Why do ALL new phones have to be 4+ inches?!?!?!?!

[AJerman]

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.

We're talking about the difference between a 4.7" screen and a 3.5" screen. Not the 0.2" difference that physical buttons make, and more so, only the Galaxy Nexus has no buttons. Every other Android phone does.

[Brandon Live Veteran]

I'm with you. Although I think the right 4" phone could be the perfect size for me. My main concern isn't actually the screen size, but rather the dimensions of the device. I rather liked the size and shape of the Droid Incredible I used to have. I just hated everything else about it :-) One of the ways in which it was dreadful was the battery life. I expect a lot of that is just Android being awful / not taming the apps/widgets/etc, but certainly it doesn't help that the battery must be smaller to fit in the device.

All that said, I think features are going to sway me to the Lumia 920 when it comes out. In particular, the camera. I also really truly love the durability of my 900. It's the only smartphone in my memory which didn't have paint rub off on the edges or scratches/blemishes developer (including my original iPhone and iPhone 3G). The only wear is on the metal piece around the camera lens, which scratched up the first day. Supposedly this has been addressed with the new ceramic replacement on the 920. I'm anxious to actually hold it in my hand / put it in my pocket before making a decision, though.

I think the main reasons screens are getting bigger are:

1) Bigger screens come on bigger phones, with more volume to fit in a bigger battery.

2) That also allows more features (OIS camera and wireless charging in the Lumia 920, for example).

3) More features also sometimes means you need a bigger battery (LTE, NFC, etc).

4) It's working - people are buying bigger and bigger phones, like the Galaxy S II and now the S III.

On that last point, it reminds me of the laptop market. So many people I know think that the only metric for comparing laptops is screen size, and that bigger is always better. I hear things like "I couldn't afford the 16 inch one so I ended up with this 15 inch model." They tend to not understand why I'd pay so much for a 13" one (my Vaio Z). Maybe they're just used to TVs working that way. Plus I think a lot of people just don't consider other factors like portability or realize the trade-off.

[pes2013]

We're talking about the difference between a 4.7" screen and a 3.5" screen. Not the 0.2" difference that physical buttons make, and more so, only the Galaxy Nexus has no buttons. Every other Android phone does.

0.2"? I can humilate you so bad that it is not even worth it. Im just going to comment on why you are wrong.

The buttons are 0.2" but they just float in the air right? No, they are in a case which guess what; also takes up space.

Please think before posting :)

BTW, Im completely against big screen phones.

[nub]

My HTC Arrive has a 3.6 inch display. Its a bit on the small size but fits nicely in my hand. I can't imagine using a 4.8 inch phone.

[Anibal P]

I think Nokia still makes dumbphones, that's what you want, when you get a smartphone OR a multi function device, small screens don't cut it, I guess there are a few decnt smaller smartphones, but it will be a hssle to deal with a small screen, or stick with BlackBerry if you want a sorta smartphone

[AJerman]

0.2"? I can humilate you so bad that it is not even worth it. Im just going to comment on why you are wrong.

The buttons are 0.2" but they just float in the air right? No, they are in a case which guess what; also takes up space.

Please think before posting :)

BTW, Im completely against big screen phones.

What in the hell are you talking about? As I mentioned, we are talking about the difference between large 4.5", 4.7" and 5"+ phones and small phones like iPhones pre-iPhone 5 phones, around 3.5", not the minuscule difference in having buttons or not. Secondly, as I already said, the Galaxy Nexus is the only phone that doesn't have these buttons, so by all means, please humiliate me with your superior knowledge. :rolleyes:

[techbeck]

4 inch, or more, displays are pretty much the new standard. People want the bigger phones and 3.5in just does not cut it anymore. Even the lower end Android phones are 4in displays.

[Growled Member]

I love the bigger displays. It helps a lot when I need to surf the web.I doubt if I would buy a phone with a smaller display now.

[cooky560 Veteran]

I agree with the OP, eventually the difference between a cellphone and a tablet will be nothing the way things are going :(

I have an iPhone 5 now and it's great, but I used to have an Xperia MIni Pro, 2" screen and it managed to do most of the same stuff.

[-T- Member]

Some people must have tiny hands or are wearing ridiculously small jeans. I have 2 phone with me at all times, an iPhone 4S(in an otterbox) and a HTC One XL. Their size is fine, obviously the iphone is a bit small, but the weight and size of the One XL is great and is easily able to be used one handed. I don't even have particularly large hands

[~Johnny]

I used to be able to fit my HTC Flyer in my pocket, and that was a 7" tablet with a generous bezel. Unless you're wearing women's jeans or something, I don't think I've personally ever come across pocket that couldn't hold even a 5" phone. Heck, even my wallet is bigger than my 4.7" HTC Titan.

