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Big Phones vs. Small Phones
As someone who values clothing for utility more than fashion, the happiest recent discovery I've made is that the Carhartt pants I wear all have a pocket that perfectly fits my cell phone, an iPhone 4S.*
I drop it in there upside-down, so that my thumb automatically hits the "home" button as I pull it out, making it a second quicker to get to whatever app I need to get to. The odd placement of the pocket somehow never interferes with my leg while sitting down, nor does it place the phone in a dangerous position if I bump into something. Best of all, it stays in there snugly, even if I'm going up a ladder or jogging down the block.
If I had the option for a larger phone, I wouldn't take it. I've never used an iPhone 5, but the 4S is the perfect size for me, and I like being able to carry it in a dedicated pocket on an out-of-the-way spot on my leg.
So I'm a bit surprised to see Samsung's Galaxy Note II is gaining any traction at all, with its massive 5.5" screen, but there's clearly a subset of people who want huge phones.
Huawei's forthcoming Ascend Mate is even larger, with a 6.1" screen.
To those of you that value huge phones, I have to ask—why? I can only assume you guys/gals use yours differently than I use my shrimpy phone, and I'm curious as to what makes the trade-off, from an end-user perspective, worth it.
*A couple of ergonomic notes: I wear a size 28, and wonder if the pocket on say, a size 38 is proportionately scaled-up and too big to snugly hold an iPhone. I shoud also point out that when leaving the house, I pop the phone out of the cheapie silicone case I have for it and leave the case at home--the phone won't slide in and out of the pocket cleanly unless there's no friction. So the one thing I don't like about this set-up is that I'm using an unprotected phone on the street, and if I drop it, that'll be that.
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Comments
I don't think there is a right or wrong here; I might think, that a large screen on a phone looks ridiculous when making a call, but others do like a larger screen. At the same time, if somebody mentions his phone fits perfectly into the pockets of his pants, it is not a rant: it's a serious use-case.
Apple chooses to approach their target with a sniper rifle and some other brands use a shot-gun: try a lot of sizes and see which ones resonate..
Both have their pros and cons, but at least it gives, the end-user a lot of choice.
I do think that the screen size race is similar to the size decreasing trend: technology will make more possible that what is actually required for usability. Until that time; sales figures will prove, which consumer insights strike the right chord.
However, I recently switched from an iPhone 3GS to a Nexus 4 (roughly the size of the Samsung Galaxy S3) and it's been great so far. It's thin enough that it actually feels smaller in my front pockets (size 30") than my old iPhone, I don't really notice it. I have quite big hands so I don't have a problem with one hand operation and having the larger screen is great, so much more content on there.
I think we'll still see some fighting going as to what size should the smartphone be. I think ultimately we'll see all kinds of sizes. Some people want smaller phones that aren't bulky, have small hands and value one hand operation and it's probably possible to make a small phone cheaper. On the other hand, some want the additional content (and computational power) and don't really see the larger size as a big downside.
I think it ultimately comes down to person size, lifestyle and what other electronic gadgets you have in your life. I could see women going for something like the Note since lots cary their phone in their purse anyway, there's no big drawback to having a larger phone if you don't value one hand operation (it's too big for men to use with one hand too, but it still sells). You can get both a phone and a tablet experience in one device. Then the next question do you have a tablet and or a laptop and how often is it with you. I have a laptop and as a student it's basically permanently fixed to my back so I see little point to having a tablet however I do enjoy my larger phone for when I don't have it with me. Some of my friends with tablets don't want big phones because their tablets fills that need.
TL;DR I don't think phones are one size fits all.
No other make or model of pants I have worn provide the good fit (for the phone) that Carhartts do - many other side pockets are too wide or are cargo style, and let the phone slump sideways, which ends up feeling like you've got a bar of soap clunking around against your leg.
The Carhartt side pocket has a kind of divider at the opening (as pictured), although that is only a few inches deep - both sides of the divider go into the same pocket. The outer sleeve section make a phone easier to access and to drop back in place - nice for when I'm doing anything that might require quick access to my phone. The higher, inner sleeve provides a tighter fit for the phone passing through it - it's less convenient, but provides me with more peace of mind when I'm more actively engaged - biking, wrassling with my 5 year old, or anything else that involves my body not being perpendicular to the ground.
I would not even consider buying a phone that didn't fit into that pocket.
I agree with TMK in this regard, as thin is not always best.
Personally I would have loved to buy a 920 in the size of the old Lumia 800 and so would my girlfriend....... there is no way she will ever buy a phone larger than an iphone 4, and I know a lot of other girls are the same, so there must be a large market for this that is not really catered for !
Cellphones killed the need for land lines in my office and tablets killed of having to lug around a laptop. My Note 2 has now relegated my tablet to a bedside reader.
With this phablet I am able to do it all from the field, from catalog display for sales calls to handling any task remotely that I would normally need to sit at a desk to accomplish.
I use an app called Splash Top to access my Mac or my PC and using the awesome galaxy stylus, I can run my office computers in the palm of my hand. This includes QuickBooks invoices, Word documents or any other application that I need to access. The ability to generate invoices in the field saves me more time and money than I can even calculate. All I do is fire up splashtop and open QuickBooks remotely, make the invoice and email it to my client, resulting in a check for payment on the spot!
I could never ever give this phone up....ever.
If I were looking again now, I would seriously consider a larger phone - not because I want the phone larger for most things, but as a compromise - An added tablet device would fill the one task gap but a slight compromise of the size of my mobile device seems more logical.
I'm just hoping eventually tech companies realize that marketing to women doesn't mean making something pink, it means making something that will work for our smaller proportions.
So, everyone else here seems to be on the big phone bandwagon, but only one person has mentioned how she carries hers.I don't carry a purse (maybe I should) and I prefer not to have things in my back pocket. So, here's the challenge- recommend or design a way to conveniently carry a large screen device, say a 5" smartphone or 7" tablet.
To the writer, you are in the minority and need to look at the outside world a bit more than just America. There's a reason why phone-tablets/tablet-phones/mini-tablets are dominating. Its about convergence.
Try using a large screen mobile (4.5" + up) for a month, you'll never look at your toy-ish iphone the same again.
The iphone is actually one of the smallest offerings on the market now days. The form is 'handy' as a phone, but how often do we actually use our phones as such? For browsing content, the larger size is nice to have and can really reduce the need for a tablet.