Samsung's New Galaxy S III Phone Offers 4.8-Inch Screen, Siri-Like 'S Voice' Feature

[Renzatic]

Alright let's see: The entire user experience. Name one smartphone that came before the iPhone that actually has music-playing capabilities (by that I mean a jukebox like iTunes, not some cheap file browser with a media player), an app store that allows 3rd party developers to contribute, wifi, a 100% touchscreen interface, and an app-centered GUI (as opposed to a set of menus).

Even the iPhone didn't have all those features when it first came out.

If you really want to get technical about it, you could say iOS is an extension of the old PDAs that have been around since, at least, '98. You can clearly see the genesis of iOS and Android by looking everything Palm had released beforehand.

Like a jukebox? I'm sure the Palm Tungsten and it's contemporaries had something similar, which came out around 2003-2005...

Anyway, I could go on and on and on, but I don't want to. It's all the same tired argument that's been repeated 50 billion times previously. I'll shorten it all up by saying...

The iPhone, Android OS, all we're seeing now, are all evolutionary steps on a long road that's been building since the 90's.

 

[ani4ani]

Since apple invented the full touchscreen smartphone industry your post makes absolutely no sense. Apple clearly researched and tested and determined the 3.5" touchscreen was the best one for what the wanted to do. Your implication is the cellphone industry had spent twenty five years determining the proper screen size for a touch screen smartphone which is absurd.

You are putting words in my mouth. At no time did I say what you suggest. I was doing little more than contesting your claim that Apple spent 5 years of research to come up with. 3.5" touchscreen interface and that they invented it. Fact, touchscreen interfaces existed 15 years before they existed on the iPhone. There were touchscreen phones a long time before the iPhone. Sony, Nokia and Motorola had them.

You have to remember that Apple's first foray into phones was a partnership with Motorola.

 

[ixodes]

I have both the iPhone 4 and a Samsung Skyrocket. The usability, for ME, is far greater on the Skyrocket because the screen is bigger which means everything is easier to read and operate.

I love my iPhone 4. It's great. I love the apps for it. But now - the screen looks and feels tiny. TINY. Not small. Not a little smaller. but TINY.

Bigger screens offer huge benefits. And I haven't lost one iota of portability. Fits in my pocket just as well.

You've summed up my feelings on both these two phones exactly. Word for word.

I too carry both my iPhone 4S, and as of this morning I picked up an HTC One X from my local AT&T store.

Previously I used a Skyrocket, that to date was my favorite Android phone.

As eager as I am to obtain a Galaxy S III, it's going to be a little while before they're available as we know. I'll pass the One X on to a family member once the Galaxy is available, since I prefer Samsung's configuration.

To the topic of screen size, speaking strictly about my preferences, after having a Galaxy Note, the 4.8" display of the SGS III will be absolutely ideal for me.

Part of the time I'm very mobile & travel extensively for work, thus a smartphone is invaluable to me. Since I also carry a MBP, carrying my full size iPad is a bit much. A pocketable smartphone with a 4.5 to 4.8" display is the sweet spot.

So far the only iPhone 5 rumors I've read seem confined to a 4.0" display, they obviously reflect Apples preference towards a small smartphone. If Apple were to surprise us with a display sized between 4.5" & 4.8", I would promote it to my primary smartphone of choice in a flash.

Chance of that? Who am I kidding

 

[faroZ06]

Even the iPhone didn't have all those features when it first came out.

If you really want to get technical about it, you could say iOS is an extension of the old PDAs that have been around since, at least, '98. You can clearly see the genesis of iOS and Android by looking everything Palm had released beforehand.

Like a jukebox? I'm sure the Palm Tungsten and it's contemporaries had something similar, which came out around 2003-2005...

Image

Anyway, I could go on and on and on, but I don't want to. It's all the same tired argument that's been repeated 50 billion times previously. I'll shorten it all up by saying...

The iPhone, Android OS, all we're seeing now, are all evolutionary steps on a long road that's been building since the 90's.

Actually, I know that the iPhone originally did not have an app store. They were still first when they launched the version of iOS with the App Store.

None of those older phones had a similar user experience to the iPhone. Most of the phones after the iPhone (mainly the Droid) had a similar user experience. It's not a coincidence. Those old PDAs you mentioned possibly had 1 feature of the iPhone user experience, but they didn't have all of them or even most, and the Droids did.

In fact, Android didn't even make their own name. They had to buy the name "Droid" from LucasFilm, and it says at the bottom of Droid ads. (I know this doesn't matter, but it's a fun fact.)

