Big phones are uncomfortable.

[Crono]

I was responding to the assertion made in this thread that a case was "essential".

They most certainly aren't. Maybe some feel they're essential for them personally. Fine. But to insist that applies to everyone is silly. (Kind of like the whole theme of this thread, someone insisting their own personal preference -based on some hangup at that- is an absolute for everyone.)

Many of us don't want to a case ruining the look of a phone any more than I want a Nabi vs. an adult's tablet.

From the context, I doubt kyrax meant "essential" as in "everyone on the planet must use a case, or else!", just that for people looking to preserve the value of such an expensive device, it's recommended to have one. Clearly it's a matter of preference and a personal assessment of risk. If someone wants to use a big phone without a case, or a small phone with a case or whatever, it is up to them. There's no single best option; at best, you might find a majority opinion one way or another, but in the end technology is about the needs of the user.

 

[Turbonium]

I bloody hate larger phones. I just don't get people's fascination with them. I'm a simple person though, and I don't like 5000 functions/apps on my phone. I loathe phone games (I used to remove even basic ones on candybar phones in the past). I just want to make calls, use e-mail, browse the web enough to receive and send information, and text. Music is good, but videos are a bonus. I do not want a camera, at all, yet even basic phones have one now.

I have a Lumia 620, and I think it's the ideal size really. It has a 3.8" screen I think. I could handle up to 4" (same ratio), but anything beyond that is ridiculous.

So yea 3.8-4" screen, and don't give me a bloody camera, just give me a bigger battery with that extra space.

One can dream.

 

[dawheat]

Oh please. Most people toddler-proofing their phones from themselves aren't traveling internationally to the wilds of the earth with no access to resources all the time. Let's dredge up every extreme while we're at it.

If you're being jostled around in public- put the freakin' phone away, pay attention to your surroundings.

If you're with your kids: put the phone away.

if you're jumping out of a taxi in the rain, onto your 3rd flight in 3 days, etc- put the phone away.

Like I said, all most people need to do is stop trying to tweet or do whatever it is they feel is so damned important when they're engaging in activities that increase the likelihood of dropping the phone. (Or being the annoying jackasses I see people being who keep their minds/eyes glued to their damned phones all the time rather than engage in the real world.) When you're seated IN the taxi or plane securely- THEN use your phone- not while jumping out of it. No adult toddler-proofing needed.

Having kids or doing business travel are extreme examples now? I'm simply responding to your blanket statement that cases aren't necessary and people who use them are irresponsible. That's less defensible than people who believe cases are absolutely essential.

 

[rh71]

I bloody hate larger phones. I just don't get people's fascination with them. I'm a simple person though, and I don't like 5000 functions/apps on my phone. I loathe phone games (I used to remove even basic ones on candybar phones in the past). I just want to make calls, use e-mail, browse the web enough to receive and send information, and text. Music is good, but videos are a bonus. I do not want a camera, at all, yet even basic phones have one now.

I have a Lumia 620, and I think it's the ideal size really. It has a 3.8" screen I think. I could handle up to 4" (same ratio), but anything beyond that is ridiculous.

So yea 3.8-4" screen, and don't give me a bloody camera, just give me a bigger battery with that extra space.

One can dream.

When you have kids in this day and age, you're gonna be glad you have a nice camcorder/camera built into your phone for the spontaneous moments. I don't care if you have a DSLR. That brick is not going with you everywhere everyday. I haven't used it much since they were older than 4. I have a lot of videos & pics in HD quality thanks to these modern day phones.

 

[Turbonium]

When you have kids in this day and age, you're gonna be glad you have a nice camcorder/camera built into your phone for the spontaneous moments. I don't care if you have a DSLR. That brick is not going with you everywhere everyday. I haven't used it much since they were older than 4. I have a lot of videos & pics in HD quality thanks to these modern day phones.

I don't want kids. And I don't use any social networking either, so zero use for a built-in camera.

 

[rh71]

I don't want kids. And I don't use any social networking either, so zero use for a built-in camera.

