Smartphone Screen Sizes - Which Is Right For You?

[Brad Wasson]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://blog.laptopmag.com/for-smart-phones-how-big-is-too-big' target='_blank'>http://blog.laptopmag.com/for-smart...-big-is-too-big</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"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&lsquo;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?"</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/wpt/auto/1279850362.usr110171.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>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!</p><p>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?</p>

[Xentrax]

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.

[RF9]

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.

[Dyvim]

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").

[Craig Horlacher]

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 (http://members.ping.de/%7Esven/dpi.html)

[Jason Dunn]

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.

[Dyvim]

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.
They already have- they call it iPad (aka the iPod Touch for those with really bad near-field vision).;)

[Jason Dunn]

They already have- they call it iPad

Do you have a special version that can make phone calls? ;)

[Dyvim]

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 (http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/native-union-moshi-moshi-02-mm02/) 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.

[Macguy59]

Do you have a special version that can make phone calls? ;)

*ahem* Skype ;) interestingly enough the 3G iPad is assigned a number

[Rob Alexander]

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 (http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/native-union-moshi-moshi-02-mm02/) 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.

I didn't give up my phone for my iPad either. They each have an important place in my digital life now, but for different purposes. In fact, it's not time on my phone that the iPad replaces, but time on my computer. While there isn't an iPad-specific Skype, I don't see any reason you couldn't use the iPhone version on the iPad to make calls. The iPad has a microphone built-in, so it should be good to go. I wouldn't do that instead of picking up my phone, but I can see doing that while traveling overseas to call back home without paying outrageously high prices.

[Down8]

For reference, I progressed thus: HTC Hermes > TMo G1 > Samsung Vibrant

I have been happy moving up in size each time (both resolution & diagonal). I really wanted the Dell Streak, but I'm a TMo loyalist. At 6'4", a 5" phone wouldn't look any stranger in-hand than 'average height' ppl using an iPhone. I haven't had a chance to play with a DroidX, but the HD2 didn't seem insanely huge. The 4" screen does seem to be a sweet spot, given the reactions of the 4.3-5" phones.

If DroidX was on T-Mobile, I'd have had a tough decision between it & my Vibrant (Galaxy S), but I don't think I'd have been disappointed either way.

-bZj

[Janak Parekh]

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. This isn't true. I think it's okay to say 200+ dpi is subjectively just fine, and that you don't need more, but 300+ dpi is definitely not worthless. I notice it most when reading e-books -- the typography is absolutely, stunningly perfect. I want to see more devices with 300+ dpi screens, as we're approaching laser printer quality. If done right (i.e. a platform that correctly supports high-density screens), you don't give up anything for having this.

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. It is absolutely true that the iPhone 4's screen was intentionally designed as a pixel-doubled version of the previous iPhones, and the backwards-compatibility is useful. It's the exact same reason Pocket PC's second non-square resolution was 480x640. :) Also, your Apple marketing analogy is a complete non-sequitur. It's far better to say "don't trust any marketing," isn't it?

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. This is not true. Higher DPI on a platform that doesn't scale the widgets will be smaller, but not on a platform that allows proper scaling. The widgets on the iPhone 4 are exactly double the number of pixels as the ones on the older units, so they are exactly the same size. (This is not to say that iOS is perfect about scaling -- I don't think we've seen a mobile or desktop platform that quite nails this just yet.)

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! That's fair to say, and I think "YMMV" is important here. As for me, I've gone back and forth on this argument, having had tiny Smartphone screens to massive WM screens. I don't think I know the right answer. One thing I really like about the 3.5" screen on the iPhones is that I can trivially one-hand the unit and hit every control on the screen with my thumb -- with a larger unit it's much harder to truly one-hand. The Droid Incredible's 3.8" might be the biggest I could tolerate in terms of one-handability, and even that might be too large. On the other hand, a larger screen requires less fine motor control.

--janak

[kerrins]

I think it's funny anyone would think there is a perfect size. My wife and I use our phone for completely different things. She uses hers more as a phone, so smaller is better. She will only go on the web if I'm not accessible. Yes, that means calling me access the web for something she's trying to look up. :) I however like to surf the web, so reading the news or watching a video means I need a larger screen. I don't like to talk on the phone, so if I have to hold something to my head, it's generally for less than 30 seconds so I really don't care if it looks big.

[TOCA]

In a not so distant past the hype was that cellphones were getting so small they got lost in pockets, now we are moving in the opposite direction and every one is whining :)

Remember when the first PDA-Phones hit the market? Every one were laughing at the geeks holding their calculators to their heads? No more than 5-6 years ago, and the screen sizes were mere 2,8-3,5" ;)

And now you ask if 4 inches is too small?? *LOL*

I'm past 40 years of age, so any thing less then 4" is unreadable, even with my reading glasses on. A couple of years ago I got my iPAQ 214 and I still love it, the first thing that pleased me was that I rarely had to pull out the stylus, and that was at a time where every one were crying for one handed use, I could do that because the icons were now large enough even for my thumb. OK it's not a phone, but it's only as of lately you have been able to get almost all that I want in one gizmo, even HDMI now, to replace the old VGA-Out, but I'm also a heavy user of CF cards, and they have completely dissapeared from the scene of today, so to replace my iPAQ would mean replacing every thing but the kitchen zink, and in these times I'm not entirely sure my banker agrees on that one *sigh*

The good thing is that we are not supplyed by the Armys "One size fits no one" policy but have loads to choose from, what is right for me is wrong for others, and on the edge for some, if your hand is small and feminine any thing larger than 3" is not userfriendly, for phone conversation any thing larger than a standard candybar type phone looks silly, luckily the headsets are not very expencive any more, so who cares how huge your phone is theese days, if it fits in your pocket or bag it's not too big, and if you can do what you want to do with it it's not too small.

Oh, and most of us always carries at least two electronic gizmoes around at all times, and who here has less than two phones laying around? So having the right equipment for the occasion is always at hand, it's only down to our lazyness that we never switch for the right tool ;)

Back on topick: 3" is too small 4" is fine, 5" would be nice, 6 or 7? If the right extra functions were implemented I'd sure be tempted, but only if the ressolution is better than VGA, way better.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Just because the screen size is 4.3" doesn't mean the device is huge automatically. Did you know that the Samsung Galaxy S, despite its smaller 4" screen, is not much smaller than the HD2? Do people just jump to conclusions based only on the screen size or something?

Here's how the 4.3" vs 4.0" and 3.5" phones stack up: http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_comparison/29423-HTC-HD2-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-S-vs-iPhone-4