ericsson, is the last to fall: apparently nobody wants them.
For me its all a matter of ergonomics and the individuals hand size. Sure applications developers can develop for folks with larger phones and small hands - but in general they don't give a damn. I have a Galaxy S2 - and sometimes I do find it a stretch when using the device one handed - and I have dropped the phone on more than one occasion - so I guess I don't want too much bigger than an S2 - but people with bigger hands will want bigger devices. It definitely is easier on the eyes to read from a larger screen.
I've got a Galaxy Note II and admittedly it took a while to get used to the large screen size, but after a few weeks I had to borrow the wifes iPhone and it felt like a puny childs toy in comparison. I love the big screen for browsing the web, playing games and reading e-books...not sure I'd want to go any bigger than a Note II though, I think anything larger would start to get a too unwieldy to use as a phone. I'd love to see an upgraded version that has the same screen size, but better support for windowed applications so I could hook it upto my TV/monitor and use it as a PC. It already does HDMI out with surround sound and you get can a receiver that adds a few USB ports, so the hardware is there, it's just the operating system that is lacking.
There are phones of every size from 2" to 8" (and even 10" with a bit of hacking).
Some people call a lot, some don't
Some people text a lot, some don't
Some people read a lot on their phones, some don't. And some have good eyesight, others not.
Some people spend a lot of time in transit, some don't
Some people have big hands, some don't
There's a right size for every customer and use case.
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
Why are you so interested in my big phablet (Galaxy Note)? The endless tirade from you busy bodies (U Know Who You Are!) with nothing better to do. Comment such as: Is that a phone in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me; Nice TV; Shouting hello into a pretend massive phone; ...
If you do not want one, or you don't want mine, fine, it is only a matter of time till you succumb.
My note is perfect and I can operate mine one handed.
The answer to this question is to look at the sales boom in the year of the phablet.
However, to be fair, the following dimensions are far too big.
147 x 83.5 x 9.8 mm
A better question would be how do you secure your phablet, I use F-Secure.
The "phablet" needs to be small enough I can carry it like a book or in a coat pocket.
Otherwise it needs to be as big as possible so I can see text with my aging eyes
and not miss keys and buttons with my fat fingers.
7 or 8 inches is OK. Bluetooth ear candy is your friend - no need to hold your "phablet" to your ear.
I already have a Nexus 7 with 3G for data - it would be good enough if it also did voice calls over 3G.
4 inch phones are for kids.
pretty much explains itself. don't need to hold the phone to your ear
Last Xmas I gave myself a Galaxy Note 2, upgrading from an aging HD2. I'm a big screen whore so it was a no brainer.
Yes, at first it's cumbersome and unwieldy and I took a couple weeks of daily usage to get used to it. All reviews pointed this out, so I knew what I was getting into.
Now I can operate it one-handed (ok, I have big NBA-player hands) and it fits in any pocket if I remove the rubbery cover I got at DX.
Any S3 or iPhone 5 is tiny by comparsion. I just don't see mysef going back to small screens.
I am old enough to remember the old wooden block phones that looked like a Dalek bolted to the wall and which required two hands to operate: One to hold the ear piece, one to wind the ringer and then you get "Number please???" from the lady at the exchange.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
I am an old school geek. I wear my phone in a pouch on my hip. Keys, and change go in my pocket... wallet in hit pocket.
Can't put those giant larger phones on my hip... it's getting ridiculous enough with the Nexus 4. I do appreciate the higher screen resolutions, but the Nexus 4 delivers that well enough for now. But I also like my Nexus 7 for those other functions like GPS and such... though admittedly, the last time I was doing GPS, it was my Nexus 4.
It's longish but not unmanageable. The weight difference, on the other hand, is staggering. iPhone 5 is like a feather in your hands.
Small enough to fit in my pocket.