Coincidentally I have a friend who just emailed us pics of her newborn baby girl from Saturday. She swore she'd never do social media so she emailed everyone instead. And she also swore she'd never have kids. She almost made it come true - she's almost 40.

 

[Turbonium]

Coincidentally I have a friend who just emailed us pics of her newborn baby girl from Saturday. She swore she'd never do social media so she emailed everyone instead. And she also swore she'd never have kids. She almost made it come true - she's almost 40.

Even if I had a kid, I wouldn't spam the photo of my kid to everyone I know. I'm not typical. Nice try though.

 

[dbk]

Bigger battery on a 4 inch screen? Guess itll be like 3 inches thick

 

[Turbonium]

Bigger battery on a 4 inch screen? Guess itll be like 3 inches thick

How? You can make the length of the battery longer just by removing the camera hardware.

Just looking at my Lumia 620, I'm guessing that would yield at least a 10% increase in battery rating, if not more.

 

[Crono]

How? You can make the length of the battery longer just by removing the camera hardware.

Just looking at my Lumia 620, I'm guessing that would yield at least a 10% increase in battery rating, if not more.

The camera module is small and usually stacked on top of the battery. Not sure about the 620, but maybe it could be done with that same kind of design. You would have to shift or remove some other components, though, to make room for a larger battery. Or re-design the battery.

The number of people who specifically don't want a camera is too low for these companies to justify mass manufacturing of smartphones without them, however. Same reason that physical keyboards disappeared on nearly all smartphones, the demand just isn't there.

 

[Turbonium]

The camera module is small and usually stacked on top of the battery. Not sure about the 620, but maybe it could be done with that same kind of design. You would have to shift or remove some other components, though, to make room for a larger battery. Or re-design the battery.

The number of people who specifically don't want a camera is too low for these companies to justify mass manufacturing of smartphones without them, however. Same reason that physical keyboards disappeared on nearly all smartphones, the demand just isn't there.

I meant just in terms of where the actual lens and such is with the 620, that bit could be removed and the entirety of the battery could be longer. Assuming it works that way, like a container, that's at least 10% battery more volume right there. Either way, no camera to worry about will result in more juice one way or another.

Also yea, I know about the demand thing. That's why I'm venting in this thread about how I'm not like 99% of people.

I really want modular phones to exist. I'd custom build the shit out of my phone, even at a slight or even moderate premium.

 

[Crono]

I meant just in terms of where the actual lens and such is with the 620, that bit could be removed and the entirety of the battery could be longer. Assuming it works that way, like a container, that's at least 10% battery more volume right there. Either way, no camera to worry about will result in more juice one way or another.

Also yea, I know about the demand thing. That's why I'm venting in this thread about how I'm not like 99% of people.

I really want modular phones to exist. I'd custom build the shit out of my phone, even at a slight or even moderate premium.

Yeah, I'm hoping Project Ara delivers on the promise of modular phones.

 

[openwheel]

please delete post

 

[openwheel]

Really? S4 is "gigantic" and iPhone 5S you "forget it's there"?

 

[AstroManLuca]

Really? S4 is "gigantic" and iPhone 5S you "forget it's there"?

That's the worst comparison pic I've ever seen. You a fanboy?

The camera angle makes them look similar in size. In reality, they're not at all - the GS4 is pretty big while the iPhone is quite small in comparison.

 

[Zaap]

Pfft! That difference is insignificant. Especially in light of how much bigger the S5's screen is compared to the entire device not being that much bigger.

I hope the iPhone 6 does away with those ridiculous top and bottom bezels. What a waste those are on the 5.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

As someone who has a Nexus 5 and iPhone 5 within 6 inches of my left hand right now, its pretty significant. What seems like a few mm here and there (when trying to make something sound insignificant, use small numbers!) is actually a pretty big deal once you pick it up in your hands. I'm not saying phones need to be 4", but to argue that there's insignificant ergonomic differences in holding a 4" versus 5" phone is being ignorant.

