Why are so many people resistant to a 4" screen?

[Vegastouch]

Wow, I suggest you never try to smile, you might crack your face. The 7" Galaxy Tab "suggestion" is totally relevant, seeing as though it is basically a phone with a large 7" screen, so why stop at 4" when you can have 7"? Yes, it's ridiculous, and I personally think that anything over 4" in a phone is ridiculous and serves no purpose other than to provide marketing with something to get all wet and excited about.

1. It's "bordering", not "bording"
2. It's "stupidity", not "stupitity"
3. Do you even know the meaning of the word "irony"? Doesn't sound like it.

Except for the fact that it isnt a phone. Thats why it is called a tablet. Obviously you like smaller phones and thats ok. Doesnt mean somebody else cant hope for a bigger screen on the next one and if you think the resolution wont be made to match then your being a negative about it just to be negative.

If Apple goes to a bigger screen i guess you can always go get a Blackberry with a smaller screen just to show them that you dont agree with it.

 

[aluren]

I was so pissed when the iPhone 4 came out and didn't have the 4" screen everyone had moved to that I just kept my 3GS. Holding it in the store, it seamed TOO small. Didn't like the little square thing at all.

4" requires such a small increase in width, I can't believe we're even having this conversation, and you know all the complainers will fall right in line with how gorgeous Apple's design will be.

I was a little pissed until I saw how damn nice the retina display is. If I had to choose between retina or 4", retina will win everytime.

Based on the leaked covers, looks like the next iPhone is a bit wider, giving hint to a bigger screen. If Apple is going with a 4" retina, that would be perfect and the screen discussion would go away for awhile cuz there's nothing left to improve...

 

[aluren]

double post..

 

[aztooh]

Perfect response! I'm sick of reading posts arguing that 'if u want a bigger screen, then buy a tablet!' Its the dumbest rebuttal I've read in a forum in years.

I'm in the same boat as you are as the #1 reason I want a larger screen is for the ability to type better in portrait mode. 4" would be perfect, no larger.

An upgrade to 4" likely wouldn't bring any increased screen width, so wouldn't be any extra room side to side for the keyboard.

 

[Young Spade]

An upgrade to 4" likely wouldn't bring any increased screen width, so wouldn't be any extra room side to side for the keyboard.

How...? T_T

 

[boss.king]

Actually, it's a tool to prove a point - form vs function in a smartphone. You all keep on harping on about how 4" is OK or just not enough, but 7" is waaaaay too big. So what's the sweet spot? What is the perfect size phone that doesn't look like you are holding a brick to your ear when you talk, and doesn't just "fit" in your pocket like an apple can fit in your pocket, but isn't exactly practical.

If Apple made a device with a 5" screen and called it a phone, you'd all be creaming all over it. Right, that's not 7"...it's not 4" either.

It's still a poor tool in that regard. It's been repeated that 4" is the sweet spot. Personally I'd go larger than that, but I know most people have smaller hands than me and would not be able to use it. 4.3" devices still fit pretty well in the pocket, but again that depends on your pocket. If you're struggling to fit a phone in I think the problem might be the pants.

Again, you're going on and on about how 5" and 7" are bad but we're not suggesting those sizes. There comes a point where technology has to move forward, and the display is part of that.

An upgrade to 4" likely wouldn't bring any increased screen width, so wouldn't be any extra room side to side for the keyboard.

Except that it definitely would. They're not going to stretch the screen in one direction only, it will grow in height and width.

 

[aztooh]

Okay, saying there wouldn't be any increase of width on a 4" screen is incorrect...but it wouldn't be much, certainly not enough to make a big difference in finger-room for portrait typing.

Go to your local best buy and put an Atrix and iPhone next to each other, line up the top of the screens. It's instantly noticeable the screen in taller. You'd have to break out a ruler to see if there's a difference in width. Yes, the dimensions of the phone show a almost 2/10" increase, but that's not all screen. It's also just 1/10" taller, to go along with my point earlier that there's a lot of wasted space on the top and bottom front of the iP.

To get to 4" without increasing the overall size of the phone much (redesign or no redesign), almost all of the screen increase will come from top-to-bottom, not side-to-side.

 

[Young Spade]

Okay, saying there wouldn't be any increase of width on a 4" screen is incorrect...but it wouldn't be much, certainly not enough to make a big difference in finger-room for portrait typing.

Go to your local best buy and put an Atrix and iPhone next to each other, line up the top of the screens. It's instantly noticeable the screen in taller. You'd have to break out a ruler to see if there's a difference in width. Yes, the dimensions of the phone show a almost 2/10" increase, but that's not all screen. It's also just 1/10" taller, to go along with my point earlier that there's a lot of wasted space on the top and bottom front of the iP.