Otherwise, it will end up as a desk phone, just like all the iPhones and Android phones at work, that stay on the owners desk while they go elsewhere, and when they ring, either the owner will rush through the office, or not be around, and the phone will just be a noisy interruption to everyone else. Just like the land line used to be.
Don't perpetuate that name. Yuck.
ph***ets
your smartphone carries you.
That would be "big enough", even if you won't call it smartphone, maybe gundam would be appropiate. But wearing it should be the future.
The phone spends the majority of its time in my pocket, so it needs to meet a number of compromise goals:
1) fit in a reasonable pocket. I carry mine in a front pocket, and usually wear jeans or dockers, and am male, so it can be fairly large in x/y dimensions.
2) survive in a reasonable pocket: in my pocket, there's a significant risk of flexing as I sit, run, whatever. It's got to be thick enough (or durable enough) to resist damage from flexing.
3) utility: I like the biggest possible screen, without a lot of space wasted on frame/bezel. A big screen is easier for just about anything from movies to books to showing something to someone to using it as an in-car nav system.
I have a galaxy s3 with a 4.8" screen which is great and while I was quite concerned with its durability at first (it's pretty thin) i've been favorably impressed.
-Styopa
... DUH!
That is a big assumption on my usage. I do not typically use my Galaxy SIII one handed - I typically use it with both hands. What do I typically use my smartphone for?
I text far more often now to communicate with family, but since I can't get a phone with an integrated keyboard and I have yet to custom build a case that holds a small bluetooth keyboard, I need a bigger screen - because I need buttons that fit the size of my short stubby fingers AND I have having only one or two lines of text displayed when typing.
However, I far more often use my phone for internet browsing, reading Slashdot and Reddit, reading email, watching Netflix or Youtube videos on the go, checking weather, and as an alarm clock. My type of usage is becoming more common.
(Oh, as to using Netflix on a phone I often get "why would you want to watch Netflix on such a tiny screen" to which I say "that's why I want a larger screen" - and then they say "why would anyone want a larger screen on a phone" and I say "because I mainly use it to watch Netflix and browse the web on the go or when on vacation." My coworkers mocked me getting a 3.8" smartphone as being "huge" - and yet within the year they all had 4" screens and didn't see a problem with it.)
Next, all three aspects are not a function of the size of the smartphone but design decisions. You can place the volume rocker, the unlock, and make a one handed virtual thumb-board for texting on even the largest of devices - but you have to break the traditional model and move the stuff around. Why are the volume and power buttons towards the top of smartphones when people more often hold them towards the bottom? Why do virtual keyboards mimic physical ones rather than coming up with a novel and more functional layout for one handed usage? They don't have to be designed that way - there was an active choice.
As to the Galaxy Note II (my next phone when I can afford it) - that uses a wacom pen input. As a long time user of what use to be called Tablet PCs but now are called either slates or convertable tablet PCs (as a coworker who now works at Microsoft insisted on since a tablet means an iPad styled device only to him and his Microsoft cohorts *rolls eyes*), I love a pen interface. What is more natural than writing a to-do list or taking a note with a pen? That is definitely not a one-handed activity, and thus there is no need to keep it to a size that is one-handed.
Finally, the pocket issue. How many times do I have to hear this one? First it was we all needed Razrs or at least flip phones because the candybar form factor was too bulky for a pocket. Then physical keyboards or extended batteries made a phone too big for a pocket and too thick to hold in a hand... but nothing felt better then sliding out a keyboard and using my Galaxy S (and the SIII is so thin that a slide out keyboard really wouldn't have been that horrible to add). Now its the large screen makes them too big for all but cargo pants. I don't buy it - I have plenty of space in the pockets of my slacks or jeans with my SIII in a case - even with the "larger screen" (something I was told by coworkers would be too "unpocketable" but was a non-issue). I've looked at the Note II and it will fit fine also. Even if it didn't, then I could get pants with larger pockets - and I don't mean cargo pants. Again, a non-issue.
