07-23-2010, 06:00 AM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 118
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Smartphone Screen Sizes - Which Is Right For You?
"There's a new breed of tech one-upmanship in town: smart phone screen size. Although Apple has decided to focus on quality and higher resolution with the iPhone 4‘s 3.5-inch Retina display, other handset makers are pushing the boundaries of what's pocket-friendly with screens that measure 4, 4.3, and even 5 inches. There certainly are benefits to having extra real estate on a phone, but consumers have to wonder whether it's worth the trade-offs. What is the sweet spot? How big is too big?" 
Mark Spoonauer, writing for the Laptopmag blog, comments on the movement to large screen sizes on smartphones. He provides his opinion on the pros and cons of 3.5", 4.0", and even 4.3" screens, and describes when one size might be more appropriate than another. It's a fun read! Personally, I really like the larger screen sizes (4.0" and larger) and will be trying to get one that large when I get my next smartphone. The larger format smartphones are heftier to carry around, but that doesn't bother me, and I definitely prefer the browsing experience on those larger screens. What is your ideal sized screen?
Last edited by Brad Wasson; 07-23-2010 at 06:39 PM..
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07-23-2010, 07:09 AM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 7
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The ideal screen size is 4.0" (exactly). The 4" display is supposedly cheaper than 4.3", it consumes less power (as 4.3" area is 15% larger), the device can be made more compact. And at the same time consumers got 4" screen instead of meager 3.9" 
Interestingly, people nowadays use inches to measure screen sizes even in countries where the normal metric systems is used for everything else. So the magic of numers would work all over the world, not only in odd countries still using stupid miles, feet and inches.
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07-23-2010, 07:43 AM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 6
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Too Big
By no means do I strive for the tiniest phone I can find. But I highly appreciate the efforts Apple makes to make the iPhone as small as possible while maintaining a size that is still useful.
Sure when actually using a device, bigger is always better. But for a PHONE the Evo is just too big to carry. It doesn't really fit in my pockets comfortably and if that's the case, what's the point?
The 4" screen is acceptable. I agree Xentrax, that 4" may be the 'perfect' size. I'm not sure. Then again I have a hard time considering carrying anything much larger than the iPhone.
If find it ironic that the market was trying to make devices smaller and smaller and suddenly with Android the push is to see who can make the biggest smartphone. It's just a trend. Kind of like sunglasses where the trend is the bigger the better where only 10 years ago small was in.
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07-23-2010, 11:59 AM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 676
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I think 4" is a great size. I had 4" Toshibas for a few years and that screen size was near perfect for me. Of course the browsing experience isn't just about size- it's also about software, which is why the 3.5" iPhone with an HVGA screen blew away both my Toshiba e830 with its 4" VGA screen and my HTC Advantage with its 5" (much too big in hindsight) VGA screen. So while I wouldn't mind a 4" iPhone screen (not going to happen), I'm happy sticking with my iPhone for now (which now finally has a > VGA screen even if it's still 3.5").
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64 GB iPad 2 WiFi, Apple TV 2, 32 GB iPhone 4
Early 2011 MacBook Pro 13" (dual boot with Windows 7), Early 2009 Mac Mini
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07-23-2010, 02:29 PM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 524
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I totally love the 480x854, 4.3", 228dpi screen on my Droid X!!! This is by far the best mobile phone display I've seen for web browsing, watching video, touching, touch buttons, etc.
There are 3 factors here. The physical size, the resolution of the display, and the dpi which is a function of the other two.
I had a Toshiba E830 which had a 4" screen and 640x480 resolution. My next device was an iMate 6150 which also had 480x640 resolution but had a 2.8" screen. The Toshiba's dpi was 200 and the iMate had a dpi of 286. While the Toshiba let me set fonts extremely small and the screen was still very readable the iMate, using the same applications, needed larger font sizes and I wasn't able to fit as much on the screen which is a big deal for a month view in a calendar with text (Pocket Informant). The other application where i used a smaller, but not quite as small, font was PocketBible. When I moved to my iMate the dpi was just too high. I had to use larger fonts in both applications so it was like I lost part of my screen.
