Rant: When phone screens becomes too big?

The recent announcement of the HTC Titan and Samsung Galaxy Note prompted me to once again re-think modern smartphones, tablets and screen sizes. Particularly I was wondering when does a screen (and the device itself) become too bulky to carry around.

I remember when the original HTC HD2 was announced I thought no one would want such a big phone in their pockets. Obviously I was wrong and over time I learned to appreciate the benefits of large screens. However, in the meantime my thinking was that 4-inch displays are in the sweet spot, but they are not. Today I find a 4.3-inch screen as mandatory feature of any phone I’ll be buying. If a handset maker manages to cram a 4.5-inch or so display in the same shell (i.e. without making the phone bigger), I would be willing to buy that too (think Samsung Galaxy S II LTE).

All said I don’t really get the idea of phones with 5-inch screens. Are they tablets or phones? I don’t have such large pockets to carry them around. Maybe our female readers dig the idea since they usually carry their gadgets in a bag, but what about the rest of us? Should we start buying pants with bigger pockets? Also with a phone that has a 5-inch screen I’m not sure I’ll need a tablet anymore. This is especially true if we’re talking about the Samsung Galaxy Note, which has that gorgeous Super AMOLED HD screen that makes colors super vivid and the pixel density makes your brand new HD TV look like a 5-year old technology.

What do you think about this? What’s your perfect screen size for a phone?

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.

dan

I’m all for device manufacturers pushing the boundaries. How else are we going to know a phone is too big? Until someone makes one that is too big.

And what kind of pants are you wearing where a phone with a 5″ display won’t fit in your pocket? I can fit a 7″ Dell Streak in all my jeans. Not comfortably, but it still fits all the way into the front pocket.
Anonymous

” I don’t have such large pockets to carry them around. ……. Should we start buying pants with bigger pockets?”

You do not need bigger pockets! Man , you obviouslyhave never sean 5″ gadget!
obviously
have never sean 5″ gadget!
Anonymous

” I don’t have such large pockets to carry them around. ……. Should we start buying pants with bigger pockets?”

You do not need bigger pockets! Man , you obviouslyhave never sean 5″ gadget!
obviously
have never sean 5″ gadget!
RJB

these D*mn posts are not relevant…we don’t want opinions and rumors. WHAT HAPPENED TO STATING facts? All of you guys are journalists but yet it seems all you wanna do is rant and repost sh*t that’s already online. most of you guys play favorites and either sucking Steve Jobs Di*k or destroying Apple. Last time I checked Steve is Married (that’s his wife’s job) and Android is already showing the world that Apple as a phone SUCKS. I come on here to get good reviews and specs…OPINIONS CAN STAY TO YOURSELVES.
- http://www.intomobile.com/ Stefan Constantinescu
  
  blogs are opinions. if you want facts then just read the press releases your favorite company publishes. you understand this, right?
- http://www.intomobile.com/ Stefan Constantinescu
  
  blogs are opinions. if you want facts then just read the press releases your favorite company publishes. you understand this, right?
RJB

these D*mn posts are not relevant…we don’t want opinions and rumors. WHAT HAPPENED TO STATING facts? All of you guys are journalists but yet it seems all you wanna do is rant and repost sh*t that’s already online. most of you guys play favorites and either sucking Steve Jobs Di*k or destroying Apple. Last time I checked Steve is Married (that’s his wife’s job) and Android is already showing the world that Apple as a phone SUCKS. I come on here to get good reviews and specs…OPINIONS CAN STAY TO YOURSELVES.
TDM

As a long time PDA user since the early 1990s I was used to carrying these small computers easily in my pocket, thus it was with me at all times. This was the key to their usefulness. I was downloading and reading books on them, accessing internet resources, and editing document which synched to my PC. I am currently doing the same on my EVO, but it is a smaller device than my old PDA. IMHO, I think that it should increase its screen size to the 5.5 to 6.5 inches range and still be easily pocket-portable and thus always with me, something that a tablet cannot do.
xlt

considering that i’m over 6 feet tall and was imbued with massive hands, i think i will speak for all of us tall people that i’m COMPLETELY appreciative of devices with ~5 inch screens. trying to send texts and reply to e-mails on something tiny like an iphone is a complete nightmare, and even the swype feature on most android phones doesn’t always suffice.
xlt

considering that i’m over 6 feet tall and was imbued with massive hands, i think i will speak for all of us tall people that i’m COMPLETELY appreciative of devices with ~5 inch screens. trying to send texts and reply to e-mails on something tiny like an iphone is a complete nightmare, and even the swype feature on most android phones doesn’t always suffice.
- Anonymous
  
  I second xlt’s notion of a bigger screen for those of us with large hands (I’m 6’5″). I am still on my 3GS and won’t go to an iphone 4 because its just too dang small to hold on to, and forget typing on that thing! Likewise, I have never considered a tablet for the same reason mentioned in the article, how do you lug that around anyhow? I’m not going to get me a man-purse just to be able to take my ipad to a lunch meeting. At least the note COULD fit in my pocket if I wanted tablet functionality on the go, which I do!!! If I could have a large gorgeous screen and a “phone” that’s large enough to suffice for tablet-like uses, I would be all over it! Now if Samsung will just let me know when I can get this thing, I’ll sign up!