CONCLUSION: With all that said about it being a design choice and preference - if a person finds a "phablet" like the Note II to be too big for them - that's fine. Just recognize it as a choice. I am saddened that those who want small flip phones and
The ideal size for a phone is for one end to reach your ear and the other end to reach your mouth. If you look at corded and cordless phones throughout history, you'll find they (or their handset) are all this size. It's only recently, in the last 20 years, that phones began to get smaller in an attempt to make them more portable. In fact flip phones were invented to maintain the ear-to-mouth length while collapsing into a smaller size for carrying. For a while it was a contest to see who could come out with the smallest phone, so they kept shrinking (often compromising voice quality during calls because the microphone was further from the mouth, causing the phone to pick up more ambient noise).
Then phones merged with PDAs and suddenly you wanted a bigger screen. So phones started to get bigger again. For people who just want a phone, a smaller size will do. For people who want to do more computer stuff on their phone, the screen is more important so they'll prefer the bigger screen. The whole premise that small is good and big is bad on a phone is a recent phenomenon, and outdated because it's based on when all you did with a mobile phone was make calls. Today it's a tradeoff between portability (smaller is better) and comfortable screen size (bigger is better).
The summary asks when is a phone too big? But an equally valid question is when is a smartphone too small?
I would love to be able to have both something like this Nokia candybar phone with its pleasing form factor and epic battery life, as well as a small tablet that also happened to handle cellular phone calls, if they could both send/receive calls using the same number. I can have more than one phone with the same number in my house, what's so unreasonable about having more than one cellular device with the same number?
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Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
I just have someone else carry it for me. I'm getting a 22" phone.
Franklin: "There, it's done and printed! The first American dollar bill! What do you think of it Tom?"
Jefferson: "It's too big...I mean, really, an 8x10 of George, it's hard to put in your wallet."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL01B5DC0C984EFA2D&feature=player_detailpage&v=o2v9A-PZ5wA#t=297s
--
BMO
If people don't buy it, then you might want to rethink the the design. Otherwise, let the people decide on things like size, and how they want to use the device.
Think Different!
I have a galaxy note, which fits just fine in my pants pocket, and can easily be used one-handed.
I look forward to moving to an 8" Samsung tablet with phone support when they come out, which will reside in a jacket pocket.
Talking is not my primary usage of smart phone, and hasn't been for years.
There's no such thing as too big
A larger (for the time) screen tablet-like thingy that was pocketable and large enough to use for the internet, inherently expecting to be used with another phone meant to be for phoning, and you pair the two.
They don't need screens. Screens are the reason all the douchebag kids are crashing into people. Modern devices are being designed by cunts for cunts, and I'm not just talking about dildos. Bluetooth is what you're gonna have after i punch your stupid fucking face.
Keep in mind that for many people a smartphone will be their only computer. Personally (like many slashdotters) I have a dual monitored desktop, a 15" laptop, an iPad, an e-ink bookreader, and an iPhone. So I can pick the exact screen size I want to match my needs exactly; thus I want my smart phone to stay fairly small. But if I only had one screen and it were to be my smart phone I would want that screen to be bordering on the absurd. I wouldn't want to hold an iPad mini to my ear but pretty close. Plus get a bluetooth headset and you won't look like a dumbass with this brick up against your ear.
So it makes total sense for people to get huge smartphones. People blah blah about the post PC era, which for joe non-technical is rapidly approaching. This post PC world will probably make larger screens quite logical.
One other market is the Baby Boomer: With failing eyesight the bigger the better when it comes to screen/font sizes. "Oh I don't have the coolest phone? Don't care because I can read the screen."