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Since apple invented the full touchscreen smartphone industry your post makes absolutely no sense. Apple clearly researched and tested and determined the 3.5" touchscreen was the best one for what the wanted to do. Your implication is the cellphone industry had spent twenty five years determining the proper screen size for a touch screen smartphone which is absurd.

1.) Apple did not invent the full touch screen smart phone.
2.) at the time 3.5 was on the larger size.

Most importantly things CHANGE over time. 3.5 used to be great but not it is on the small size.
What does not adapt and evolve withers and die.

 

[Renzatic]

Actually, I know that the iPhone originally did not have an app store. They were still first when they launched the version of iOS with the App Store.

None of those older phones had a similar user experience to the iPhone. Most of the phones after the iPhone (mainly the Droid) had a similar user experience. It's not a coincidence. Those old PDAs you mentioned possibly had 1 feature of the iPhone user experience, but they didn't have all of them or even most, and the Droids did.

In fact, Android didn't even make their own name. They had to buy the name "Droid" from LucasFilm, and it says at the bottom of Droid ads. (I know this doesn't matter, but it's a fun fact.)

And what exactly is the user experience of the iPhone? You break it down to the fundamentals, and what you've got is a PDA. It takes notes, it displays maps, shows pictures, lets you do office work on the go. The constant march of technology has given it the power to far more in a smaller package, but at it's most basic, it's still a PDA.

Apple did with the PDA what Apple does best. They polished, simplified, cleaned up, made it more elegant, then slapped it in a sleek case. I won't deny that Apple didn't contribute their own ideas and innovations, nor will I deny that they've greatly influenced the current PDA/Smartphone scene, but I won't say the current implementation of iOS is a completely new thing. Just from a single glance, it's very obviously built on technologies and ideas that came before it.

And the App Store? It's basically a repository with a slick frontend. Apple didn't invent the concept so much as popularized it.

edit: I'll drive the point home for you...

This is the Palm Zire. Came out in 2003.

Notice the icons. You've got an Address Book, Photos, Notepad, an audio player, a date book, all arrayed in a nice little grid.

Now here's a shot of the home screen on my iPhone 4...

Notice the icons. I've got my contacts, notes, my music and video player, photos, and a calander, all arrayed in a nice little grid.

As you can see, they're more similar than they are dissimilar.

 

[samcraig]

1.) Apple did not invent the full touch screen smart phone.
2.) at the time 3.5 was on the larger size.

Most importantly things CHANGE over time. 3.5 used to be great but not it is on the small size.
What does not adapt and evolve withers and die.

To further - I don't really care what research Apple did several years ago. 3.5" might be what THEY consider the sweet spot. But for me, and my use case, it doesn't cut it anymore. I don't need to research anything. 3.5" FOR ME is not as usable as my 4.5" Skyrocket now. Fact.

Further - there could be MANY reasons why Apple chose 3.5". The whole research thing is a nice PR angle/response. How about - at the time - it was the best bang for the buck. Larger would have set costs higher and smaller wouldn't have accomplished what they wanted with iOS. Steve Jobs would never say anything like THAT on the stage.

But cynicism aside - I think Apple did plenty of research back in the day. I just don't think it's as relevant in today's marketplace.

 

[blow45]

And what exactly is the user experience of the iPhone? You break it down to the fundamentals, and what you've got is a PDA. It takes notes, it displays maps, shows pictures, lets you do office work on the go. The constant march of technology has given it the power to far more in a smaller package, but at it's most basic, it's still a PDA.

Apple did with the PDA what Apple does best. They polished, simplified, cleaned up, made it more elegant, then slapped it in a sleek case. I won't deny that Apple didn't contribute their own ideas and innovations, nor will I deny that they've greatly influenced the current PDA/Smartphone scene, but I won't say the current implementation of iOS is a completely new thing. Just from a single glance, it's very obviously built on technologies and ideas that came before it.

And the App Store? It's basically a repository with a slick frontend. Apple didn't invent the concept so much as popularized it.

edit: I'll drive the point home for you...

This is the Palm Zire. Came out in 2003.

Image

Notice the icons. You've got an Address Book, Photos, Notepad, an audio player, a date book, all arrayed in a nice little grid.

Now here's a shot of the home screen on my iPhone 4...

Image

Notice the icons. I've got my contacts, notes, my music and video player, photos, and a calander, all arrayed in a nice little grid.