 

[Crono]

Try holding a 1520 next to an iPhone 5. I have, and you quickly realize it's not the size so much as the OS' UI which makes it feel tiny (though that size difference is appreciable).

For all the talk of how revolutionary* iOS was when it first launched - or how different iOS 7 is versus 6 - it's still a static icon grid home screen like any desktop system which came before it. It's not ideal for mobile devices, with tiny touch targets (though I know you can scale some things up with accessibility) and a lot of wasted space.

Windows Phone's live tile system, on the other hand, has it's advantages and disadvantages like anything else, but it's easier to use on mobile devices than either Android or iOS. Android has plenty of launchers, themes, apps, and other customizations (especially if you are rooted), though, whereas with iOS you are very limited with the UI. More display area might help iOS, but an uptick to screen size in order to play catch-up won't make the iPhone massively better than the competition.

Apple's hardware is pretty good, though, and I like the physical construction of nearly all their products. Not a fan of iOS or OS X, though.


* Apple does deserves credit for making capacitive, multi-touch displays on smartphones a success, though

 

[openwheel]

That's the worst comparison pic I've ever seen. You a fanboy?

The camera angle makes them look similar in size. In reality, they're not at all - the GS4 is pretty big while the iPhone is quite small in comparison.

By having both phones lit, that picture merely shows how much more screen S4 has compared to iPhone. Your eyes are drawn to the screens.

Yes the S4 is larger but the iPhone is not that much smaller with huge bezels and much smaller screen. To claim the S4 is gigantic is simply ridiculous, let along claiming iPhone the absolute opposite.

 

[bigboxes]

For years I laughed at those that had those huge smartphones. It looked like they were holding a license plate to their faces. My first smartphone had a 3.5" screen. Then I migrated to a 4.7" one. I was eligible for an upgrade, but decided to stick it out for awhile longer. I cracked the screen and replaced it myself. The battery life sucked and I replaced it myself. Then the power button started acting up. I could still use the device, but it was a pain. So, I did my research and reluctantly thought that a larger screen would prove more useful for navigation and websurfing. I went to the store to check out the Note 3 in person. I thought it was pretty sweet. Asked the clerk to remove the theft protection cable that they had mounted to the phone and slid it into my pants' pocket. No problem. It fit comfortably. Much better than my fat 3.5" phone. They had come a long ways. I told the salesman to wrap it up. It's an awesome phone. I can't believe all the stuff I do on the phone that I now take for granted. I think that everyone should just get the phone that is right for them. No right or wrong choices here. There's no way that I would switch to a 4" Apple, but my buddy and his family are firmly entrenched in the Apple ecosystem.

 

[Zaap]

Its a matter of getting used to things, as well as also not being so closed minded. Your perception quickly changes. My perception of phones shifted up with the Note 2... the Notes to me are just "normal" sized. Small phones look way too small to me. Today saw my friend's Lumia or whatever (one of the first Winphones I've seen in the wild) and that seemed to me positively ginormous- my N3 seems small next to it. But I can see where I could even get used to that size being 'normal'.

My Note 12.2 seemed to me like a realllly biiiiig tablet when I first got it. Now it doesn't seem big at all... its my new norm. I now look at a 10" tablet as slightly too small for me, and 7" feels really puny.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Its a matter of getting used to things, as well as also not being so closed minded. Your perception quickly changes. My perception of phones shifted up with the Note 2... the Notes to me are just "normal" sized. Small phones look way too small to me. Today saw my friend's Lumia or whatever (one of the first Winphones I've seen in the wild) and that seemed to me positively ginormous- my N3 seems small next to it. But I can see where I could even get used to that size being 'normal'.

My Note 12.2 seemed to me like a realllly biiiiig tablet when I first got it. Now it doesn't seem big at all... its my new norm. I now look at a 10" tablet as slightly too small for me, and 7" feels really puny.

You could flip the argument around and say that you're the one that's being closed minded. The fact is some people like small phones and others can get used to large phones. It isn't a one size suits all and it isn't a matter of being closed minded and open minded.