To a very very subjective question? This seems like an odd thing to ask -- as though there is some perfect, golden size for a phone. How big are your hands? How long is your thumb? Do you use an earpiece all the time? What about a ThingSling? Are you principally wearing slacks or jeans? How big is the pocket on your coat that corresponds to your principle hand? How much weight is comfortable on that hand? Do you also own a tablet? Does your phone need to fit easily into a dash mount? How good are you with voice recognition? Do you text with the frequency of a gregarious teenager, or do you have a compulsion to show people YouTube videos at random moments? Or both?
I really hope the industry doesn't take all the data it gathers on its best-selling phones and decide "Yup, X inches is definitely the best, commence mass-production." We're all different.
My phone's much smaller than a 'phablet', but can I do it?
Can I unlock it with one hand? Yeah, I just flick the screen open to expose the keyboard.
Can I type a text message with my thumb? Uh, theoretically yes, but it would be really awkward to balance my phone across my hand and tap out a message on the hardware keyboard that way. If I needed to send a text after my other hand was chopped off or something, I guess I'd hit the Vlingo icon and say 'Text Bob, AAAAUGH SOMEONE CUT OFF MY HAND!'
Can I adjust the volume rocker one-handed? Sure. I can do that on my tablet, too. And my DSi XL, which is bigger than any 'phablet' when open. For that matter, it only takes one hand to adjust the volume on my record player, though I'll admit that usually isn't in my pocket.
What a bizarre set of things to rate a phone on!
Agree 100%.
I don't have an iPhone, I'm running my circa 2010 LG Optimus S - and it's positively tiny compared to many of the phones out there. I've played with the Galaxy SII/III - too big. The Lumia 920 - too big. The sad thing is that the trend is going even -bigger-. Sigh. But - my OpS fits in my pocket easily, has good battery life (2 days normal use between charges), and is running CM9 (4.0.2) and it runs great.
An iPhone 4 is about the same size (little thinner) and wouldn't be bad IMHO, but the Galaxy SIII is a full inch taller and half inch wider. It's just too damn big.
Any 'phone' where I have to do more to call someone that press 11 buttons (10 for the number and 1 to dial) isn't a phone, it's a micro-tablet that can also make phone calls.
So at that stage all we're arguing over is your personal preference, and there is no 1 correct answer.
Old people with bad vision just need to spend some money and go to the eye doctor for modified glasses. That aside, the real solution is the same size or smaller screen with a physic keyboard on a slider type of assembly underneath it. My Samsung Character R640 has that and I can type faster than any touch-based one including a full sized iPad. Once you can type on it and see it, save the battery life and stop making the screen (and GPU) bigger.
I would like to add that size is only part of the equation. Screen resolution is equally as important. Resolution dictates how much data can be displayed. Each pixel is a data point. If you have 1080p you have approximately 2 million data points. Screen size comes into play in that you must be able to see and distinguish the data. I've found that I have no problem reading 1080p on a 5in screen. When I hold my phone up while watching a 60in TV, they are about the same size. The Note II has 1 million pixels on a 5.5in screen. That may be good if eye sight is less than perfect, but you are carrying a bigger, heavier phone to display half the data of say a Droid DNA. I hear there may be an iPhone with a 5in screen, but it will have the resolution of the iPhone 5. This maybe helpful for someone with less than perfect vision, but the 5in screen will not show any more data than the 4in screen.
If you need a second hand to adjust the a volume cause you're holding the phone with your first hand, you have no hand left to jerk yourself off due to the large screen size.... that... that REALLY sucks...
Your thumb is for the space-bar. Your fingers are for typing. If you are giving us screens big enough to actually type, how about at least giving us transparent little home-row tactile-feedback bumps where the 'f' and 'j' keys are?
While 5.5" may sound way to big it really is a pretty good size for what i use it for. No problems holding it on call and at the same time enough screen to be able to do anything on the web with ease and watch movies etc comfortably. Imho its just a matter of taste really and what you use your mobile for. If all you do is making calls then a large screen will of course suck.
Personally im still waiting for the mobile that can replace my desktop. I suppose any phone with an intact Linux distribution in it would fit the bill rather nicely.
