back to article Smartphone owners demand bigger screens

If you're one of those folks who favour smartphones with supersize screens, you're not alone. Nearly 90 per cent of your fellow phone owners want handsets to have bigger displays. So reveals market watcher Strategy Analytics after polling punters earlier this year. The favoured screen sizes range from 4.0 to 4.5 inches, it …

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  1. g e

    Galaxy Note

    While it's a really nice device it's just too big as a phone. IMHO my Desire HD is pretty close to the sensible limit for a phone, a little bigger may be OK but smaller than a Note for sure.

    1. Piro Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: Galaxy Note

      I have a Desire HD too. Although there are downsides (basically the ridiculously small battery, and the slightly chintzy plastic parts, contrasted the with the aluminium) it is basically the perfect size.

    2. Danny 14
      Stop

      Re: Galaxy Note

      Agreed. I looked at a note and its too big for my suit jacket and trouser pocket. Settled on a GS2 for the size vs usability. In "landscape" the browser is very accessible and useful. Good enough for reading email and documents emailed to me.

    3. Tom Simnett

      Re: Galaxy Note

      I agree. I have an Evo 3D, and it's just about as big as I'd want a phone to be. Bigger, and I can't reach all parts of the screen without having to occupy both my both hands - useful when clutching my lunch in the other.

    4. LarsG

      size?

      HTC sensation is about as big as I want to go without buying clothes with bigger pockets.

      Is there any link between size of phone and the size of head phones people are using for tiny mp3 players?

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Galaxy Note

      Sorry for the thumbs down but that's a very subjective opinion. I've a Note and it's far and away the best smartphone I've ever had - the size is absolutely perfect for my use-case, ie it's perfectly useable as a phone and is also absolutely fantastic for gps/photos/videos/web/docs. For me it's the perfect converged size between a phone and a tablet - for some it's too big as a phone, for others it's too small as a tablet. Certainly if I just want phone duties my N8 is great, but my old 6110 is even better, but I want more than a simple phone. I was used to it in an hour and I honestly could not go back to a smaller screen now.

      1. PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn

        Re: Galaxy Note

        likewise, I find the note is the best phone I've had. its allowed me to leave the netbook home - and when I finally get around to ordering the mini keyboard will enable me to use it as a "laptop". and the stylus is a fantastic addition to it.

        plus, of all the smartphones out there, the note easily manages 2 days battery life with fairly vigorous usage, (though watching flash video can drain the battery quickly)

        only real complaint would be that the speaker position isn't particularly comfortable.

  2. Bodestone

    All Hail...

    The Samsung Galaxy Note

  3. thesykes

    no thanks

    seems I'm one of the minority then.. prefer a slimmer phone that doesn't feel like I'm carrying a tea-tray in my pocket.

    1. Dave 126

      I'm with you, thesykes

      Small capable phone in trousers, which can then throw up a 3G-WiFi bridge for the 7" tablet in your jacket pocket or glovebox.

      This just seems the sensible way of doing it.

      1. Gordon 10
        Boffin

        @dave

        Dont forget your tinfoil kecks.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @dave

          The phone that also provides birth control!

          A best seller.

      2. Danny 14
        Thumb Up

        Re: I'm with you, thesykes

        TBH you would be better with a dedicated mifi device. For long term tethering (talking an hour plus) smartphones generate tons of heat when hotspotting they also chew battery. Tried it with my S2 and it did get quite hot. Battery sank about 33% in an hour.

      3. Neil Charles

        Re: I'm with you, thesykes

        That's exactly my next plan. I've got a Desire HD at the moment and it's great, but too small to use as a proper tool at work and big enough to be a nuisance on a night out.

        Android tablet with some decent productivity apps and a stylus for under £300 please. And a cheapish pocket sized phone to go with it.

    2. Can't think of anything witty...

      Re: no thanks

      Agreed - i have a Samsung omnia 7 which to be honest feels a bit big sometimes. It's pretty thin, but it can sometimes feel like you are carrying a slate (by which i mean roof tile). i also have a nokia N8, which has a slightly smaller screen and although it is marginally thicker, it's actually pretty much the perfect size.

      I don't spend a huge amount of time browsing websites on my mobile (which i think is the main appeal of the bigger screens) but something the size of the N8 hits that sweet spot between big enough to use for what you need and small enough to carry and not notice.

  4. Dirk Vandenheuvel
    Mushroom

    Well the (Android) men have to have something to show off their ePeens vs teh cool iOS kids.