As you can see, they're more similar than they are dissimilar.

Thanks for taking it up for me. . Enjoyed reading your posts thoroughly.

 

[doobybiggs]

And what exactly is the user experience of the iPhone? You break it down to the fundamentals, and what you've got is a PDA. It takes notes, it displays maps, shows pictures, lets you do office work on the go. The constant march of technology has given it the power to far more in a smaller package, but at it's most basic, it's still a PDA.

Apple did with the PDA what Apple does best. They polished, simplified, cleaned up, made it more elegant, then slapped it in a sleek case. I won't deny that Apple didn't contribute their own ideas and innovations, nor will I deny that they've greatly influenced the current PDA/Smartphone scene, but I won't say the current implementation of iOS is a completely new thing. Just from a single glance, it's very obviously built on technologies and ideas that came before it.

And the App Store? It's basically a repository with a slick frontend. Apple didn't invent the concept so much as popularized it.

edit: I'll drive the point home for you...

This is the Palm Zire. Came out in 2003.

Image

Notice the icons. You've got an Address Book, Photos, Notepad, an audio player, a date book, all arrayed in a nice little grid.

Now here's a shot of the home screen on my iPhone 4...

Image

Notice the icons. I've got my contacts, notes, my music and video player, photos, and a calander, all arrayed in a nice little grid.

As you can see, they're more similar than they are dissimilar.

This is one of the better posts in here lol

 

[marksman]

I wouldn't exactly call the Galaxy a 49 cent taco to the iPhone's 50 dollar steak.



Rather the "if my favorite thing is selling well, then that's just proof my favorite thing is awesome" spiel. Like it's so obvious people prefer the quality of the iPad because Android tablets are selling so poorly. But Android phones selling well? Heh. 49 CENT TACOS SELL MORE THAN 50 DOLLAR STEAKS, DUDE GUY! THAT DON'T MEAN 49 CENT TACOS ARE BETTER! IT MEANS NOTHING.

I was not comparing the galaxy to a 49 cent taco. I was responding to someone who claimed most people prefered android phones. My point was that is not proven just by sales numbers when you have a huge disparity of marketing factors.

The galaxy is a comparable level phone as the iPhone and the iPhone easily outsells it. That much cheaper android phones are sold does not validate a claim most people prefer android smartphones.

 

[samcraig]

I was not comparing the galaxy to a 49 cent taco. I was responding to someone who claimed most people prefered android phones. My point was that is not proven just by sales numbers when you have a huge disparity of marketing factors.

The galaxy is a comparable level phone as the iPhone and the iPhone easily outsells it. That much cheaper android phones are sold does not validate a claim most people prefer android smartphones.

This "argument" always confuses me.

If you want an iPhone- or rather you want iOS and Apple's ecosystem - you have no choice. OF COURSE the iphone as an individual phone is going to outsell any ONE Android phone. I fail to see this as a real bullet point in an argument.

 

[marksman]

No, that wasn't at all what I was implying. I'm a C/C++ programmer by trade and I work mostly with electrical engineers. I program system software and drivers for linux and windows. I can tell you that in our crowd, the iPhone reigns supreme. Very few of the technical people I work with own Android phones. I think it's probably because we work with so much flaky hardware and low-level system software every day that we want smartphones that Just Work.

I think that most uninformed users who walk into a cell phone store want an 'iPhone', without knowing much about what that means (if they spent the time and educated themselves, they wouldn't be uninformed, would they?) I don't think at all that that's a bad thing - it just speaks to Apple's incredible brand recognition. I think what phone they actually end up walking out of the store with has more to do with what the salesman there was trying to push that day than what's really best for them. "The salesman said it's just like an iPhone!"

This is spot on. My most technological knowledgable friends and associates all use iPhones. It is nice that android can be tinkered with but my iPhone is a tool with an expectation of reliability. There is plenty of other things to tinker with.

As for the salesman that is a 100% as well. Depends on their commission structure and any manufacturer spiffs and i guarantee 100k times a day some phone store sales person lies and tells them android phone is just like an iPhone. That the iPhone manages to still stop the sales charts at carrier stores is absolutely astonishing in the face of those huge obstacles.

 

[reedmartin]

This is spot on. My most technological knowledgable friends and associates all use iPhones. It is nice that android can be tinkered with but my iPhone is a tool with an expectation of reliability. There is plenty of other things to tinker with.