HTTP/1.1 400
Seriously, get a tablet if you want something big. iPhone 5 is a bit too big but the S3 and others are even bigger. The iPhone 4S is the perfect size, imo.
I don't see any end in sight. I figure in two or three years we'll see people walking around with 27" phones on their shoulders.
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
Or whatever they are called, they have these large side pocket.
My prediction is they are going to be the next trend ;-)
New things are always on the horizon
The bigger the display the better. Get a 7" screen phone and use a bluetooth headset for phone calls.
seriously, I'd buy one the instant it comes on market.
IMO, the perfect size was a 4" screen.
However, I have a shorter than average height. I currently have the GNex, and find it a little large. I have to use two hands to steady the phone while using it.
It would be ideal if I could power on the phone with my pinky resting on the bottom to keep it from slipping out of my hand. As it is now, I can do that, but my thumb/index finger is stretching all the way up to the power button (right, top of phone) and usually my pinky will slip off the bottom before I reach it.
I also used to be able to swipe and type one handed with the OG Nexus. Now I hold the phone with my left hand and type with my right.
It's shame they can't offer people different sizes of the same phone (especially nexuses? nexii?). Give people the option of the 4", 4.5", and 5" screens.
The bigger the display the better. Get a 7" screen phone and use a bluetooth headset for phone calls.
Awesome, then everyone can look like a giant douche.
If it comes down to doing things with one hand, then even the 3.5" ones will fail with me. Touchscreen in same hand that's holding it, has just too high of an error rate for me. Real buttons can be used that way, but touchscreens fail. (It would help if the designers would use decent-size batteries, questing for something useful rather than extreme thinness. Use a real battery and the device will weigh more, and be more stable when held in one hand! Fuckwit designers, grumble grumble.)
Fortunately, it doesn't really come down to doing things with one hand. To me, it's all about size relative to front trouser pocket. Your milage may vary; we all have different ways of doing things.
BTW, I'm seeing a trend I didn't notice before: people are saying that if a device is too big, then somehow it looks silly when you hold it up to your ear like a phone. I think that's a matter of totally arbitrary taste. I was watching The Prisoner (1967) again a few weeks ago, and they had some enormous phone props, and you know what? They actually looked kind of cool (I'm not saying they would be practical, just that the aesthetics worked out ok). If you think a large phone looks silly, then either the problem is with you, or there's some elusive stylistic aspect to phones, above and beyond size. Personally, I think the problem is in the eye of the beholder, but if I'm wrong about that, then I'm probably right in thinking that someone can make a good-looking large smartphone. It just won't be one of us tech-heads.
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I use my note 2 one handed all the time, and I consider myself to be have relatively small hands for a guy my height(6 feet). I use the bodyglove TPU for protection and a better grip, and it still fits just fine in my front pocket even in my slim fit works pants.
I will admit however that I can't see myself using a bigger phone than this, to me it's the sweet spot for screen size and usability.
Bigger isn't better.
I had the big Samsung phone, and after the screen broke, I felt that it was too big.
I have a Xperia active now because I like the water resistance of it and tougher screen, battery life is a bit small, but ok if you're not gps recording activities for more than 4-5 hours per day.
The smaller screen is fine, mostly because for any real information gathering I use my Ipad.
I'd recommend to restrict to only what you really need for your phone, and then let a tablet work for the rest of your mobile IT needs.
At first, I thought huge phones would be a good idea, as it would deter use while driving. Doh! Yesterday a driver next to me was using her 10" tablet, holding it in the air with one hand and touching the screen with the other, while driving. Never mind...
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last year and sold it.
For a full two months I just used my iPad 2 and Google Voice on speaker for phone calls (my longtime number was ported to my Google Voice account ages ago, so I didn't have to switch numbers or anything).
I *strongly* considered just sticking to the iPad for phoning and being done with it.
