Are phones getting too big?

[nrm5110]

Even though I'm waiting for my Nexus 4 to arrive I still think 4-4.3" is the best size for a smartphone screen as it can be used with one hand without having to dislocate my thumb!

Android manufacturers don't really offer a choice either as you can't get a phone of that size with top specs - particularly the screen. My phone now is 3.3" (yep that turned out to be too small) but the resolution is higher or equal to all the 4" phones today. I'm not even that bothered about the processor, I've just gotten used to high density screens and a friend's One S was noticeably fuzzy to me (as I was planning on getting that due to the good camera). Until the manufacturers make 'flagship' phones in a range of sizes to me they are not really offering choice on design - merely on price. Well I guess the Note is an exception but they seem to aiming for it to be a business phone for productivity from the advertisements I've seen.

The next generation of phones all seem to be 5" screens so it will be interesting to see how many people buy them as they can't be anywhere near as pocketable. I don't see the advantage of that size... It seems to me more of a way to stick 1080p on the spec sheet.

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Its no harder to pocket really as long as your a male not wearing spermicide pants.

The advantage is seen to those who realize what these devices have become, media consumption devices. Phone is now quickly becoming a secondary function of these devices. Now its about surfing, reading email & ebooks, music, movies, games, etc, etc.

It's literally a paradigm shift in how we see these things. Clearly they sell well enough also otherwise they wouldn't bother making them.

As far as choice there is plenty of smaller devices that are more than capable and decently spec'd. You choose to ignore them because they aren't the brand new big name toy. They function fine and can tackle the average persons needs nearly the same. Power users will see the difference but I assure you its not staggering.

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[NoYankees44]

Its no harder to pocket really as long as your a male not wearing spermicide pants.

The advantage is seen to those who realize what these devices have become, media consumption devices. Phone is now quickly becoming a secondary function of these devices. Now its about surfing, reading email & ebooks, music, movies, games, etc, etc.

It's literally a paradigm shift in how we see these things. Clearly they sell well enough also otherwise they wouldn't bother making them.

As far as choice there is plenty of smaller devices that are more than capable and decently spec'd. You choose to ignore them because they aren't the brand new big name toy. They function fine and can tackle the average persons needs nearly the same. Power users will see the difference but I assure you its not staggering.

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They are not ignored, just not enough. I usually have a phone for close to 2 years. When I buy I get the best available. So to last as long as it can. These undercut speced phones don't cut it. Processor is usually negligible, but screen res, ram, and storage are not.

Plus it needs a dev community and top tier phones always have more devs

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[nrm5110]

They are not ignored, just not enough. I usually have a phone for close to 2 years. When I buy I get the best available. So to last as long as it can. These undercut speced phones don't cut it. Processor is usually negligible, but screen res, ram, and storage are not.

Plus it needs a dev community and top tier phones always have more devs

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Since I know how to compile I don't have a ton of issues on the dev front.

As for res how far do you want them to push it on tiny phones the higher DPI is hard to put together on a decent price point.

Ram most are fairly comparable at usually 1gig.... Currently.

Storage well most actually have SD slots and usually at least 8 gigs internal.

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[NoYankees44]

Since I know how to compile I don't have a ton of issues on the dev front.

As for res how far do you want them to push it on tiny phones the higher DPI is hard to put together on a decent price point.

Ram most are fairly comparable at usually 1gig.... Currently.

Storage well most actually have SD slots and usually at least 8 gigs internal.

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720p is more than adequate for smaller phones. qhd is not...

2gig is soon if not now the standard. I want multitasking to be an option, especially if google finally decides to include true multitasking.

16gig is minimum. Sd slot is highly preferable

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[The Real X Dawg]

They are not ignored, just not enough. I usually have a phone for close to 2 years. When I buy I get the best available. So to last as long as it can. These undercut speced phones don't cut it. Processor is usually negligible, but screen res, ram, and storage are not.

Plus it needs a dev community and top tier phones always have more devs

Sent from my ADR6425LVW

Out of all of those only maybe the storage will be the only thing a non power user will care about and no reason to repeat nrm's points. Those people greatly out number anyone that actually need the best available. Besides you don't always need a big dev community to get stuff done, the Infuse devs at XDA is the main reason I let my girlfriend use my Note 2 the majority of the time. Lastly, unless those larger phones start flopping then there isn't much reason to make a smaller flagship.