As for the salesman that is a 100% as well. Depends on their commission structure and any manufacturer spiffs and i guarantee 100k times a day some phone store sales person lies and tells them android phone is just like an iPhone. That the iPhone manages to still stop the sales charts at carrier stores is absolutely astonishing in the face of those huge obstacles.

i agree. That a 3g phone with a "tiny screen", no NFC and all these other "problems" can still outsell all Android phones combined in two consecutive quarters in the us is pretty crazy!

 

[marksman]

The notion that Android phones don't get any updates is the biggest myth usually told by people who never owned any Android phone. I own my GS2 for 6 month and I already and 3 system updates. My previous EVO 4G had as many updates as my iPhone 3g before that.

Android updates have been wireless for over 2 years now. And apps could be set to update automatically.

On the other hand how often does Apple make hardware updates? It took Apple 16 month to fix antenna issue!!! That's the "Apple care" you get: get a bumper and be happy

It is not a myth. The overwhelming majority of android devices never see a major os upgrade beyond the one they came with.

I personally find that insane and makes android a completely non viable os for a smartphone except as a toy.

 

[faroZ06]

And what exactly is the user experience of the iPhone? You break it down to the fundamentals, and what you've got is a PDA. It takes notes, it displays maps, shows pictures, lets you do office work on the go. The constant march of technology has given it the power to far more in a smaller package, but at it's most basic, it's still a PDA.

Apple did with the PDA what Apple does best. They polished, simplified, cleaned up, made it more elegant, then slapped it in a sleek case. I won't deny that Apple didn't contribute their own ideas and innovations, nor will I deny that they've greatly influenced the current PDA/Smartphone scene, but I won't say the current implementation of iOS is a completely new thing. Just from a single glance, it's very obviously built on technologies and ideas that came before it.

And the App Store? It's basically a repository with a slick frontend. Apple didn't invent the concept so much as popularized it.

edit: I'll drive the point home for you...

This is the Palm Zire. Came out in 2003.

Image

Notice the icons. You've got an Address Book, Photos, Notepad, an audio player, a date book, all arrayed in a nice little grid.

Now here's a shot of the home screen on my iPhone 4...

Image

Notice the icons. I've got my contacts, notes, my music and video player, photos, and a calander, all arrayed in a nice little grid.

As you can see, they're more similar than they are dissimilar.

It's not just about the technology. The most common argument for an iPhone being better than some Droid with better specs is that the iPhone's overall user experience is better.

The iPhone's overall user experience is very different from a PDA. For one, the PDA doesn't have a real app store (it sometimes has a little thing with a few apps you can buy at ripoff prices). You could say that the older smartphones had similar technology to the iPhone, but the user experience was very different (and worse). The question is: would you rather have a 2006 PDA or a 2007 iPhone? I'd rather have the iPhone (by a HUGE difference).

In fact, Apple put some of the best iOS features into Lion.

 

[\-V-/]

I do speak very clearly, first I speak normally to her, she fails, then I'll speak loudly, slowly and clearly. At this point she'll just mistake it for something else.

Maybe it's that time of the month for Siri.

 

[stuff4u]

If 3.5" screen is too small, why so many people didn't complaint about this starting from the day 1 when iPhone 1 was just released in 2007?

 

[Rodimus Prime]

If 3.5" screen is too small, why so many people didn't complaint about this starting from the day 1 when iPhone 1 was just released in 2007?

As pointed out before that was nearly 5 years ago. 3.5 was on the large end of the scale. Times change.

 

[stuff4u]

As pointed out before that was nearly 5 years ago. 3.5 was on the large end of the scale. Times change.

Should we need to change the screen size to 6.5" after next 5 years? Yes, Time has changed but human size did not change too much during last 5 years.

 

[marksman]

That's quite an impressive list. It sort of boggles the mind that Apple has been so successful as it is when they don't have any iOS devices that meet the criteria you listed.

Also, I'm not sure that any operating system qualifies to be called an ecosystem, considering this is a totally different context. I mean, if the person you quoted was talking about the iOS platform, rather than the number of devices available, then I sort of agree. While iOS does not support that list that you compiled, one could quite easily argue that the entire iOS "package" that forms the user's experience. So this would involve things like:

Support, frankly Apple's is better in my experience.
The app store (although I think Google Play has improved significantly, app quality has improved and the App store having more apps than Google Play is a non-issue in my experience as the apps that people care about are on both platforms)
Software updates (which are pretty appalling on Android, at least in my experience with my developer's SII which has yet to receive Android 4.0 because of my carrier)

A lot of these benefits are probably due to Apple having total control over the experience. This is why I'm not a huge fan of Android phones, there's one company that is focusing on the hardware, and then another that focuses on the software and they don't have the same goals so the user's experience is caught in the crossfire, in my opinion.

