Lets be real here.. What does a longer phone do for web browsing in landscape mode??

[Sedrick]

Doesn't do anything for much outside of games and video but it lets apple put down 4 inch screen on the spec sheet. At least the kids will have fun with it.

You, sir, have hit the nail right on the head.

There's no arguing that a taller screen is better than what we have now. It's just disappointing that with Apple's money, power and design team, they could have given us the moon. Instead, they've given us an instagram photo of it.

 

[PDFierro]

Not to mention 1136x640 is an insanely stupid resolution that no other device I am aware of uses. Every other high end phone is either at 1280x720 or moving towards it. The fact that the 2012/2013 iphone, made by a company that pushes how high end their visuals are, wont have an HD display is actually embarrassing, Apple should be ashamed.

You really think that isn't a HD screen?

 

[moosquared]

+1 to what Bigdawg said.

The screen is far too cramped to use two hands to text in portrait and doing it single-thumbed is painstakingly slow. If you're typing a text of more than a couple of words...or, gasp, an email...landscape is really the only way to go.

Unless you are actually a 12 yr old girl, or have the same sized hands as one, and can type comfortably with 2 hands in portrait. I'll just assume that this applies to James, since that's where his mind went.

Really... I'm sure there are lots of people who type in landscape, but I know none of them. All the females and males that I know and have seen texting, all type in portrait mode. And all of them have an average or bigger hands, so there is no need to resort to petty insult just because you can't type well in portrait mode. Personally, I don't like my phone or iPad in landscape. I always lock it in portrait unless it's for video.

I can't even remember when the last time I text in landscape. But now many are mentioning it... I'll give it a try again.

 

[eNcrypTioN]

I never type in landscape mode ever, it feels awkward.

Enjoy your windows phone. I remember having all the palm treo phones with windows and it was the most frustrating experience ever. I'll never give them another chance...

 

[trlyka]

Why would it be stretched narrower? The rumored screen is no more narrow than the old screen, just longer. You should see more at once than on the current screen, even in landscape mode.

I would assume that the keyboard letters will just be slightly bigger, not disproportional or stretched, if you will. I am all for that. I think people are blowing this waaaay out of proportion. I was initially unimpressed by all the leaked photos and innards discussion, but until I hold it in my hands, I am done judging.......

----------

Really... I'm sure there are lots of people who type in landscape, but I know none of them. All the females and males that I know and have seen texting, all type in portrait mode. And all of them have an average or bigger hands, so there is no need to resort to petty insult just because you can't type well in portrait mode. Personally, I don't like my phone or iPad in landscape. I always lock it in portrait unless it's for video.

I can't even remember when the last time I text in landscape. But now many are mentioning it... I'll give it a try again.

Landscape for me. Always have. Maybe it's a girl thing?

 

[Geckotek]

Absolutely nothing.. Not to mention texting(most people I know text with both hands in landscape mode). So now text on websites will be stretched even narrower to the point where I have to zoom in on everything? The only benefit to a longer iphone is more screen space in portrait mode... whoopedy doo..

Windows phone 8 here I come.

Did Apple say it was better for browsing? Texting? Nope.

Because WP8 isn't using 16:9 screens? Well, the Lumia 920 isn't, so perhaps that'll fit your desires more.

 

[CrAkD]

doing it single-thumbed is painstakingly slow. .

I bet I could out type many with 1 thumb. There is nothing slow about it. I fly through emails and texts.

 

[Geckotek]

Not to mention 1136x640 is an insanely stupid resolution that no other device I am aware of uses. Every other high end phone is either at 1280x720 or moving towards it. The fact that the 2012/2013 iphone, made by a company that pushes how high end their visuals are, wont have an HD display is actually embarrassing, Apple should be ashamed.

It's a resolution that makes it simple to scale existing apps. You should be ashamed for not recognizing that.

----------

have fun with your plastic device!

To be fair, the Lumia is not plastic.