[pes2013]

What in the hell are you talking about? As I mentioned, we are talking about the difference between large 4.5", 4.7" and 5"+ phones and small phones like iPhones pre-iPhone 5 phones, around 3.5", not the minuscule difference in having buttons or not. Secondly, as I already said, the Galaxy Nexus is the only phone that doesn't have these buttons, so by all means, please humiliate me with your superior knowledge. :rolleyes:

You obviously do not understand.

5" screen phone with no buttons = 5" phone

3.5" screen phone with buttons taking up a additional 1.5" = 5" phone

You are very lucky my camera just broke. Else, it was just going to be humilating to take a picture of a ruler beside my 3.5" with button phone....

[mattmatik]

Personally, I like the screen on my 4S. Its great for one-hand use and also in my arm band when running. Played with my friend's 5 the other day, that's going to take some getting used to.

[tsupersonic]

I personally loved my Droid Incredible's form factor (3.7" at 800x480). I use a Galaxy Nexus, now, and don't find it big. It's comfortable. However, I'd love to see a new 4.3" at 1280x720 for my next phone. I also want to see thinner bezels on the side!

[AJerman]

You obviously do not understand.

5" screen phone with no buttons = 5" phone

3.5" screen phone with buttons taking up a additional 1.5" = 5" phone

You are very lucky my camera just broke. Else, it was just going to be humilating to take a picture of a ruler beside my 3.5" with button phone....

You should get a new one. I'd LOVE to see your phone where the buttons take up an inch and a half of (would be) diagonal screen real estate, causing your phone to be as big as a 5" screened phone.

[The Laughing Man]

I don't mind the bigger screens , since I don't have midget hands.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Is this more like it? ^

[pes2013]

You should get a new one. I'd LOVE to see your phone where the buttons take up an inch and a half of (would be) diagonal screen real estate, causing your phone to be as big as a 5" screened phone.

Im not going to embarrasse you fruther by showing you 2012 phones that do this as well. Its not my phone.

On topic: I hate big screened phones.

[Randizzle23]

Our fat American fingers need more real estate to hit the appropriate location on the screen. Bigger screens offer larger keyboards and icons to increase precision and less "fat fingering"

Have you tried playing games on a 3.5" screen? finger controls cover most of the display so it makes the experience much less awesome, so naturally a larger display will offset some of that.

The benefits of having a larger screen in general is obvious, not as much squinting, less messing with the zoom to read the screen, and of course, most people enjoy sharing video and pictures to friends on a bigger display.

Nobody wants to be burdened by having to pack around a huge phone, but the benefits from them are significant. I recommend getting a gsm service so you can switch phones without an esn change and grab the smaller one for your tight jean days, or just get a backpack and enjoy the fruits of the inconvenience.

[ThePitt]

the bigger screen, the bigger the battery. They need bigger phones to fit the battery size.

[AJerman]

Im not going to embarrasse you fruther by showing you 2012 phones that do this as well. Its not my phone.

On topic: I hate big screened phones.

Haha, you sir, are ridiculous. Perhaps the OP should have spelled it out a little better and not used screen size in the title, but actual dimensions, like "Why do all new phones have to be bigger than 4.5" x 2.3"?" since you seem so hung up on the size of the screen and the buttons. I'm certain he wouldn't mind one bit if there was less bezel and more screen in the same sized package, assuming it was completely usable with no bezel.

the bigger screen, the bigger the battery. They need bigger phones to fit the battery size.

I was also going to mention this earlier. Faster phones require more power, more power requires more battery, more battery requires more space. But I also don't know how well that scales being that the screen always takes by far the most battery on a phone. Could a smaller phone with a smaller screen probably could get by with an equally smaller battery, at least as long as they use every inch they can like the iPhone with no removable back plate? But yeah, I'd still think it's part of the consideration as well.

[Tom]

Bitches love 'em big.

[Buttus]

i have pretty thin hands, and the sgs3 is just about the perfect size for me... it could be a little smaller, but definately not bigger

(and before i got one, i was in the frame of mind that it would be horrible to watch tv/a movie on a phone, but now that i have done it quite a bit, it's actually pretty nice, i stream netflix all the time now)

[episode]

The difference between an iPhone 4s and an iPhone 5 is negligible IMO. Especially when you consider how much lighter the 5 is.

I was against a bigger phone, but those extra 200ish pixels make a huge difference for a lot of things, especially web surfing.

[+unabatedshagie Subscriber¹]

To the OP, is there a particular reason you don't want an iPhone since you're basically describing your perfect phone to be an iPhone, decently spec'd smartphone with a 4" or less screen.

I personally can't stand phones with larger screens, I like to be able to use my phone with one hand if I need/want to. Tried my sisters S3 and had to use 2 hands to do most things with it. Didn't like it.

That's one of the reasons I like the iPhone 5, Apple have made the screen slightly bigger but not so big that I can't reach anywhere on the screen with my thumb while holding it.