Generally speaking, I think iOS trumps Android in just providing a relatively hassle-free environment, which is what a lot of people seem to like. I'm a complete nerd (as one could expect from a programmer I guess) and I love tinkering with gadgets but when it comes to my phone I just want it to be as hassle-free as possible. Having used both an SII and an iPhone 4 over the last 6 months I have to say in that respect that iOS is significantly better - but I'll see when I finally get ICS!

You have elaborated my point. The ecosystem and the os are seperate but they play an important roll in supporting each other.

As I said before if I made a list of things that make a device like a smartphone useful, spec sheet would be far down the list. The os, the updates to the os, the application ecosystem, the amazing support all this things Apple dominate over any android oem. It is not even close.

Also ease of use and simplicity can't be overlooked. Samsung introduces a music match service while google already has one? That will not be confusing at all.

I will never consider an android device because the foundation is seriously flawed in terms of what I view as important and android has zero motivation to fix their problems and the oems can't fix half of them.

Personally I don't view the fact that five hundred random android handsets are available as a plus, at least to me. I would rather someone create a high end android handset to compete. The other 499 choices are worthless to me. The galaxy might be that one but to me it is to big to be used as a phone I carry with me 24x7 and secondly it is tied to the android os which I believe is inferior, which I know will become more inferior with no updates because I don't buy a new phone every six months. Finally the inferior app ecosystem. I have a lot of business apps I use that do not exist at all for android. All that stuff comes way before hardware spec sheets.

The spec sheet nonsense was the same silliness people pulled in the spring of 2007 talking about all the superior hardware Nokia had in some of their phones. If you read this threads now you would find it almost impossible to believe what people were saying.

Apple presents a compelling package for a smartphone one I don't think any oem/os is close to being on par with... Even if I had a lobotomy and started finding my iOS ui boring I would have to give up so many amazing things it is not even a valid choice. If I really felt I needed a bigger screen on my smartphone the sacrifices I would have to make in switching would be so massive as to be completely impossible to consider

 

[kdarling]

If 3.5" screen is too small, why so many people didn't complaint about this starting from the day 1 when iPhone 1 was just released in 2007?

Because it was bigger than many screens at the time. Of course, the 3" screens before that were bigger than the postage stamp screens before them. And so forth. Technology evolves. It didn't start with 3.5" and it won't end there. It's just a data point in history.

Apple didn't go with the best screen right off, either. By the time the first iPhone went on sale in 2007, there were already Windows Mobile phones with WVGA 311ppi "retina" displays... three years before Apple went that route. Apple has moved on since then, and will continue to.

As for picking out the original, Jobs' biography talks about how Ive would lay out multiple size mockups of devices and Jobs would pick his favorites. So the iPhone is likely keyed most to his hands and thumbs.

Tim Cook seems a lot more pragmatic and probably more willing to have larger or even multiple sizes to hit a larger audience.

 

[marksman]

I disagree.

Bottom line is, with the iPhone you have no choice but a small screen and so by implication you have to like the size, if you like the iPhone. There are two things that I believe is true, most iPhone users if they were truly honest, would prefer a bigger screen and secondly, if a 4.5" iPhone came out tomorrow they would buy it.

I would like to "like" the iPhone, and ever since the first gen have tried to justify each time picking it over something else (currently using a note). I used to pass it by because of cost alone, but with each generation, for me at least, they were more and more compromises, no 3g, no memory expansion, no flash and now, these days screen size.

I have a lot of Apple products and in the main admire and use them all, but, for me the iPhone is now their weakest product (against what their peers now offer) which I acknowledge is not commensurate with their sales figures.

Of course people would buy it. However it is not likely to be a situation of two identical phones with screen sizes being different

I don't know of any high profile android handset that has done that. People are essentially forced to get a bigger screen to get the latest android device. There is no real choice being given to android users. There is no new top of the line fully loaded 3.5 android device coming up.

My point stands that apple likely painstakingly arrived at 3.5" as a handset screen size and no android manufacturer has spent ten minutes coming up with any of their random screen sizes including the original 3.5" size they just copied. You don't think Samsung has done research and usability studies over the past 36 months and decided 22% of all consumers can best use a 4.3" screen, 46% a 4.8" screen and 32% a 5" screen.

