Gruber is crazy. Who the hell is "pining" for the 3.5" screen of the original iphone? Seriously.
That's a good question. I'm assuming people who barely use the phone as things more than a text or call maker can view the 3.5 as "perfect size", but those of use who consume media and do productive work or browsing realized that below 5 inches makes it hard to actually do anything on the phone.
I find the 4 inch screen of the 5 absolutely too small to actually do any real work or heavy browsing on, especially now that I'll have the Plus in my hands on Friday.
The OP's post is actually really misleading, Gruber doesn't really say it's too big for using, he says it's too big for
him personally (he claims to be a fan of the original iPhone size), which really isn't the best reviewer for a larger phone screen in the first place.
But, as for the Daring Fireball article itself, the review was a very good and fair review and I agree with much of it: except that I feel that after adjustments, even the 4.7 might be too small for people who wanted a larger iPhone screen.