  5. Bodestone

    The note is perfect

    Smaller phones would fall out of my shirt pocket when I bent over. The Note is nice and snug. It just pokes out of the top a tad.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Back to the 90s

    I remember when the smaller your phone, the better.

    How fickle we are :)

    1. Can't think of anything witty...

      Re: Back to the 90s

      I used to have a Nokia 8310... that was a great little phone - with emphasis on small!

    2. Code Monkey
      Thumb Up

      Re: Back to the 90s

      Agredd. I still miss my Moto V66.

      I'm pondering looking at the smaller 'droids come upgrade time.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Back to the 90s

      Startac by Motorola, just like Captain Kirk

  7. Greg J Preece

    3.7 screens are the top-end for me. Anything larger than that and I can't easily control it one-handed with my thumb.

    1. Paul Shirley

      My old G1s 3.3" was almost perfectly sized for one handed use, take away the largish borders and sheer thickness and 3.7" would feel as comfortable. Like you probably the sweet spot for my short fingers.

      That said I wouldn't downgrade from my Plays 4" screen. That's despite dropping it several times trying to use it with 1 hand (before adding a rubberised shell). Trimming off the thickness and borders and that would make a tolerable 4.5 or pretty comfortable 4" device. Became obvious why 5" devices never took off though.

      For me it either fits in the change pocket in my jeans or, apart from the 1 hand issue, the size and weight don't matter. Not found a smartphone that fits that pocket yet.

  8. ratfox
    Gimp

    Galaxy Nexus is 4.65 inches

    I will be curious to see if these numbers ever result in a bigger iPhone or not. Apple may be a little bit stuck in their strategy to have only one model. Perhaps they could offer a larger screen, with the same number of pixels so as to avoid fragmentation?

  9. Fat Freddie's Cat

    I'd really like a small phone which can act as a WiFi hotspot and preferably, can cope with two SIMs. I'm very happy to use other devices for the smarts.

    I doubt I'm unique here. Experience suggests I'm pretty average / normal.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    eh?

    What is an extended-side? And why would blokes be likely to have bigger hands after their gaming experience?

  11. Probolone

    Dell Streak arrived too early?

    When beeing a pioneer is not enough. 100% satisfied with it.

  12. Great Bu

    My previous 'phone was a SE xPeria Mini, which I chose because of the pocket size factor.

    I could carry it around in a jeans or shirt pocket easily. Unfortunately as a 'phone it was a bit of a turd so I have now moved to a Nokia 710 - much better interface and performance but I would have ideally preferred that functionality (plus f'ing wifi tethering - when, oh when, will that arrive, Nokia ?) in a package of a similar size as the SE.

    I don't want a big screen, I don't watch video on my 'phone (and if I did want mobile video, a 10" tablet would be a minimum acceptable screen size really) but I was at a loss to find a full featured device in a smaller form factor (what happened to the good* old days of ever shrinking 'phones with ever growing features ?).

    *for a given value of 'good'.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Whatever happened to pico-projectors?

    A while back I heard that they were already available in mobile devices in asia and would thus be appearing in the west in the future...

    Relevant, because (provided they work ok) they allow you to project a large screen onto a flat surface without carrying round a ton of fondleslab.

  14. Matt 53

    Would love a 9-inch screen personally -

    - but in the current handset sizes so I can hold it without looking like a fool. Ain't gonna happen, hence the market for smartphones and tablets

  15. Bassey

    Always out of step

    When everyone was using smaller and smaller phones I was using Windows "Mobile" bricks like the XDA, XDA IIs etc. They had 3.5" screens but were huge and the IIs weighed 285g. Now everyone wants bigger devices and I'm still using a 3.5" screen, although in the much smaller, slimmer and lighter shell of an Orange San Francisco. That size seems just right to me. Bigger would be handier sometimes but then, other times, so would smaller.

  16. Leona A

    and a keyboard

    Can we have a smartphone with a 4" > screen and a physical QWERTY keyboard please!

    They seem to make them in the US but they never come to the UK :'(

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Extended-size devices"

    Sounds like something you get in certain well-disguised shops...

    ...or the Pit Stop (on the A1 near Sandy) if you're more up front about it

  18. JaitcH
    Happy

    Baby Boomers are Getting Old and Need ...

    things like false teeth and glasses and walking sticks.

    Larger screens permit-the use of a handset without the need of eyeglasses. The ability to change font and background colours enable many more to select colour combinations to enhance viability.

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