Phablets are the future

[crich70]

Originally Posted by ApK

But before it does, let's riff on it.

I want the Phab 4, with customizable Ringo tones. It never requires updates, you just Let It Be.

And all it ever needs is love.

[HansTWN]

This makes me realize that the real innovator in this area was Dell, who created the first one, my Dell Streak. Well, the real innovators rarely get the credit. That being said, I hate the term phablet. anything that fits into my pants' pockets is just a phone for me.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by PatNY

Well that's not necessarily true. At least in terms of memory and storage. Some of the smaller screen phones have card slots, but some of the larger ones don't, for example. I also just don't believe the companies dictate to us what to buy. People vote with their wallets. They decide ultimately what wins out -- so long as there are multiple choice to begin with. And when it comes to mobile devices, there is plenty of choice. Especially in terms of devices under 6 inches. Much less so with 7-8" devices.

Name one phone under 4.5" with 2gig of ram, quad-core processor etc?

The simple fact of the matter is that android manufacturers basically only really have price and specs to differentiate themselves from each other so there is the obvious march to providing bigger and bigger screens because it is one of those features that is much easier to demonstrate in stores.

[miklizro]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Phablet. Here's to hoping that silly moniker dies a quick, quiet death.

Indeed. That having been said, I finally upgraded my original Samsung Galaxy to the S3 and oh my, I adore it!

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by Crowl

Name one phone under 4.5" with 2gig of ram, quad-core processor etc?

The simple fact of the matter is that android manufacturers basically only really have price and specs to differentiate themselves from each other so there is the obvious march to providing bigger and bigger screens because it is one of those features that is much easier to demonstrate in stores.

The point about the card slot obviously applies more to "storage" than memory. So maybe memory isn't on par in smaller screen phones. I don't know and am too lazy this morning to do a search. But here's a good question -- does a smaller screen need to have as much ram and processing power? I was under the impression it didn't. And, at any rate, my point still stands -- in terms of storage, some of the options on smaller screen phones today beat those on the "phablets."

And no matter what, if people don't want larger screen phones, they aren't going to buy them. They don't buy phones today based primarily on RAM and processors. Those are secondary considerations. Screen size, ecosystem and the version of a mobile OS are all bigger factors. So the idea that people are buying larger screen phones just because manufacturers are ramming them down their throats I think is pretty silly.

--Pat

[usuallee]

Originally Posted by ApK

But before it does, let's riff on it.

I want the Phab 4, with customizable Ringo tones. It never requires updates, you just Let It Be.

Very nicely done!

Yeah my wife just got the LG Intuition, with a 5 inch screen that comes with a writing stylus. She wanted tablet-like capabilities that was also a phone. She seems happy with it although it doesn't fit comfortably in a jeans pocket and to me is too bulky to be carrying around.

Personally, I wouldn't go much bigger in terms of volume than my Rezound (4.3" screen) for a device I carry around in my pocket. Although, if phones can be made ultra thin in the future, and/or have the screen fill the entire front side, then you can have a bigger screen for about the same overall volume.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by PatNY

And no matter what, if people don't want larger screen phones, they aren't going to buy them. They don't buy phones today based primarily on RAM and processors. Those are secondary considerations. Screen size, ecosystem and the version of a mobile OS are all bigger factors.

Remember back when sound quality and the ability to get a call through were important factors in choosing a phone?

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by ApK

Remember back when sound quality and the ability to get a call through were important factors in choosing a phone?

Not sure what your point is. The ability to get a call through is most often dependent on the carrier and your current location, rather than the phone. Sound quality is dependent on a variety of factors -- the phone itself, the location you're in, and your carrier. But if a phone is known to have horrible sound issues caused by the hardware, then it won't sell well, no matter what the screen size, RAM or processing power.

--Pat

[ApK]

Originally Posted by PatNY

Not sure what your point is.
--Pat

One one level I was just absently musing. But now that I think about it, the fact the the actual phone usage of even a "smartphone" device seems to be being marginalized versus it's other capabilities would seem to make that "ph" prefix of larger devices even less relevant and less of a game changer.

But honestly, I was just musing on how little people seem to care about the phone function of their "phones" these days. I remember the very first time I picked up an iPhone, I couldn't even immediately see how to make a call.

ApK

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by ApK

One one level I was just absently musing. But now that I think about it, the fact the the actual phone usage of even a "smartphone" device seems to be being marginalized versus it's other capabilities would seem to make that "ph" prefix of larger devices even less relevant and less of a game changer.

But honestly, I was just musing on how little people seem to care about the phone function of their "phones" these days. I remember the very first time I picked up an iPhone, I couldn't even immediately see how to make a call.

ApK

But people do care about the sound quality of a phone. Even in phablets. It's just that it's assumed any device from a reputable company designed to make calls will have at least acceptable sound quality. Decent sound/call quality is not an option or a feature of a phone today. It's mandatory. It has to be there from the get go, whether you have a low-end prepaid phone or one that costs over $500.

As for not being able use a device (like your iPhone), that is entirely another matter and has more to do with how tech savvy a person is than on anything else. Did you even RTFM? Pardon my French, but I chuckle at reviews on Amazon complaining about how hard it is to use something and then it turns out they didn't even attempt to read it.

--Pat

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

One one level I was just absently musing. But now that I think about it, the fact the the actual phone usage of even a "smartphone" device seems to be being marginalized versus it's other capabilities would seem to make that "ph" prefix of larger devices even less relevant and less of a game changer.

But honestly, I was just musing on how little people seem to care about the phone function of their "phones" these days. I remember the very first time I picked up an iPhone, I couldn't even immediately see how to make a call.

ApK

I totally agree. My iPhone is in constant use, day in, day out. I probably make about one phone call a month on it. I really regard it as a portable internet device, not as a phone.

[QuantumIguana]

Smartphones are simply becoming computers you can fit in your pocket, with the telephone just being another feature. As data gets cheaper and cheaper, we make make more and more of our phone calls via the internet. Expensive data requires a phone company, cheap data doesn't.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by PatNY

I think Barclays and other analysts are right. Apple will bend further to the pressures of market forces and come out with a 4.5-5" iPhone by mid-2014, if not this year.--Pat

This is just my view.
Apple will not move too fast because that might telegraph to their faithful that they are not leaders but followers.
Therefore Apple will move slowly and just "mature" some because their customers wish them to. (i.e. we have heard your cry)

The advantage to Apple is that new increments will be in size which is easy to do, and they still have the Apple faithful buying up "the NEXT REAL Thing."
The old purchasers will not see their "legacy" products as hopeless outdated, but just as "previous generations" of a wonderful product.

There isn't a lot to improve on their screen. It is really great already. Size is a lot easier.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by frahse

The advantage to Apple is that new increments will be in size which is easy to do, and they still have the Apple faithful buying up "the NEXT REAL Thing."
The old purchasers will not see their "legacy" products as hopeless outdated, but just as "previous generations" of a wonderful product.

There isn't a lot to improve on their screen. It is really great already. Size is a lot easier.

I'm happily using my iPhone 4 after two and a half years, and have no intention of changing it. It does everything I need.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by PatNY

does a smaller screen need to have as much ram and processing power?

Depends how things are implemented. If the Video RAM is shared (part of the device's RAM), then larger screen will require more RAM. If the video RAM is dedicated, then it doesn't matter.

For processing power, it shouldn't matter as the GPU should take care of drawing to the screen, though some of the drawing is still done in the CPU, so again, it depends.

Edit: in this context, "larger screen" means greater resolution, not physically larger. There are no additional RAM or processing power requirements for physically larger screens.