Comments on: Smartphone Screens: How Big is Too Big?

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:29:00 +0000

Wow this post ignores resolution? This is like saying a 5.0 engine is better than a 2.0 engine just because the 5.0 is bigger. Complete utter nonsense. Look for resolution in readability – HINT: I can read the text on my 4.3 Rezound fully zoomed out on a normal webpage.

By: Xxbasketxx

Xxbasketxx — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:22:00 +0000

Was thinking of buying the Samsung Galaxy S2X but man…. I realize how to damn big it is. Phones are getting so big its stupid, they’re getting closer and closer to the size tablets. I dont wanna talk in an ipad, it looks and feels dumb. You need a god damn man purse to carry those phones arround, SHEESH!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:46:00 +0000

I had an HTC Hero, Desire and now I have a Galaxy S II.
as someone who’s gone from 3.2 -> 3.7 -> 4.3
I can tell you that:
-3.2 is too small to use efficiently
-4.3 is a certainly nice but my thumb has to stretch a bit when using it one handed
-3.7 inch screen on the Desire seems to be a tiny bit too small but it is the most comfortable to hold.

4.0 inch is probably best for me, but I haven’t tried that yet.

By: Ronaldbrshrs1

Ronaldbrshrs1 — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:08:00 +0000

anything over 3.5 is uncomfortable jmo!

By: Ronaldbrshrs1

Ronaldbrshrs1 — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:07:00 +0000

my screen is 3.2 and i think its pretty comfortable! i alo have a 4.5 htc, and a 3.5 ipod.

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:27:00 +0000

try holding a phone with a 4.3 or larger screen in one hand, than using only the thumb on that hand, operate your phone. a bit difficult isn’t it? 3.5-3.7 is the optimal screen size for a phone

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:27:00 +0000

try holding a phone with a 4.3 or larger screen in one hand, than using only the thumb on that hand, operate your phone. a bit difficult isn’t it? 3.5-3.7 is the optimal screen size for a phone

By: marti ruiz

marti ruiz — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 05:15:00 +0000

i m curreently have a galaxy s 4.00 i want to buy the new galaxy wit 4.27 zise screen

By: Laxtu

Laxtu — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:15:00 +0000

I wish we could get back to small displays but huge text like in the 90s. I would like a smartphone, sure, but until one is created which does not have a text size small enough for me to require a magnifying glass, this ain’t gonna happen!

By: Shaniqua

Shaniqua — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 09:40:00 +0000

I’m an iPhone user, and I would love a bigger display…just don’t have a choice.

By: shwagg

shwagg — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 09:37:00 +0000

At least make the screen the size of the phone….no more wasted space!!!

By: Christo

Christo — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:45:00 +0000

7 inch is my dream phone.. and yes my tab has made me live it.. and i love it soo much.. i traded my iPhone and iPad for this baby a month a go and to me this is the best gadget I’d ever purchased :)

By: Florian Becker

Florian Becker — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:22:00 +0000

why are smartphone screens getting larger and larger ? makes no sense imho

By: Bill C

Bill C — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 21:59:00 +0000

I have a 7″ tablet, and honestly it is to big and definitely not body portable. I might as well carry my net-book or notebook. The 4 or 5″ is perfect and body friendly, still within the range of carrying on your belt. I would imagine purse friendly also.

By: None

None — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 12:45:00 +0000

I am a woman and not a tech enthusist. I have a 4.3″ phone screen and love it. I use my phone more for web browsing and texting than actually talking on it so it suits my needs perfectly. I almost got an iphone but am now loving my new android Thunderbolt. Many of my iPhone friends are jealous when I show them some of the more nifty features. Google thinks of everything! And it is a nice surprise to be discovering more features everyday.

By: JK

JK — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:07:00 +0000

I find it very odd that people that have touch phones, want a bigger screen, but then complain about trying to put it in their pocket. Then in the same conversation, I asked them about the IPAD or another tablet, and they say they would want a smaller one. Does anyone else see this trend? I find it odd people purchase smaller than 9 inch computers and complain about not being able to read anything or see the screen.

By: Business Hosting Reviews

Business Hosting Reviews — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:07:00 +0000

I would prefer the 4.3 inch screen, all the HTC phones with 4.3 inch screen look great!!..

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 00:27:00 +0000

Are you sure people aren’t buying the iPhone despite its size? When the iPhone was first launched, I knew plenty of people (Blackberry and Treo users mostly) who bought it in spite of the preference for physical keyboards. Apple doesn’t give people what the want. They define what people want. People come to want what Apple gives them.

But I still happen to think that the iPhone is just the right size, despite the fact that I own an Evo and have never owned an iPhone. On Sprint, there aren’t any smartphones with modern specs that come in a smaller form factor. I’ll be switching to the Nexus S 4G as soon as it’s available.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 00:27:00 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:12:00 +0000

That’s what man purses are for.

By: Parmdhoot

Parmdhoot — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 03:26:00 +0000

I love my HTC Evo 4.3 inch screen. It is the perfect size, sometimes i think that you could go bigger but then i think of my girlfriend who also owns the evo. The size is just right! (lol thats what she said !!! lol) i just had to say it! :)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:21:00 +0000

Agreed on the bezel, get rid of it.