We get it you're a fan of big phones and you can get used to it, but not everyone else can. If anything, you're being the one closed minded by assuming everyone needs to get on the same boat.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

By having both phones lit, that picture merely shows how much more screen S4 has compared to iPhone. Your eyes are drawn to the screens.

Yes the S4 is larger but the iPhone is not that much smaller with huge bezels and much smaller screen. To claim the S4 is gigantic is simply ridiculous, let along claiming iPhone the absolute opposite.

Yes and screen size makes a big difference because it shows the area you must interact with, and therefore stretch your fingers.

How are you saying the S4 is not gigantic compared to the iPhone? By a mere glance? If anything that's subjective. You may think that way, but some others don't feel the same way. So who's right? It's all subjective anyway.

So let's look at numbers then.

GS4: 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm
iPhone 5s: 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm

That's a whole 11mm wider, which means 1 cm more of stretching. Not to mention the smaller bezels of the GS4 means the thumb has to cover MORE area, especially if edge swipes mean your thumb hits the bezel and swipes from left to right.

The height is 13mm taller, and while you can argue the iPhone has a large bezel, let's look at screen size then:

iPhone 5 (x): 1.96 in
iPhone 5 (y): 3.48 in

GS4 (x): 2.45 in
GS4 (y): 4.36

Half inch difference in width and 0.88 inch difference in height.

Here's stats on male thumbs length

5th percentile: 44
50th percentile: 51
95th percentile: 58

just looking at those numbers tells you a loosely placed thumb doesn't cover the GS4. You have to stretch it to reach. Given the 50th and 95th percentile only has a 7mm difference, only a few mm makes the difference. Therefore, if someone finds the iPhone 5 to be the "perfect size" to grip, then likely their thumb needs to be 10mm longer to find the GS4 to be the "perfect size to grip" also. It's a few mm here and there if you have no perspective, but if you put it in perspective of thumb lengths and average stats, you will see there's some merit to the argument.

Let's not even forget that an increase in width means not only does your thumb need to stretch more to reach across the phone, but it affects your palm too because you're palming the phone. Your thumb can only stretch as far so that you're still holding the phone adequately. For example, if you're been swyping away near the bottom of the screen and now you need to initiate a pulldown from the top right of the screen? You likely have to shift the phone in your hand before you do that with a GS4-sized phone. If I hold my palm at the lower half of the phone and stretch my thumb to reach the top, then my palm has to give up grippability in order for my thumb to stretch out. That's why it ends up being safer for the phone and easier ergonomically to shift grip to an upper portion of the phone so I can reach the upper areas easier. I don't understand how people can just say its a few mm here or a few mm there and act like it's nothing. Just because those are small numbers in the grand scheme of things we normally deal with (miles and km in driving), doesn't mean its meaningless. Statistical significance be it 10 nm or 100 miles is still statistical significance.

I'm not trying to say the GS4 is too large for most people or too large for me. I can handle it, but just throw out opinionated statements that you find the iPhone 5 to be comparable to the GS4 and therefore all other complaints that the GS4 is significantly larger are invalid is ridiculous.

 

[Zaap]

You could flip the argument around and say that you're the one that's being closed minded.

You could say that when I or anyone with a large phone starts creating threads like this one about small phones we don't have, or slinging as much exaggerated BS as you. (Case in point.. hooooly cow, the post above this.. whooosh....)

But we seem to be too busy actually enjoying our phones for that.

 

[openwheel]

Let's face it, there is a certain degree of fanboism at play here. Some will go to the extreme to defend a certain brand associated with certain size. Just the nature of the beast. I mean, seriously? Male thumb length?

Face it, it's ridiculous for anyone to claim iPhone 5S as "forgets its there" while S4 as "gigantic". That's just wild exaggeration. We can chase chicken and egg all day, but at the end, the Apple boys will prefer 4 inch, and everyone else will prefer whatever they desire.