To get to 4" without increasing the overall size of the phone much (redesign or no redesign), almost all of the screen increase will come from top-to-bottom, not side-to-side.

You're arguing over a product that you don't even know will have a change in screen size.

The rumored cases coming out show the iPhone being wider than before; now since we're all assuming here, you could easily slap a 4 inch screen on a phone that is slightly wider and slightly taller. I think they're going to go this direction as it would allow them to make the phone thinner and "feel" lighter in the hand.

Look at the Galaxy S 2 for design guidance.

 

[aztooh]

You're arguing over a product that you don't even know will have a change in screen size.

The rumored cases coming out show the iPhone being wider than before; now since we're all assuming here, you could easily slap a 4 inch screen on a phone that is slightly wider and slightly taller. I think they're going to go this direction as it would allow them to make the phone thinner and "feel" lighter in the hand.

Look at the Galaxy S 2 for design guidance.

Well the whole discussion is about screen size, not like I brought it up out of the blue in an unrelated thread.

What I put in bold from your comment is exactly what my previous post says. 4" screen, slightly wider; slightly taller (and with a whole lot less bezel top and bottom). My point was most of the extra screen real estate will come top to bottom, not side to side....and gave evidence in the form of the Atrix, which sports a 4" screen. The Nexus S also fits the bill...but it's taller, mostly because of more bezel.

 

[boss.king]

Okay, saying there wouldn't be any increase of width on a 4" screen is incorrect...but it wouldn't be much, certainly not enough to make a big difference in finger-room for portrait typing.

Go to your local best buy and put an Atrix and iPhone next to each other, line up the top of the screens. It's instantly noticeable the screen in taller. You'd have to break out a ruler to see if there's a difference in width. Yes, the dimensions of the phone show a almost 2/10" increase, but that's not all screen. It's also just 1/10" taller, to go along with my point earlier that there's a lot of wasted space on the top and bottom front of the iP.

To get to 4" without increasing the overall size of the phone much (redesign or no redesign), almost all of the screen increase will come from top-to-bottom, not side-to-side.

If I'm not mistaken the Atrix has a different aspect ratio to the iPhone, which would account for the Minimal difference in height. No one is expecting mass of extra room, but a little more would make a big difference to some (me).

 

[Young Spade]

We are using phones more and more for more intensive applications and, overall, different things. You can't get by on anything smaller than 3.5 inches if you're going to be browsing the web, watching videos, photos, and taking pictures. Not to mention games.

I think that, as we progress in technology, screens will become larger as well. I think 4.3 is the max and 3.5 the minimum. Anything outside of that gets into specific niche markets (Dell Streak (which was just killed) and the HP Veer (which just plain sucked)).

I would love a 4 inch screen but I'll be getting the next iPhone, as my first iPhone, regardless.

 

[Storrow]

it would be too big for me. iPhones are pretty delicate which means you have to put a bulky case on it too.

 

[boss.king]

We are using phones more and more for more intensive applications and, overall, different things. You can't get by on anything smaller than 3.5 inches if you're going to be browsing the web, watching videos, photos, and taking pictures. Not to mention games.

I think that, as we progress in technology, screens will become larger as well. I think 4.3 is the max and 3.5 the minimum. Anything outside of that gets into specific niche markets (Dell Streak (which was just killed) and the HP Veer (which just plain sucked)).

I would love a 4 inch screen but I'll be getting the next iPhone, as my first iPhone, regardless.

I agree, except I'd say 3.5" - 4.5".

 

[mortenandersen]

These points make sense

We are using phones more and more for more intensive applications and, overall, different things. You can't get by on anything smaller than 3.5 inches if you're going to be browsing the web, watching videos, photos, and taking pictures. Not to mention games.

I think that, as we progress in technology, screens will become larger as well. I think 4.3 is the max and 3.5 the minimum. Anything outside of that gets into specific niche markets (Dell Streak (which was just killed) and the HP Veer (which just plain sucked)).

I would love a 4 inch screen but I'll be getting the next iPhone, as my first iPhone, regardless.

Young Spade's point of view in this post makes sense, in my opinion. And I really hope that Apple's next iPhone will be designed in line with these wise considerations, which strongly make it clear and obvious that a phone no longer is just a phone used only for making calls.

 

[Invincibilizer]

Not everyone wants a bigger screen.

 

[boss.king]

it would be too big for me. iPhones are pretty delicate which means you have to put a bulky case on it too.

The iPhone 4 is the only delicate one. I've dropped my 3GS countless times and it's still in perfect working order.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

People don't seem to recognize the drawbacks of a smaller bezel. Even if you kept the iPhone the same physical size, increasing the screen size would decrease the bezel. It would make the bezel like...the Google Nexus One, which I owned. The small bezel was terrible when you combine it with a capacitative screen. Every day at least once it wouldn't recognize the proper touch because the skin/fat around my lowermost thumb joint on my palm would be so close to touching the left side of the screen that it would register it as a touch for a second. It was awful.

