Apple Jumping on the Phablet Bandwagon

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

And who says that people WANT those overly big phones?

The percentage went from 3% a year ago to 21% now. That says it - that segment of the market grew way more than any other.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

They'd like to have a 3.7 or 4 inch phone.

To each their own, but I personally don't see why anybody would want such a small device. When phones were just phones, it made sense to make them as small as possible, but now they are much more than phones, they're tools and production devices, and having a larger screen makes them that much more useful. Reading/composing emails, browsing the web, reading office files, watching videos, ... is much more enjoyable and productive when you have a larger screen. And if you compare newer devices, like the N5, they're actually not that large as the bezels have shrunk significantly on the last generation.

[pl001]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

It's a bit offtopic, but hey... the answer is short.

Use something such as Keepass, or another password safe.

Thanks, but I already do use that. Still a pain to keep updated. And I have to manually transfer the file between devices. Online services provide better convenience, but I refuse to trust them with my digital identity.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by afv011

The percentage went from 3% a year ago to 21% now. That says it - that segment of the market grew way more than any other.

No. It says nothing.

If all manufacturers would next year decide that 6.1 inch for a phone is too big, and they'd all start to put high-powered 4 inch phones onto the market, then the market share of the big phones will plummet.

I'm still convinced that the rise of the large screen is mostly caused by the fact that upper middle-class and high-end phones only come in such a size, except for the iPhone.

I for one think it is ridiculous that if I want a powerful smartphone, I *HAVE* to buy a device that's at least 4.7 inch, if I don't want an iPhone.

[Teknikal]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

And
If you doubt me, then please show me a *current* 3.7 or 4.0 inch smartphone that is as powerful as a Nexus 4 or 5 (quadcore 1.5+ GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, etc). I would love to buy one.

My S4 mini 4.3" gets a quadrant benchmark score of just over 7,000 (with no attempt at optimisation on my part) a Nexus 4 gets between 4,000 and 5,000. depending on where I look so quadcore isn't everything.

There are pretty powerful small phones people just ignore them I find or look down on them without ever looking into them, I've always went for them though as I do agree with what you said about wanting smaller phones.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by afv011

To each their own, but I personally don't see why anybody would want such a small device.

- Because a phone larger than 4.7 inch doesn't fit comfortably in my pants' pockets anymore. 4.7 inch already is pushing it.
- I don't have big hands. Compared to other men of my length, my hands are actually small. I need TWO hands to use a 4.7 inch phone, or I'll be in danger of dropping it.

When phones were just phones, it made sense to make them as small as possible, but now they are much more than phones, they're tools and production devices, and having a larger screen makes them that much more useful.

For me, a smartphone is still primarily a phone, with the additional capability of doing other stuff if I want it to. The only things I want it to do, is find public transport times, and show me a route if I ask for that. My Motorola Milestone (3.7 inch) could do that very well.

Pity that this phone just gave up the ghost about a year ago, after almost three years of service.

Reading/composing emails, browsing the web, reading office files, watching videos, ... is much more enjoyable and productive when you have a larger screen. And if you compare newer devices, like the N5, they're actually not that large as the bezels have shrunk significantly on the last generation.

Not everybody wants to do that. I don't, except for the occasional emergency email that I HAVE to read or answer now, but those are few and far between. If I get such an email, I wonder why that person did not just call me.

The only reason I need (want) a powerful phone is the Maps application; it just doesn't run well on a low-end device anymore, or I would have more than enough choice. (But then we're getting into the realm of providers/manufacturers putting their own crap onto the phones, and non-updated operating sytems...)

I almost have a feeling that people who want less, or want stuff to be more simple (not as in more simple to use, but as only having installed what you want to use) are seen as being backward.

I don't want information overload, don't need omnipresent entertainment everywhere I go, and that is what current smartphones are mostly providing.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Teknikal

My S4 mini 4.3" gets a quadrant benchmark score of just over 7,000 (with no attempt at optimisation on my part) a Nexus 4 gets between 4,000 and 5,000. depending on where I look so quadcore isn't everything.

Using only one benchmark is not representative.

A Core2 Duo overclocked to 3.5 GHz would smoke a Core2 Quad running at 2.67 GHz, as long as the benchmark or application does not use more than 2 cores.

There are pretty powerful small phones people just ignore them I find or look down on them without ever looking into them, I've always went for them though as I do agree with what you said about wanting smaller phones.

I'd like it to be even smaller than 4.3 inch; but yeah, my next phone will probably not be a Nexus anymore, now that they are getting into the 5 inch crazyness too.

[Teknikal]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Using only one benchmark is not representative.

A Core2 Duo overclocked to 3.5 GHz would smoke a Core2 Quad running at 2.67 GHz, as long as the benchmark or application does not use more than 2 cores.



I'd like it to be even smaller than 4.3 inch; but yeah, my next phone will probably not be a Nexus anymore, now that they are getting into the 5 inch crazyness too.

I feel the same way about screen sizes in my heart I wanted specs like a Note 3 but my common sense told me it would be a pain to carry it about and even the standard S4 was too big for my liking, so I compromised the specs based on some quite favourable reviews and videos.