I don’t have problems holding or hitting a larger phone but I think these objections are hard to perceive at the mm level. What I do think is unquestionably true is that the bigger you make the screen the less grip everyone will have on the phone. For my hands at the scale of 3.5″ to 3.7″ the grip/reachability difference is inconsequential compared to the gains in screen size. The bigger you go however the benefits of screen size diminish while the corresponding trade offs in “wieldy-ness” increase exponentially.

By: Ashiedu Nwadiei

Ashiedu Nwadiei — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:04:00 +0000

Definately bigger on-screen keyboards are better than physical qwerty keyboards imo.

By: Ashiedu Nwadiei

Ashiedu Nwadiei — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:59:00 +0000

Agreed. Larger screens with low resolutions can look pretty pixelated. 3.8″ Windows Phones at the same res as the 4.3″ look much better.

By: Ashiedu Nwadiei

Ashiedu Nwadiei — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:58:00 +0000

I don’t think that’s the case. At the place I used to work, most people seemed to like the HD2 and Evo sized screens the most, except they weren’t iPhones. Women especially because they like something easier to hold in their hands if they’re not using bluetooth otherwise it will just go in their purse. These are very pocketable for most men as well unless they wear really tight jeans.

By: Ashiedu Nwadiei

Ashiedu Nwadiei — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:55:00 +0000

4.3″ is good. They just need better batteries. I think the race to be the lightest and thinnest is unnecessary as the polls show. House phones weren’t small. All we need is something that will fit in our pocket and is reasonable light. 4.3″ isn’t much bigger than 3.8 in your hand and it has greater screen real estate.

By: Brando

Brando — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:23:00 +0000

I own a 5″ screen device the dell streak, I have no trouble with it mind u it is bigger then ur aberage smartphone and it is a compacr tablet at the same time, but to me and others its a good combo tho I am curious about acers iconia smart and samsungs 5″ device be nice to see wjat the computition will do in the hybrid device area

By: Hi

Hi — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:11:00 +0000

4.3″ inch is perfect, for pics, videos, and especially the internet…. if you’re paying for internet on your phone, a 3.5 inch is a waste….

By: Avi Greengart

Avi Greengart — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:02:00 +0000

I didn’t cite research showing that, on average, women have smaller hand size than men. But you can go into any department store and look at the glove rack if you need proof. Saying that men and women have different needs may not be politically correct (and isn’t true in every case), but, overall, it does match reality. If pointing that out and making product and marketing suggestions based on it makes me a neanderthal misogynistic pig… so be it. My wife loves me. :)

By: Avi Greengart

Avi Greengart — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:56:00 +0000

You gotta generalize at some point!
Reachability is an interesting concept. The problem there is that unless you shift the phone around in your hand or have abnormally large thumbs, you’re always going to have some scenarios where a touchscreen phone requires two handed use. This is one of the key objections Nokia made last decade first to clamshells and then to touchscreens – Nokia decided that people always want one-handed use. They were wrong.

By: JP

JP — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:21:00 +0000

Your poll is more likely to skew to the larger screens, because there seems to be a correlation between technologically/gadget-savvy people and bigger screens. If you did this same poll on a general interest site, I bet the results would peg closer to the iPhone screen size.

By: Chris Davies

Chris Davies — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:24:00 +0000

HTC Desire HD – our full review is here: http://www.slashgear.com/htc-desire-hd-review-27110531/

By: Chris Davies

Chris Davies — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:24:00 +0000

It’s the Desire HD (http://www.slashgear.com/htc-desire-hd-review-27110531/)

By: Tramaria27

Tramaria27 — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:15:00 +0000

I believe it depends on width x height. I have an Atrix 4″ fonts is super small and the phone reminds me of a 3.5″, I just left an EVO 4.3″ where you can see everything with ease. My son has a Captive which I believe is 4″ and you can see the fonts bigger and better because its wider and little longer.

By: Anon

Anon — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:35:00 +0000

I’ll stay mute on this one.

By: krasa

krasa — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:20:00 +0000

With 10inch screen it’s impossible to work using one hand. No metter what the size of handle. And we are talking here about smartphones, but not tablets. Smartphone must be always with you, fit your pocket, and it must be comfortable to hold it near your ear.

By: BlankaK

BlankaK — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:04:00 +0000

A 10 inch phone can have a handle the size of a 3 inch on the back ;) Who says a phone is a flat box?

By: krasa

krasa — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:41:00 +0000

I see that most of commets goes from a male ones.
I want to say my opinion as a female one. :)
Some days ago i’ve had an opportunity to hold in hand HTC Desire S (3,7″) and Incredible S (4″).
And Desire S with 3,7″ display fited my hand perfectly, browsing sense ui was comfortable and there were no need to stretch my thumb.
But then when i took Incredible S (4″), i thought ” Eah, it’s good, but not for me, the hand must be bigger for it.”

By: BlankaK

BlankaK — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:17:00 +0000

I just want the maximum size that does fit in my inside pocket. That’s rougly the size of a DVD case. I don’t care that I look like an idiot when calling, since calling is going down to say 5% of my use. iPad like use is getting more and more important, but I don’t want to carry a bag. That’s why I thing 7 inch is around the optimal size.

By: Rags 'n Ram

Rags 'n Ram — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:02:00 +0000

To me, a 4” screen is just nice. A 4.3+ incher is acceptable, provided the display panel is good and it comes with good resolution. What’s the point of having such a big screen that only displays things at 480p or lesser, or worse not-so-sharp images?