 

[mortenandersen]

This is very important

People don't seem to recognize the drawbacks of a smaller bezel. Even if you kept the iPhone the same physical size, increasing the screen size would decrease the bezel. It would make the bezel like...the Google Nexus One, which I owned. The small bezel was terrible when you combine it with a capacitative screen. Every day at least once it wouldn't recognize the proper touch because the skin/fat around my lowermost thumb joint on my palm would be so close to touching the left side of the screen that it would register it as a touch for a second. It was awful.

I have the same experience, and this is in fact an argument that not has been focused enough when one has discussed this topic. Hope Apple takes this into consideration.

 

[Gjwilly]

Okay, saying there wouldn't be any increase of width on a 4" screen is incorrect...but it wouldn't be much, certainly not enough to make a big difference in finger-room for portrait typing.

Go to your local best buy and put an Atrix and iPhone next to each other, line up the top of the screens. It's instantly noticeable the screen in taller. You'd have to break out a ruler to see if there's a difference in width. Yes, the dimensions of the phone show a almost 2/10" increase, but that's not all screen. It's also just 1/10" taller, to go along with my point earlier that there's a lot of wasted space on the top and bottom front of the iP.

To get to 4" without increasing the overall size of the phone much (redesign or no redesign), almost all of the screen increase will come from top-to-bottom, not side-to-side.

A 4" screen will be 1/4" wider than it is now.
The height will increase by 3/8".
That's if they keep the same aspect ratio.

 

[aztooh]

If I'm not mistaken the Atrix has a different aspect ratio to the iPhone, which would account for the Minimal difference in height. No one is expecting mass of extra room, but a little more would make a big difference to some (me).

You're right, it's 16:9 compared to 3:2 on the iPhone. The Nexus S is in the same ballpark...I don't know what other phones sport a 4" screen..?

I don't know how much it would complicate app codes/UI, but I'm not against moving to a widescreen format instead of 3:2. Seems like a logical step as well.

And I'm with you that even a little more room would make a big difference and a 4" is screen is just that, a little more room.

----------

A 4" screen will be 1/4" wider than it is now.
The height will increase by 3/8".
That's if they keep the same aspect ratio.

That's if they keep the same aspect ratio AND same exact bezel around the screen.

I think the side bezel is fine, but as I've mentioned a couple of times, there's a lot of wasted space to the top and bottom IMO.

 

[Gjwilly]

That's if they keep the same aspect ratio AND same exact bezel around the screen.

No, it has nothing to do with the bezel.
The screen is what dictates the bezel and not the other way around (assuming the external dimensions don't change).
You have a rectangle with a diagonal of "X". In this case 4".
As long as you know the ratio you can pretty much determine the lengths of the sides.

 

[aztooh]

No, it has nothing to do with the bezel.
The screen is what dictates the bezel and not the other way around (assuming the external dimensions don't change).
You have a rectangle with a diagonal of "X". In this case 4".
As long as you know the ratio you can pretty much determine the lengths of the sides.

I didn't say the bezel dictates screen size. The Atrix is 1/10" taller than the iP4, yet has a larger screen and smaller bezel on the top and bottom.

You're telling me they can't make the screen on the next iPhone larger with a smaller bezel (top and bottom...the side bezel is good)...

 

[Gjwilly]

I didn't say the bezel dictates screen size. The Atrix is 1/10" taller than the iP4, yet has a larger screen and smaller bezel on the top and bottom.

You're telling me they can't make the screen on the next iPhone larger with a smaller bezel (top and bottom...the side bezel is good)...

They can make whatever they want but you're the one that said that my screen dimensions depend upon keeping the bezel the same.
They don't.
A 4" 3x2 screen is a 4" 3x2 screen and you can stick it any phone you want to. The dimensions of the screen are not going to change.
Change them and you no longer have a 4" 3x2 ratio screen.

 

[aztooh]

They can make whatever they want but you're the one that said that my screen dimensions depend upon keeping the bezel the same.
They don't.
A 4" 3x2 screen is a 4" 3x2 screen and you can stick it any phone you want to. The dimensions of the screen are not going to change.
Change them and you no longer have a 4" 3x2 ratio screen.

Hey, so I'm stupid. I thought you were saying the DEVICE dimensions would increase by those amounts. Reading comprehension ftw. :facepalm:

 

[ped]

The iPhone 4 is the only delicate one. I've dropped my 3GS countless times and it's still in perfect working order.

That's where an OLED screen can be very handy. They can be printed on plastic or metal foil to make the screen virtually indestructible.