 

[s15119]

Absolutely nothing.. Not to mention texting(most people I know text with both hands in landscape mode). So now text on websites will be stretched even narrower to the point where I have to zoom in on everything? The only benefit to a longer iphone is more screen space in portrait mode... whoopedy doo..

Windows phone 8 here I come.

Bye. Here's a nice place for you

http://www.wpcentral.com/tags/windows-phone-8

 

[Stetrain]

To be fair, the Lumia is not plastic.

It's polycarbonate, which is as far as I know is just a kind of plastic. It's higher quality than the plastics used in most consumer products, but it's still a kind of plastic.

 

[Geckotek]

It's polycarbonate, which is as far as I know is just a kind of plastic. It's higher quality than the plastics used in most consumer products, but it's still a kind of plastic.

Whoah, I stand corrected. I played with one at work a couple of month back (our MS rep carries one all the time as well) and I honestly didn't think it was plastic. That thing is solid and nice. Just bigger than I prefer.

 

[jvmxtra]

Those of you defending iphone no matter what is really weird. What's it to you that if it causes bit of fragmentation and to have apple to offer multiple sizes? Why not letter boxing anything that's not 3.5 to begin w/ and offer multiple size? Where's harm in that?

If you think what apple is doing is always right for everyone, you have big problem.Just ask 20 million people who bought samsung s3.. that's apple's potential sales that went to competitor because some jerk off at apple thinks that 3.5 inch is still good at year 2012.
4 inch? Wow.. really? after sitting on same design for 3 years, all you can think of is.. umm let's make it taller and make design look exactly the same?

I will never respect Tim cook if they don't unveil something drastically different next week.. oh it's gonna be fun week

 

[james92se]

There's no way at all they're going to release anything drastically different. What we've seen in the leaks is what we're gonna get. AT&T getting in stock of new iPhone 5 cases that match exactly all the leaks we've seen further bolsters that.

Really, the only mystery is whether or not it'll be the two tone back.

 

[Stetrain]

Whoah, I stand corrected. I played with one at work a couple of month back (our MS rep carries one all the time as well) and I honestly didn't think it was plastic. That thing is solid and nice. Just bigger than I prefer.

I think the main difference with most plastic phone cases is that they take a solid block of the polycarbonate and then mill it to the shape they want, sort of like Apple does with its unibody aluminum designs. Even though it's plastic the result is very sturdy.

 

[Geckotek]

Those of you defending iphone no matter what is really weird. What's it to you that if it causes bit of fragmentation and to have apple to offer multiple sizes? Why not letter boxing anything that's not 3.5 to begin w/ and offer multiple size? Where's harm in that?

If you think what apple is doing is always right for everyone, you have big problem.Just ask 20 million people who bought samsung s3.. that's apple's potential sales that went to competitor because some jerk off at apple thinks that 3.5 inch is still good at year 2012.
4 inch? Wow.. really? after sitting on same design for 3 years, all you can think of is.. umm let's make it taller and make design look exactly the same?

I will never respect Tim cook if they don't unveil something drastically different next week.. oh it's gonna be fun week

Only an idiot believes that all 20 million of those people would have bought an iPhone "if only they would make a bigger screen". Get real.

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There's no way at all they're going to release anything drastically different. What we've seen in the leaks is what we're gonna get. AT&T getting in stock of new iPhone 5 cases that match exactly all the leaks we've seen further bolsters that.

Really, the only mystery is whether or not it'll be the two tone back.

I agree, but stores got the false iPhone 5 case in stock last year. I wouldn't use that as proof.

 

[rushluvr]

You really think that isn't a HD screen?

No, no its not....at all. 640 is not HD no matter what pixel count BS Apple throws around. 720 is the minimum for a true HD display.

 

[CallOfDuty]

Absolutely nothing.. Not to mention texting(most people I know text with both hands in landscape mode). So now text on websites will be stretched even narrower to the point where I have to zoom in on everything? The only benefit to a longer iphone is more screen space in portrait mode... whoopedy doo..