I actually haven't had the phone long enough to do anything but a quadrant test and play with the epic citadel demo a bit but it does seem extremely quick in everything I've tried and is much faster than my old one.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

For me, a smartphone is still primarily a phone

So you're clearly not the target demographic for smartphones. Most people who use them as more than a simple phone appreciate the larger screen and the benefits it provides.

[pl001]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

No. It says nothing.

If all manufacturers would next year decide that 6.1 inch for a phone is too big, and they'd all start to put high-powered 4 inch phones onto the market, then the market share of the big phones will plummet.

I'm still convinced that the rise of the large screen is mostly caused by the fact that upper middle-class and high-end phones only come in such a size, except for the iPhone.

I for one think it is ridiculous that if I want a powerful smartphone, I *HAVE* to buy a device that's at least 4.7 inch, if I don't want an iPhone.

If there was a large market for 4" screens, don't you think somebody would fill it? You are claiming that the manufacturers are creating artificial demand, rather than giving consideration that they are responding to demand. But there is a real demand and this can be seen by the success of the original Note.

Devices like the S4 Mini, One Mini, and Droid Mini show that good smaller devices are indeed being made, but the demand isn't there anymore.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by afv011

The percentage went from 3% a year ago to 21% now. That says it - that segment of the market grew way more than any other.

Originally Posted by afv011

To each their own, but I personally don't see why anybody would want such a small device. When phones were just phones, it made sense to make them as small as possible, but now they are much more than phones, they're tools and production devices, and having a larger screen makes them that much more useful. Reading/composing emails, browsing the web, reading office files, watching videos, ... is much more enjoyable and productive when you have a larger screen. And if you compare newer devices, like the N5, they're actually not that large as the bezels have shrunk significantly on the last generation.

Bullseye to both of these statements!!!

My Note 2 finally has allowed me to go from phone/reader/mp3 player down to just my Note 2 which does it all. WTH can read on a 3.7-4" screen comfortably. If you can that's great, but the majority of us want something we can actually see.

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

(Hm. Basically, a more modern version of Windows Mobile 6.x...)

A small puppy was just ritually sacrificed...

[Prestidigitweeze]

I'm surprised that no one has commented on the irony of the title of this thread.

After decades of hearing fanpersons boast that every other company imitated Apple -- and that Apple imitated no one -- I'm relieved that global innovation has relegated Apple to such a reactive position that threads like this exist. Now no one can continue to claim that everyone else is always copying Apple -- let alone that Apple never copies from anyone else.

Even apart from the revelation of Jobs' visit to Xerox PARC, it should be apparent that every company appropriates ideas from other companies, and that companies do not innovate so much as employ innovators. If a company is successful, then it survives the people it employs. This means that levels of innovation are not company- or even iconoclast-specific.

I don't think that Apple is unusually guilty of imitation, but neither did I appreciate people talking about its singular originality for so long. I see that as the liability of Jobs's egotism as projected onto the brand.

Even so, he was the driving force behind many of Apple's best products and I'm glad his aesthetic took Apple as far as it did. Surely Jobs' "democratization of digital type," which has affected things like our font choices on e-readers, wouldn't have taken place as early if he hadn't taken that famous calligraphy class at Reed College.

Of course, the amusing part of Jobs' version of the story is that it portrays him as the inventor of computer font tech instead of as the person who made the general public aware of computer typography.

Still, we do have Jobs to thank for the convention of naming fonts after world cities (Athens, Cairo, Chicago, Geneva, London, Los Angeles, Monaco, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Venice), which began with the very first Mac. I'm especially pleased with the later inclusion of Taliesin, named after Frank Lloyd Wright's art city.

Then again, all of those fonts (and all of Apple's original icons) were created by Susan Kare, so why isn't anyone crowning her as a great innovator? She continued to make Jobs look good at NeXT as well.

Kare also designed the card deck for the solitaire game, and lots of icons for the OS, in Windows 3.0, which brings us back to the idea that innovation is not company or brand-specific.

[MV64]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

-
The only reason I need (want) a powerful phone is the Maps application; it just doesn't run well on a low-end device anymore, or I would have more than enough choice. (But then we're getting into the realm of providers/manufacturers putting their own crap onto the phones, and non-updated operating sytems...)

I almost have a feeling that people who want less, or want stuff to be more simple (not as in more simple to use, but as only having installed what you want to use) are seen as being backward.

I don't want information overload, don't need omnipresent entertainment everywhere I go, and that is what current smartphones are mostly providing.

A smartphone is not what you need, then. Have you looked into purchasing a GPS device? Couple that with a basic cell phone? Then you could better select the sizes you like without all the features.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by afv011

So you're clearly not the target demographic for smartphones. Most people who use them as more than a simple phone appreciate the larger screen and the benefits it provides.

Big companies invented the "focus group" studies where they test numerous groups of people and various products. It took a little while to get past the 3.5" screen size because people didn't realize how much browsing on the web could be done with a phone and of course many had been inoculated by the Steve Jobs ads. Now that the Large Display Genie has been released he/she/monkey won't go back into the bottle.

Small phones will still exist, yes. There are reasons for that, but it will be a miniscule market.