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Weekend Open Forum: Your ideal smartphone and tablet screen size?
Over the last three years we've seen screen sizes on smartphones vary from a smallish 3 inches to a massive 5.3-inch on the Galaxy Note. It's a similar story with tablets, only those started out at around 10.1-inches and have gotten smaller from there.
Meanwhile, despite longstanding rumors of Apple releasing a larger iPhone or smaller iPad, the company has stuck to its guns with the original 3.5- and 9.7-inch form factors of those devices.
I'm all for diversity and choice, but there's a point where a phone is just too big to carry around hassle free and a tablet is too small for the tasks it's intended to handle. We've asked the same question about laptops before, but now we want to know: What's your preferred smartphone and tablet size?
Personally, the 3.5-inch form factor of the iPhone suits me well, but I could easily get used to a ~4-inch device if it doesn't add much bulk. Anything over that seems unnecessary and would actually hurt portability. As for tablets, I think both 10- and 7-inch sizes are here to stay. So far I prefer the former.
User Comments: 51
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I've had 2 large smartphones.
Dell Streak, Samsung G Note. 5" screen size, no less.
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Ummm I use my laptop for any real entertainment.
Small screens are just that...small screens.
Phones are good for email/texting. About it.
7"? Very small.
4"? Way to small.
Just my biased $.02.
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Phone <= 4.3", haven't owned a tablet so far, as I am unsure whether they are useful investment atm, but having tried few I think iPad just about gets it right.
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3.5" +/- 0.2 for phone. For tablet, 8" is the perfect size for me. 7" is a bit small and 10" is way too big
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Also, I prefer 16:9 for smaller screens (7", 8"
and 4:3 for large 10" screen -
Normal Galaxy S2 4.3 inch is great.
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Tablets (Android) 4x 7", 2x 10.1" right now.. I use to have over 25 tablets for testing, but 8" and 9" they were different in a way. Smartphone (Android) 3x 3.2", 1x 4.3" (this one is perfect fits on my SUV chubby hole on the dash, my pocket. Everything here is Overclocked and all the adware and bloatware removed.
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yRaz said:
The 3.5" screen on my LG quantum is perfect for me. I think 3.7" would be as high as I'd like to go.
I don't own, or plan to own, a tablet. If I had to have a guess a 10" screen at 1366X768 would be perfect for me. If I found something at 1440X900 I would most likely jump on it. I love the dying 16:10 ratio. I'm not in the market for a tablet until windows 8 comes out though. I refuse to buy Apple products and Android just isn't that stable or consistent across devices to appeal to me. I had no desire to upgrade from my blackberry until WP7 came out.
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gibbstar said:
4" max screen size for me. Anything larger is going to be a hassle getting in and out of my pants pockets. When I wear a suit, or at least a dress jacket, I do have a larger pocket to use then, but overall a 4" would be big enough for all my needs. Otherwise I'll have to start carrying a purse... no thanks.
Smaller phones and larger tablets gets my vote.
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monkeychef23 said:
After my Evo 4G, I probably would not go below 4.3". The other thing besides screen size is also how big the phone is. You could have a decent sized phone and a huge screen if there is a small bezel. I would like that a lot actually.
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St1ckM4n said:
After my Evo 4G, I probably would not go below 4.3". The other thing besides screen size is also how big the phone is. You could have a decent sized phone and a huge screen if there is a small bezel. I would like that a lot actually.Like the photos of the "new iPhone 5"? :P That thing looks delicious.
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~4" smartphone
~10" tablet with docking station for home use
18 to 20" tablet with docking station for work (i wish
)i would love to experience the "tablet" as shown in the star trek series.
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4" phone and 10" tablet if display has the same size. For bigger phones: the discomfort in my pants because of size (: outweighed the advantage of a larger display size. I do mostly browsing and facebook, but don't play video games on my phone thou, so players would b prob ok with bigger size phones. Same principle for tablet: at work 10" is big enough to take notes, write short reports and watch movies alone, but bigger tablets are too awkward to carry around all the time (something I have to do at work)
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My personal preference: Excellent sunlight legibility is a MUST for me...
Smartphone: 4" ~ 4.3" , preferably below 140 grams.
Tablet: 10" or slightly larger (which is compatible with MS Office & USB printers)
Lim
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3.5 - 4" in phone 8- 10" in tablet
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17-18 inches for tablets. Like a notebook without keyboard.
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Went from the image shown above Iphone 4 to a Galaxy Note 5.3 inch, it took me a couple weeks to adjust to it but now it doesnt seem as massive. Surprisingly Its about the same weight and thickness of the smaller Iphone I was able to add a thin protective case for it that didnt add much bulk. Sometimes I dont even notice such a big phone in my pocket honestly. I was tired of waiting on Apple to get with the program to go over a 4 inch screen size. I get lots of reactions from people that sheer size of it and clarity of the screen is amazing. I now dont miss the Iphone since having them since release. They just took too long going bigger last years 4S was big letdown to me so Ive moved on and very happy now.
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I like the iPad 9.7" screen so much that I bought a 9.7" Kindle DX for dedicated reading.
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I have a Samsung Galaxy s II from t-mobile (t989) and its perfect in my hands at 4.5inches. I couldn't imagine going with a smaller display like an iphone or other. I have bad eyes even with contacts so a big screen is pretty much a must to reduce eye strain.
on the tablet side....I cant find anything a tablet can do that my laptop or phone cant already do, so no matter the size there would be a redundancy that I wouldn't need.
Token
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For a phone, nothing larger than 4" as It has to be able sit comfortably in my pocket up to 16 hours a day. I also won't buy any phone that needs a case to survive. It must be strong enough to make it at least two years with NO added protection. (Currently using LG Quantum Windows phone, steel back, rubberized edges, feels as solid as a rock.)
And until tablets fold into my pocket, I'll never have a use for them. My phone has enough functionality to hold me over until I get to a real PC.
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Superphones:
- 4.0" for small hands
- 4.3" for big hands..
Going less than those will be troublesome for a person like me who liked to play hack and slash games and watch series and movies on my phone.. Even browsing the web..
I think people who says 3.5" is good enough for them will find themselves doing more things with their phone if they will be using 4.0"...
Tables:
10.1"
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Around 3.5" for a phone. Could go a bit higher if this doesn't make the phone bigger. 7" for a tablet. Don't have one, but based on the e-readers I had it looks like a sweet spot. Also important is the weight and display resolution.
I've always loved the small side of devices, from the Psion 5mx to the Fujitsu P1510D, I always want to go a little lower than the standard. Only problem is my eyesight is getting a little worse with age, so I don't know how long I'll be able to enjoy my love of tiny pixels.
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The 4.65" on the Galaxy Nexus is an absolute joy! It fits my hand perfectly, it's great for games and video and reading and every other task imaginable, and it fits my pockets perfectly. My girlfriend loves it so much she wants to escape her contract and get the same device. I honestly thought she would say it's too big, but since she carries her phone in her purse, it doesn't matter.
I don't have petite girl hands, so 3.5" is a bit lacking. When I see one now, I feel that 3.5" is shockingly small and inadequete. I suppose if I was a mal-nourished hipster weirdo with skinny jeans then I might be more inclined for a smaller device, but I guess that's the market for iphones anyways
I have no comment or opinion about tablet size. No interest, really.
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captainawesome said:
4" screen size but then the phone still can't be bigger than the iphone4. Even the Samsung Galaxy S2 is too big for me to lug around.
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Galaxy Note 5.3" and loving it. Anything smaller, now seems ridiculously irrelevant.
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