Recommended Posts

As headline, why does new phones has to be 4+ inch?

I am the kind of user who sees the mobile phone as a MOBILE phone....

With that I mean a phone you can use with one hand, easy to stuff in even small pockets. Like the iPhone is. Well until the iPhone 5, but that is another discussion..

I feel like I am being PUSHED by all other phone makers to buy an iPhone, if I want a phone which isn?t bad and has a lot of the same features as the new phones, I HAVE to choose an iPhone. But I do not want an iPhone.

For ALL other makers, a small phone equals a cheap feature-less phone. I am not talking small as in a 3 inch but the 3.5 to 3.7 inch, which phones were some time ago. My dream phone would be a Nokia Lumia 800 with Windows Phone 8 and a front facing camera. Same size, same shape and perhaps a better display (hate that pentile, but another story). As Neowin has written in its rumors, the phone which will be replacing the 610 will be?.. 4 inch?!?! I mean don?t they go lower than that?! And HTC with their new Windows Phone 8 devices is also 4 inch? I mean is it illegal to make a phone smaller than 4 inch now a day, or is it impossible to make phone so small anymore, because Apple has done a fine job with it? I would love to have a phone with Windows Phone 8, but I don?t want a bag size phone with that, so I am looking at an Android. Which I must choose because I do NOT want an iPhone, and I do not want a handbag. So I am stuck in a dilemma. Big phone and Windows Phone 8 (thinking ONLY 4 inch [HTC 8S]) or the right size phone and Android and less features, not that I don?t like android but I just want Windows Phone 8 so much more!

Please leave a comment with your thoughts and your perspective of this, but this is just my point of view, and don?t make it an Windows Phone vs. Android vs. iOS thing.. it?s not.. Really.. it?s not!

Welcome to Neowin!

In America bigger is better :D More and more customers want larger screens so the carriers/manufactures supply the demand.

You can get lower end handset that will have smaller screen? There's bunch of samsung models (Galaxy S <insert name>, Ace, mini, Focus.... etc) LG, ZTE, Huawei all have them.

I had the best experience using Galaxy S 4G with jellybean, great battery life.

I'm not sure why the higher-end handsets have been becoming bigger and bigger, but I enjoy the larger sizes more (I've even been hoping for a Nokia Windows Phone with the same size screen as the Samsung Note). It's still a mobile to me because it's easy to carry around in my pocket; it just means I can see news articles and videos a bit better. Perhaps the majority of people who buy higher-end handsets prefer the larger screens, and it's therefore better for the companies to only make higher-end devices in those sizes? I'm not sure; that's just a suggestion :)

It's obvious that you are not interested in high performance and flexibility in your phone then - there still are small, compact phones with small screens that are simply used as a phone, for calling and texting.

A lot of consumers these days use phones for many things, such as playing games, watching tv, editing pictures and viewing websites. And you do kinda need a larger screen for these things. If you had all those features and a sub 4-inch display, it would be extremely irritating to do those things.

You can get lower end handset that will have smaller screen? There's bunch of samsung models (Galaxy S <insert name>, Ace, mini, Focus.... etc) LG, ZTE, Huawei all have them.

I had the best experience using Galaxy S 4G with jellybean, great battery life.

That was what i meant, they would be lower end.. and i kind of want a higher end, but they dont make them small any more..

That was what i meant, they would be lower end.. and i kind of want a higher end, but they dont make them small any more..

Galaxy Y or Pocket are the good high-end 2.8" phones.

I have almost the same problem, actually I'm using a nokia e52 that is almost perfect for my use, but due to some little glitch and the craving for something more modern I'm searching a better phone, but can't find. 0_0

Almost a week of battery life, comfortable size, low weight, real keys, wifi and turn by turn gps is what I need but can't find in a single new phone.

Only hope is the next gen motorola pro+ with jb and maybe at least 2 days of battery life

I have never owned a smartphone but I agree with the current size of phones. I think they are a really good size for the functionality and everything.