When searching for a new device I wanted high resolution but I also wanted to use that resolution. I like the droid x because it gives and extra 54 pixels (over the common 480x800 giving the Droid and Droid X a 16x9 aspect ratio) of height and it is large enough, 4.3", that it it keeps the dpi down at 228. This seemed like it would be a sweet spot for me (since the dpi was fairly large on the Toshiba but still usable, though not desireble, on the iMate). I don't have the same apps to compare but what I can say is I've never seen a mobile device screen I like more. As a nice surprise bonus for me this screen is also (in my opinion) excellent in direct sunlight!
One funny note: the Droid X is smaller in *every* dimension then the Toshiba, I put them next to each other - even when you count the bump at the top in the back. I think it's funny how people freak out over how "huge" the Evo and the Droid X are.
So what I'm saying is:
1. Be careful of getting a dpi that's too high! This will make your screen less useful. Apple went way over board. Their dpi on the iphone 4 is 330. That is way too high and completely worthless. You don't see any pixels on mine. Man, get a Droid Incredible if you want higher but I'm just saying apple doesn't engineer well. They probably did that so the screen would scale easily for their billion apps that were designed for an inferior screen. Don't think you need a dpi that high. *NEVER TRUST APPLE MARKETING* Remember, they tried to tell you your mp3 player doesn't need a screen. They're not the brightest bunch.
2. Hold the device, put it in your pocket, look at the screen, try some web browsing on it - try not zoommed and holding it horizontally - can you read the text? This is a personal preference thing. I'm very happy with my Droid X! Everyone is impressed by the screen.
3. Higher dpi means your on-screen buttons to touch will be smaller - this is NOT a good thing when you can't use a stylus. This can be important if you have big fingers.
4. It is a personal preference thing. For some people, you may want a higher dpi. Just don't think a device is too big to fit in your pocket because a review made it sound that way. For me, I never want to go back to anything smaller!
For my calculations I used: http://members.ping.de/~sven/dpi.html
Last edited by Craig Horlacher; 07-23-2010 at 02:31 PM..
Reason: spelling, adding Droid X screen resolution
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07-23-2010, 05:36 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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When I first heard about the 4.3" screen size on the HD2, I thought "No way, that's too big!", but after using it now for months, I'd say it's a great size for me. My iPod Touch screen is just too small - and sooner or later Apple is going to be forced to move to a larger physical screen as the population continues to get older.
So I think 4" is the minimum for me, but 4.3" is even better. 4.5" might be OK, but 5"? Nah, I think that's too big.
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07-23-2010, 05:39 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 676
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
My iPod Touch screen is just too small - and sooner or later Apple is going to be forced to move to a larger physical screen as the population continues to get older.
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They already have- they call it iPad (aka the iPod Touch for those with really bad near-field vision).
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64 GB iPad 2 WiFi, Apple TV 2, 32 GB iPhone 4
Early 2011 MacBook Pro 13" (dual boot with Windows 7), Early 2009 Mac Mini
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07-23-2010, 05:45 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dyvim
They already have- they call it iPad
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Do you have a special version that can make phone calls?
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07-23-2010, 05:53 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 676
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
Do you have a special version that can make phone calls? |
I'd look awesome walking around holding the iPad up to my head!
I was just kidding, but with some 3rd party apps like Skype or Line2 you can actually make VOIP calls, same as you can with your iPod touch. (Guess you need a microphone though? Speaking of which, this accessory is either awesome or so completely ridiculous as to be awesome anyway.)
But yeah, I won't be giving up my phone for the iPad any time soon.
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64 GB iPad 2 WiFi, Apple TV 2, 32 GB iPhone 4
Early 2011 MacBook Pro 13" (dual boot with Windows 7), Early 2009 Mac Mini
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07-24-2010, 02:24 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,608
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
Do you have a special version that can make phone calls? |
*ahem* Skype interestingly enough the 3G iPad is assigned a number
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27" iMac 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 8GB RAM
16GB LTE iPad3, 13" Macbook Air Core i5 w/128GB SSD
iPhone 4S (16GB), AppleTV 2.0
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Linear Mode
