Mission Impossible: Creating the perfect smartphone: Episode 02: Far East form factors

Ask any mobile technology journalist with half a brain about which market today is considered the most advanced and I guarantee you that the answer is always Japan. We look at operators like DoCoMo and Softbank who offer mobile payment services, health monitors, concierge service, mobile television, and more, and wonder why similar technology isn’t developed elsewhere. Part of the answer is due to the operators having a heavy fist with the mobile phone makers. Japan is the exact opposite of the EU and USA way of doing business. In the rest of the world an operator goes to a handset maker like Nokia and orders several thousand units while also asking for X wallpaper to be the default, Y applications to be preinstalled, and Z logos to be stamped on the device. Only small customizations are allowed, nothing major. Most people in Europe and Asia don’t even bother buying a handset from an operator and purchase their device straight from the handset maker. In Japan an operator controls everything, and I mean every single aspect of the device, from the design to the specification sheet. The devices created are often ridiculously high end and are therefore heavily subsidized.

For such an advanced market, what themes can we take away from their portfolios? DoCoMo is the largest operator and last month they announced their Winter/Spring lineup of devices. Operators in Japan typically have a Winter/Spring and Summer/Fall lineup, mimicking the fashion world. Out of the 19 devices they announced, 15 of them are clamshells; that’s almost 80%. This isn’t an isolated incident. Their Summer/Fall lineup which was announced in May consisted of 18 handsets, 12 were clamshells; that’s 2 out of every 3 devices. While America has fallen in love with the large 3.5 inch touch screen of the iPhone, and Europe is only now starting to demand touch, why are the Japanese, who are years ahead of everyone else, still sticking with clamshells?

Take the F-01B, it has the following specifications: 114 mm x 51 mm x 17.3 mm (21 mm at the thickest point), 141 grams, 3.4 inch 480 x 960 resolution internal display, 1.4 inch 174 x 64 resolution external display, and a 12 megapixel camera. That 114 mm is in the closed position of course, so when you open the device up you’re looking at close to double that; 228 mm or 9 inches of plastic pressed against your face.

Having a clamshell allows a handset maker to have a large internal screen. The 3.4 inch display in the F-01B is only .1 inches less than that of the iPhone, but the resolution of 480 x 960 offers 300% more pixels than the 3GS display. Such a huge screen however eats a lot of power, hence the idea to stick a small screen on the outside of the device. Most people take their mobile phone out of their pocket to check for missed calls/texts or to check the time. That external 1.4 inch OLED display shows all of that information and increases battery life.

Having a clamshell also allows a handset maker to have huge, easy to press buttons. The F-01B is 114 mm long, while the Nokia E52, a typical monoblock design, is 116 mm long. Due to the restrictive nature of the monoblock design however a decision needs to be made whether to allocate more space for the screen or the keys. The E52 has a 2.4 inch screen, while the F-01B, again thanks to the clamshell form factor, has a whole extra inch of real estate. I’ll repeat this: If I want to check the time, or see if I have any missed text messages, I have to fire up all the pixels of the 2.4 inch display in the E52 just to see that data, while the F-01B can tell me that information with a screen that is full 1 inch smaller.

Last you have safety. Drop an iPhone and your screen breaks or scratches, drop the F-01B and the paint on the outside case is damaged while the internals remain intact. Would you put your iPhone in the same pocket as you would put your keys or loose change? Of course not, but there are days when your mind slips and you do that, and later you find out you’ve paid the price with scratch marks appearing everywhere.

If I wanted to make the perfect device it would be a Japanese style clamshell. I’m not against touch screens, the F-01B has a touch screen after all, but the benefits of having a large keypad, a large screen, and protection against the elements, make for a pretty compelling case to go with the clamshell form factor. The F-01B, at only 51 mm wide, is also a lot easier to operate in one hand than the 62.1 mm wide iPhone 3GS. One hand operation is critically important to many people, and I’ll address how basic navigation should be performed in another episode.

[More episodes of "Mission Impossible: Creating the perfect smartphone" can be found by clicking here]

Update: Ricky Cadden left a comment below saying that while the Japanese do use clamshells, the screen often rotates in ways that let you use the device in many different ways. Below is a picture of the F-01B with the screen laying flat on the keyboard, perfect for watching mobile television.