They are little just flinging excrement at the wall and see which slides down the slowest and of course their marketing departments love it as the falter to promote anything that is not listed as bigger or faster on a spec sheet.

I don't argue that some people may really enjoy a larger screen on their TELEPHONE but I in no way believe this march to bigger screens is some kind of obvious, natural or needed progression for smartphones.

Do I think most people will carry around cellphones with 5" screens in 3-4 years? Not a chance in hell.

 

[samcraig]

It is not a myth. The overwhelming majority of android devices never see a major os upgrade beyond the one they came with.

I personally find that insane and makes android a completely non viable os for a smartphone except as a toy.

What you fail to consider in your argument is that most of android's functionality is and has been updated easily via app updates. Maps, Mail, Music - all of these types of things get regular updates. iOS is an all-in-one. You have to wait x months for all/one app to be updated together.

So when you say that Android is lucky to have one update a year or whatever - it's not really the big picture. But you know that.

My point stands that apple likely painstakingly arrived at 3.5" as a handset screen size and no android manufacturer has spent ten minutes coming up with any of their random screen sizes including the original 3.5" size they just copied. You don't think Samsung has done research and usability studies over the past 36 months and decided 22% of all consumers can best use a 4.3" screen, 46% a 4.8" screen and 32% a 5" screen.

They are little just flinging excrement at the wall and see which slides down the slowest and of course their marketing departments love it as the falter to promote anything that is not listed as bigger or faster on a spec sheet.

I don't argue that some people may really enjoy a larger screen on their TELEPHONE but I in no way believe this march to bigger screens is some kind of obvious, natural or needed progression for smartphones.

Do I think most people will carry around cellphones with 5" screens in 3-4 years? Not a chance in hell.

I think you're 100 percent biased. I do think Samsung has done research. maybe not as much as Apple - but then again - all you know is what Apple tells you. You haven't a clue what Samsung has done in research. Maybe - just maybe - the biggest complaint of the iPhone has been the screen size so Samsung wanted to address that issue "first."

Apple's way isn't the only way.

 

[Renzatic]

It's not just about the technology. The most common argument for an iPhone being better than some Droid with better specs is that the iPhone's overall user experience is better.

User experience is a subjective thing, man. There are actually people out there who far prefer Android to iOS. Weird as it might be for you to believe, they do have good reasons for thinking such. Same for people who prefer iOS to Android.

The iPhone's overall user experience is very different from a PDA. For one, the PDA doesn't have a real app store (it sometimes has a little thing with a few apps you can buy at ripoff prices). You could say that the older smartphones had similar technology to the iPhone, but the user experience was very different (and worse). The question is: would you rather have a 2006 PDA or a 2007 iPhone? I'd rather have the iPhone (by a HUGE difference).

And what would a PDA do with an app store? Wifi was barely a gleam in some future rich geek's eye. Broadband wasn't nearly as ubiquitous (WORD OF THE DAY RIGHT HERE FOLKS WOOO). Storage space on those little machines was limited at best. Flash memory sure as hell wasn't anywhere near the public sector at the time. A full GB of memory on a device you could carry in one hand would've been a big, BIG deal even as late as 2003.

The technology of the time wasn't capable of supporting an app store or all the features you take for granted in the iPhone. It wasn't because Apple was the first to think of them. I bet Palm would've given their left nut to have their earlier PDAs display high def movies streamed over the internet. Or hell, even having an internet connection at all on one. But they couldn't do it. Not because they weren't forward thinking enough, rather because it just wasn't feasible at the time. A PDA with even a 1/10th of the capabilities of a low end Android or even an iPhone 3G would've been about half the size of a laptop, and cost $20,000 or more. Who the hell would want to buy that?

So of course the user experience of those older PDAs was worse than the iPhone. They didn't have any other choice. Technology is all about baby steps, with the iPhone being a accumulation of multiple baby steps taken beforehand to bring you what you first saw back in '07.

 

[kemo]

That is what is funny. Apple likely spent massive amounts of research on screen size when they revolutionized smartphones and created the touchscreen smartphone industry. There was no technical reason why apple could not have made the original iPhone screen 3.7", 4", 4.5", 5" or anything else. They chose 3.5" because of massive research. All the iPhone clones originally copied apple with none of their own research. As they completely failed to compete they let their marketing departments design their phones and add bigger and bigger screens with no real research or support in usability for their random size. It is all very silly.

Looks like true story!