Windows phone 8 here I come.

http://forums.wpcentral.com/

http://forums.wpcentral.com/

http://forums.wpcentral.com/

http://forums.wpcentral.com/

Here you go. Good bye. Enjoy your new Windows Phone 8 device !
/s

 

[PaulDoFish]

Who said anything about typing with two hands in portrait? I don't type with two hands period.

Obviously I was being semi-facetious with my earlier comment but in all honestly I can count on one hand the times I've seen an adult guy typing two handed. Most of my girl friends and female family members do use the iPhone two handed but always in portrait. And in all seriousness I don't know if I've EVER seen an adult male OR female texting in landscape mode.

Just picturing that conjures up images of those old T Mobile sidekicks you'd see back in the mid 2000's with everybody constantly sliding the screen up and flipping the phone sideways to text.

Anyway, I type away with one hand all day long and I would put my speed on par with anybody out there. I actually find it slower to type two handed because I find myself trying to mentally separate the keyboard for each thumb. Doing it all one handed is much more intuitive/natural for me (and I had always assumed for most other adults as well). Even big burly guys seem to naturally hold the phone in one hand and stab at it with the other rather than flip it sideways and use it two handed.

I type two thumbs in portrait mode just fine.... Everyone I know does it too, and we're fairly quick and accurate at it.... Landscape mode is actually way slower for me because my thumbs have to travel further distances...

 

[viewfly]

A 4" HD screen (16:9) is a 4" screen, the same physical size of all the other HD Android 4" screens. Why all the complaints ? I can understand wanting a 4.3 or 4.7 but 4" is 4". The 16:9 defines the length and width. Go to a store and check it out. Your 3.5 screen is the same width as a 4" HD screen

Also for the first few years Apple did not offer a landscape keyboard. People here were aghast and up in arms. So now you've had it for some time. And it will operate like any other 4" HD device.

I don't understand all the grief. What apple had before was between 4:3 and 16:9. ( ie 1.3 and 1.78, Apple's 4 being 1.47). Now with the iPhone 5 at 16:9, they went to a standard format, and that yields a taller, or widescreen format, like all others.

I think it will be a hit.

 

[viewfly]

And to answer the OP's question. I normally rotate to landscape for web browsing to get larger text. Having a longer or wider screen should give me more words per line at the same text height. Hence less scrolling and easier reading.

Try it with Macrumors mobile web site you'll see what I mean.

 

[tann]

Honestly I don't know anyone who texts regularly in landscape mode.

It's all about portrait for speed (when using two thumbs) or just convenience! You can also see much more of the message (which I like).

 

[krashx7]

Lol at the idea of typing with one thumb is ever gonna be as fast as typing with two. Its called logic. Two thumbs are faster than one. Fact.

And if you type with two thumbs in portrait mode you must have really really small hands because that would awkward as hell for me.

Landscape mode for life.

 

[BoxerGT2.5]

Lots of people using two hands on a device supposedly the perfect ergonomically designed phone for one handed use. Hence why it's not gaining width. Interesting!

 

[ct2k7]

Lol at the idea of typing with one thumb is ever gonna be as fast as typing with two. Its called logic. Two thumbs are faster than one. Fact.

And if you type with two thumbs in portrait mode you must have really really small hands because that would awkward as hell for me.

Landscape mode for life.

I type with two thumbs in portrait mode

 

[b166er]

I use landscape a lot and I agree, the rumored screen will not benefit me except for watching videos which I don't do much on my phone. I would enjoy more vertical real estate while in landscape mode.

What worries me is that apple will probably stick with the longer screen for years to come. If they do in fact release this rumored longer not wider screen I think it will become their new "normal" for the next several generations of iPhone.

The screen size isn't a deal breaker with me, but I would have expected a more proportional increase and not a "stretch". Still I'm eager to see this keynote and get the real scoop on features and specs.