In the end, I decided to get a dedicated device, but screen size is a big deal for me—the iPhones are just too small. I was trying to decide between an iPad Mini and a Galaxy Note II as my primary phone.
Finally decided on the Note.
But I can totally see how for some people an iPad might be a perfectly acceptable phone.
STOP . AMERICA . NOW
why not have a shimmering full size Catherine Zeta Jones following you around, telling you when people want to converse with you (amusingly in 'their' voice), and letting you read emails on her back, or wrist...don't get me started on touch enabled gestures for unlocking! Pity about all those folk with Steve Jobs following them, though.
In NSA America social networks join you!
The nice thing about the plethora of choices in the Android world is that there doesn't have to be one size that fits all. Want a 7 inch phone display? Fine. Here you go. A smartphone that's in the form factor of a box of Chiclets? Sure. You're not limited by the design choices that work for others.
This is the way it should be, as with a number of Android device buyers rapidly approaching a billion a year there are more than enough customers to drive a variety of options.
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None of this would be an issue if the cell phone vendors and the cell phone companies worked out a VoIP setup for the phones that would allow cell phone numbers to have a presentation on multiple devices simultaneously.
If they could do this, then you would just pick which device you want to bring with you and you could answer and make calls on whatever was handy. Going on a trip and want to pack light? Bring the 7" tablet. Going out? Bring the 4" phone. Sitting on the couch with the 10" tablet, but left the phone in the bedroom? Answer the call on the tablet.
the Note II has a split-screen mode that lets you have two applications running side-by-side
Only if the applications are opted-in to this mode, because otherwise, that would violate existing applications' assumption that a screen's size is fixed at installation. Apparently application developers can opt-in to multi-window functionality by setting a flag in the manifest, but good luck getting Samsung devices into the hands of the developers of all the applications that you use so that you can convince them to test their applications while opted-in.
There's a product sized between a phone and a tablet; it's called a "phablet". There used to be a product sized between a tablet and a laptop; it was called a "netbook". Advantages of netbooks included supported for split-screen multitasking from day one. But companies stopped making these 10" laptops at the end of 2012. What's the canonical replacement for netbooks that runs all applications that I ran on my netbook?
If I were female I could put a big phone in my purse
There exist purses for men, called MessENger bags.
There's only a submit button on the mobile version of /.
After trying to get mobile Slashdot to behave on my Nexus 7 tablet, I discovered I like the "classic" version (slashdot.org) a lot better than the new mobile interface (m.slashdot.org). Classic still has the same preview button as desktop Slashdot.
That is my personal 'line'. If it fits, its a phone, if it doesn't its a tablet.. I currently am using a 6" phone. And no, i don't hold it to my head to talk to people. Bluetooth for me. ( or speakerphone )
Okay thats enough of the double entendres.
However even with a small phone, I rest it in the palm of my hand and prod out the digits with a finger from the other. So I don't regard the one hand test as invalid.
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Having lived with a GS3 for several months, I like the resolution but it's a little too big. I think the perfect balance would be a 1280x720 screen, but a little smaller - say 4.3 to 4.5 inches. I would also like to see a tablet around 6 to 7 inches with the same PPI as the 720p smartphones, i.e. around 1600x900 pixels. Why are the current 7" tablets so pixel-deprived compared to the 4-5" phones and the 10" tablets, one of which is now up to a ridiculous 2560x1600 pixels??
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I have the original Galaxy Tab which was the first Android 7" "phablet". I hear it actually did quite poorly in terms of sales, perhaps it was too ahead of its time. I have tried to upgrade to a newer handset but after like two years I can't get over how small all the screens are including the Note II. I'm waiting until some manufacturer sees the light and makes another 7" phone. FYI fits (barely) in the pockets of most male clothing, and if you are female I suppose there's your purse.
4.0" , 4.3" , 4.7" , smallest to biggest. At least I have a case for these.
Really it is a very nice share regarding Smartphone real estate