Large screen suggestions/recommendations please...

[Aidan Bell]

Purchase suggestions/advice, please:
In about 2 or 3 weeks I'll be replacing my Note1. I want a larger screen. So

 

[gtbarry]

If you are not going to root (as in you will be using the manufacturer's Android interface), you would probably be most comfortable going Samsung to Samsung.

Why not the Note 2 or Note 3 (whenever it comes out)?

 

[Granite1]

I moved this over to the device comparisons forum for better exposure there. Hope you don't mind.

If the Note3 is gong to be available in the UK soon, maybe that will be an option for you? It's supposed to be a really superb device. Let us know what you ultimately decide!

 

[Aidan Bell]

Thanks.
I'm sure I'll root it, yes, as I have my Note1, although I have no interest in alternate ROMs.
The Note 2 isn't big enough! I'm looking for a screen of at least 6".
I also made a mistake in my post, forgetting to add the "Sony Xperia Z Ultra", which is currently my front runner choice.

 

[Aidan Bell]

I moved this over to the device comparisons forum for better exposure there. Hope you don't mind.

No problem, cheers.

If the Note3 is gong to be available in the UK soon, maybe that will be an option for you? It's supposed to be a really superb device. Let us know what you ultimately decide!

it seems that the Note 3 will be launched in Berlin in September, which is a lot longer than I want to wait. Plus it seems that the screen will be only 5.7" (ONLY 5.7!), which is smaller than all the other devices I'm looking at.

 

[Hadron]

There are also rumours of a 6"-ish HTC in preparation, but if the Note 3 is too late for you chances are that will be too.

What I would say is to look at the full specs of the screen rather than just the size. The Mega 6.3 has fewer pixels than your current note (720x1280 rather than 800x1280), but in a much larger screen. So it won't display any more information than your current device, just at a lower density. Maybe that's what you want, just wanted to be sure.

Whatever you settle on, I'd always recommend looking at the real device first rather than ordering based on other people's opinions.

 

[Granite1]

it seems that the Note 3 will be launched in Berlin in September, which is a lot longer than I want to wait. Plus it seems that the screen will be only 5.7" (ONLY 5.7!), which is smaller than all the other devices I'm looking at.

Ahhh, ok. I haven't been keeping up on the launch date, thought it was a tad sooner.

Hadron has a good point above about screen density etc. If you watch HD movies and such the lower resolution might be noticable, if you're not worried about that, get the larger screen device with the best hardware specs.

I need to go look at that Xperia, haven't seen the specs on it yet.

 

[Aidan Bell]

Many thanks guys. I appreciate you agree with your thoughts.
I don't in fact want to wait for any device. It's a never-stopping market, where if I wait for the Note 3 or the new HTC device, then by the time that becomes available the next new devices will be on the horizon. I'm going to limit my choice to only what is available now.

I do take the point regarding resolution, and that's the one thing that's giving me pause, however unfortunately the Sony Xperia Z Ultra is now off the table due to the fact that it's nearly twice the price of the other units and thus out of my price-range (otherwise it would be an easy choice).

Perhaps someone can help to clarify the resolution situation?:
Yes, the screen will be larger than, say, the Note, but the real estate will not be any greater, everything will be "larger", like blowing up a photo form 9x12 to 13x18. Understood. But surely that's not universal? There must be notepad apps and web browsers - programs which do accommodate size zoom - that will benefit from the larger screen and greater real estate?

Personally, I'm now veering closer and closer toward the Galaxy Mega. My last two devices have been Galaxy range so I know the ethos well, I'm comfortable with the physical Home key and not sure how I'd get on with Huawei's virtual one, I certainly prefer a removable battery to a sealed one, even if it is slightly smaller (I'll probably add a larger one from someone like Mugen), and of coarse one mustn't forget that the Mega has the largest screen.

 

[Hadron]

Perhaps someone can help to clarify the resolution situation?:
Yes, the screen will be larger than, say, the Note, but the real estate will not be any greater, everything will be "larger", like blowing up a photo form 9x12 to 13x18. Understood. But surely that's not universal? There must be notepad apps and web browsers - programs which do accommodate size zoom - that will benefit from the larger screen and greater real estate?

Interesting question, and not sure I can answer it. In the "zoomed-out" full page view in a web browser it's straightforward: you are displaying the same information (full page), so everything will be larger but less sharp. Whether this helps I guess depends you your eyes.

Zoomed-in it probably depends on how the browser handles this. To my mind the obvious way would be to use the font sizes in points, in which case since a point is a fixed size (0.35mm) you will get more text (if less sharp) on a larger, lower resolution screen. As the pixel density is still higher than most laptops you should still be able to read smaller fonts perfectly well. If the browser were to interpret character sizes in pixels then of course you'd not get more info on, though some browsers let you adjust font sizes.

Conclusion: I think you're probably right, but I cannot be absolutely certain as I don't know for sure how the browser would work.

 

[Aidan Bell]

Thanks for your thoughts. I guess it depends how you look at it (pardon the pun!). I could have a block of text on my Note, which I could pinch-to-zoom inwards until the text were too small to read. If I did exactly the same thing with the Mega, that same amount of text which is too small to read on the Note would be large enough to read on the Mega. Therefore although one isn't actually fitting any more onto the screen, the effect is that one is, because what is too small to read on the Note can be read on the Mega.
Did that make any sense at all?!

 

[Granite1]

Yes it did, larger screen larger text.

If this is the main intent of a larger screen, and the small difference in HD content isn't a big deal for you, the mega may be the way to go.

 

[Hadron]

Thanks for your thoughts. I guess it depends how you look at it (pardon the pun!). I could have a block of text on my Note, which I could pinch-to-zoom inwards until the text were too small to read. If I did exactly the same thing with the Mega, that same amount of text which is too small to read on the Note would be large enough to read on the Mega. Therefore although one isn't actually fitting any more onto the screen, the effect is that one is, because what is too small to read on the Note can be read on the Mega.
Did that make any sense at all?!

Yes, it does, and I agree with Granite.

There are two things that limit readability: the point where the text is too small for your eye to resolve the characters regardless of resolution, and the point where it's too small for the screen resolution to make the characters clear. So while a higher resolution screen will make it easier to read very small characters, my feeling is that in any case most people wouldn't choose a character size so small that the Mega's screen can't handle it, in which case the larger screen should give you more usable space.