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[nrm5110]

720p is more than adequate for smaller phones. qhd is not...

2gig is soon if not now the standard. I want multitasking to be an option, especially if google finally decides to include true multitasking.

16gig is minimum. Sd slot is highly preferable

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Lol I only have one gig and my phone performs swimmingly. Gta3, psx emulation, n64, none of those lag or stutter. So for the most part I'm at a loss I am sure there are more intensive apps/games but I'm betting I could play them without much issue.

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[mazzmoney95]

We all have our dream phone, but guess what? We probably won't get it unless we make one ourselves. I'd love a stock Android Phone with a 4.5 inch 720p screen and great battery. Maybe removable and maybe an sd card. But I probably won't get that. Why? Manufacturers want to be different and want to get the highest specs out for bragging rights. I'll never get the phone I want, but I can get whatever is closest to it. Right now, that's the nexus 4. Once Google moves away from this size and for factor, I don't know what I'll do. I can't go Apple because the thought of having no control of my default apps is scary, and Windows 8 isn't all that appealing with its lack of Google support.

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[Ry]

6.1". lol.



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[badbrad17]

Oh nooooo. Not another one of these threads. We beat this to death a few months back. Personally I think my Nexus 4 is perfect it is really not much bigger than my GS2 which fits great in your pocket and shows you what you need. The iphone is just so small. Fine for phone calls too small for anything else. Squint.

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[mattatwar1]

I think the nexus 4 is a good size

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[nrm5110]

Thing is that,the big phone aims to combine the general smartphone and tablet so that you don't need two devices.Of course, the big phone is not convenient to carry and hold and play,but just like the 9.7 inch iPad, I think no one can say that there are no markets for it.

I find larger phones plenty convenient to carry, hold, and play.

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[Ry]

I'm going to start holding my Nexus 7 up to my ear out in public.

 

[Nakrohtap]

I'm going to start holding my Nexus 7 up to my ear out in public.

You will not see top tiered specs in a smaller phone just like you won't see a Chevy Aveo with a top end stereo or a 200 hp engine. If screen size of 4" is your number one priority, there are phones out there that don't outright suck, but nowhere near top of the line.

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[Ry]

You will not see top tiered specs in a smaller phone just like you won't see a Chevy Aveo with a top end stereo or a 200 hp engine. If screen size of 4" is your number one priority, there are phones out there that don't outright suck, but nowhere near top of the line.

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With consumer electronics and cell phones and tablets, I'm less inclined to buy into that notion when components like processors are shrinking.

Take for example the DROID RAZR M. Same processor and RAM as the "larger" DROID RAZR HD in a smaller package.

I don't buy into the thinking that a phone the size of the DROID RAZR M can't have a S4 Pro with 2GB RAM and a better camera.

 

[The Real X Dawg]

I'm going to start holding my Nexus 7 up to my ear out in public.

Been there done that. Break out one of those nineties behemoths you'll get some interesting looks.

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[Ry]

Been there done that. Break out one of those nineties behemoths you'll get some interesting looks.

Sent from my Jelly Bean chomping Infuse 4G!

I'm sure I have a bag phone laying around here somewhere.

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[bunique4life05]

Capacitive and physical buttons I believe are what makes phones unnecessarily large for some people as well as the phones bezel. If the buttons were gone and bezels cut down then overal size of phones would be smaller. Then these phones would be more "manage able" to hold in one hand and still be able to retain array screen sizes without compromising size.

I like a large display on my phone but don't need the buttons, and bezel which makes the phone larger than needs to be for me.

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[mazzmoney95]

I do think a 4.3 inch phone with the latest hardware is hard to make. Maybe not impossible, but probably impossible to make a profit on. A 4.3 inch device with a 720p screen (1080p would be dumb as that size) and 2 gb of ram and a quad core a15 processor would be hard to make and probably expensive. Not to mention the fact the we would need at least a 2100 mAH battery to power it. The camera shouldn't be too hard to achieve, as the one s has an amazing camera.

The profit on that would be small. There is a reason there is not one high end phone at that size (spec wise). And I don't think "people want big phones" is the only reason.

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[The Real X Dawg]

I'm sure I have a bag phone laying around here somewhere.

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A bag phone?


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[Ry]

A bag phone?


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Yes. A bag phone.

bag phone - Google Search