I am planning on getting a lumia 920 when it comes out and I know I will love the size of it. Although I think at the moment they are a perfect size, they really dont need to push it any further.

Quite simply because that's what the market demands. But there are still phones coming out that are smaller, it's just less common now. Research showed that the majority of people want a large screen on a phone.

Was just wondering that the other day - saw this too on Gizmodo.com

http://gizmodo.com/5944598/when-did-small-phones-become-crappy-phones

I don't need a 4.8+ phone. The Galaxy S3 at 4.7 seemed too big to me. I'm like why can't i get that phone but in a 4-4.3" size! 3.7" yeah ---- guess they have some decent ones but I loved the 4" of the original Galaxy S devices. I still feel like 4.3 is a little too big sometimes.

It has actually nothing to do with any of what any of you have said (on the Android side of things)

ICS introduced on screen keys for back, home and menu. If those on screen keys weren't there, guess what would happen: Smaller screen to make room for physical buttons.

You guys had 5" inch phones a long time ago; Except now the screen takes up more space.

I have the Desire (Bravo) at the moment, and it's as big as I'd want to go. The screen is nice and highres compared to the lower end (new) phones, but the new upgrades like the 'One' all get longer, like near 130mm. Not Jean friendly!

The One V is classed as small... no way... 120.3 x 59.7 x 9.2 mm

There's no way I would feel comfortable calling anyone on a Galaxy S3 either, it's huge.

I read the article above, I agree completely. I want the ultrabook of mobile phones.

My current laptop (when new) was the same. It's a 13inch, but it's still got a HD+ screen and a high spec 2.4GHZ Core Duo. It's about 4 years old now, so it's low end in comparison. But it's still compact.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Didn’t Dbrand once complain that Casetify was ripping off their designs a well? seems pretty bad of them to try and get around Valve’s copyright this way with that in mind.
    • Dbrand thought they could get away with this Steam Machine case, Valve disagreed by David Uzondu Image via Dbrand Dbrand has cancelled its highly anticipated Companion Cube enclosure for the Valve Steam Machine, which it teased back in November of last year with a concept render and sign-up page, because it did not ask Valve for permission first before manufacturing the case. According to Dbrand, it took the "backwards approach" of building the product first before asking for permission from the copyright holder. Seven months of work went into the project, requiring over a thousand engineering hours from the design team. Workers developed forty-four sets of injection molding tools, making a unique mold for each sub-component of the crate. When the Companion Cube went live on Monday last week, it, according to Dbrand, quickly became the second-fastest-selling product in the company's fifteen-year history, racking up orders for hundreds of thousands of units. Customers eagerly bought the $129.95 deluxe edition or the bare-bones $99.95 version, which the manufacturer cheekily branded as the "Poverty Cube". It was around this time that the legal eagles at Valve descended on the accessory maker with a formal demand. The developer pointed out that the iconic block design remains protected intellectual property from the game Portal, so unlicensed sales had to stop. Dbrand said that all its pleas to salvage the project with the Valve team, including proposals to run a properly licensed release under official terms "with their blessing", fell on deaf ears, so it had no choice but to obey and remove every trace of the product from the internet. If you bought the enclosure, the company said that banks will process your refund by the end of this week, but if it still hasn't arrived in your account by then, you should not hesitate to contact support. The Steam Machine itself is a high-performance console that Valve designed directly to bring PC gaming into the living room. It was announced on 12th November 2025 (the same day Dbrand announced the Cube) and runs on the Linux-based SteamOS, the same OS that powers the Steam Deck. As for the price, due to the shortage of memory and storage chips, the hardware cost landed much higher than people were expecting, starting at $1,049 for the 512 model (without a controller) or $1,128 with the new gamepad. The premium 2 TB model pushes those prices even higher, selling at $1,349 for the standalone console and hitting $1,428 if you want the bundle.
    • It's listed #399.99 on Amazon, per your link. It's not $299.99.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Rookie
      Almohandis went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Apprentice
      jahara21 went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      534
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      264
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      148
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      97
    5. 5
      macoman
      58
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!