My dream of a 6" 1080p display in a smart phone

[Ahmed Alzayani]

2 or 3 years ago when HTC and Samsung introduce 4 inch displays in mobiles , a lot of comments was saying that 4" is too big as 3.x" was the common size back then

And then 4.3" came out ... same story (too big)
And then 4.5" came out ... same story (too big)
And then 4.65" came out ... same story (too big)

When the Galaxy Note first came out in 2011 with 5.3" display, it receive ton of criticism for it size, few believe in it , and i was one of them

Form factor have a huge rule , for example this is how 5" inch devices look like back in 2007 (Too bulky and big to be practical)

If that was the size of the Galaxy Note ... it will fail ... so the combo of a sleek device with a big display is a key ingredients to success.

hell.. . back in 2005 this is how 3.5" inch smart devices were (as big as my Galaxy Note now )

The aspect ratio also play a major rule here , so a 5" 4:3 display is 12.33% bigger in surface area than a 5" 16:9 display , so diagonal size is a bit deceptive when used with different aspect ratio , also making the device taller and narrower in the sides is more ergonomic to the human hand. and can fit your pocket easier .. so the move to 16:9 is a good move.

So .. How big a mobile phone display can grow? for me, i think as long as it's practical to carry around and fit in your pocket and you can hold it to your ear and use it as any phone, then it's fine with me.

I know that 5.5" inch is a good size (from my Note 2)
and I know that 7" inch tablets can't fit in my pocket , and it's too big to hold as a phone.

So why not a 6" device

If you keep the bezel to it's minimum, the device can be surprisingly pocketable.

Here is the math:

A 6 inch display with 16:9 aspect ratio will be a 2.94" wide (75 mm) and 5.23" high (132 mm) , if you add 2mm bezel to the side, and 7mm up and down, you will come up with a device 79mm wide and 144mm high.

Compare this size to the size of the original Galaxy Note ... it will be the same height and actually 4mm narrower in the sides, so yes you can fit 6" display on the same profile as the Galaxy Note ...


Make that a 6" 1080p display (367 ppi), and we get a device with a 1080 x 1920 beautiful big display on a pocketable device.


Samsung, HTC, Nokia, LG, Sony ... any smart phone manufacturer ... make it happen

 

[Speed Daemon]

I agree wholeheartedly.

For a very long time there seemed to be this general assumption in the industry that pixels only came in one physical size. However there was never any scientific data to support that notion. And indeed there are now LCD displays that boast full 1920x1080 resolution on screens as small as 7".

I can think if myriad reasons to have small displays capable of resolving full HD video. Although my first is a bit larger than 6", it's a great improvement (at 10") over the 24" AC-mains powered TV/monitor that was my previous smallest true HD display. If only they made monitors like this!

After owning a smart phone with a display smaller than 4.5" my conclusion is that if the bezel could be shrunk to zero, a 4.5" display is the most that a pocket or belt-worn phone can support before becoming an impediment to movement. Anything larger must be hand or bag carried, or used inside the home as a handheld appliance. After trying to hold up a 7" display for reading e-books I'd say that 6" is a more reasonable size for this. I'd want larger for tasks that require lots of input, but 6" is ideal for reading or viewing, provided that the display resolves the material well. And that's where the HD standard resolution requirement comes in.

I wouldn't want to use something that large as a telephone though.

 

[mikedt]

Now I've used a friend's 5.3 inch Note for a few days, didn't feel comfortable with it, too big for a phone IMO. So I definitely wouldn't want anything bigger than that. For me, 4 inch is about the sweet spot, to be easy to use without feeling too conspicuous using it, and fits comfortably in my pockets. My friends loves is Note, but then he wears cargo pants.

If I need to use a larger screen Android device sometimes, I've got a 7inch tablet, but I don't usually carry it around with me.

 

[OfTheDamned]

Once we start seeing more edge to edge displays I have a feeling the screen sizes will get much bigger. As long as the existing size of the note could be maintained then a 6" edge to edge screen would be reasonable, IMHO. I'm not saying it is something everyone would use, but for those looking for a larger screen on a device it could work out perfectly.

Now I've used a friend's 5.3 inch Note for a few days, didn't feel comfortable with it, too big for a phone IMO. So I definitely wouldn't want anything bigger than that. For me, 4 inch is about the sweet spot, to be easy to use without feeling too conspicuous using it, and fits comfortably in my pockets. My friends loves is Note, but then he wears cargo pants.

If I need to use a larger screen Android device sometimes, I've got a 7inch tablet, but I don't usually carry it around with me.

Pardon me.

http://androidforums.com/lounge/625807-undead-den.html

 

[BigCiX]

I happy with the size of my One X

 

[Hrethgir]

Liked the 4.3" display on my Droid X, and like the 4.8" display on my GS3. But the 4.8 can be just a touch to big for easy single-hand use, which is important for a cellphone. I actually wouldn't mind stepping down a touch for my next phone, to be honest, the stretch to the top opposite corner can be just a little too much for me without readjusting my grip, and that's when accidental drops can happen.

 

[OstrichSaK]

I don't know about that. I have giant man hands and find marking emails sometimes for delete to be a bit of a reach one-handed on my Evo LTE. I don't think I would want the display much larger and if I could keep the same size display while lowering the overall size of the phone through a thinner bezel I would be happier than stretching my current screen to the edges of the current form. That's just my take though.

 

[breadnatty08]

I'm still salivating at the Note 2.
My Gnex is 4.65", and it's honestly fine. I've used the first Note a few times (friend went from a 3GS to a Note) and I love it. However, she's able to put it in a purse/bag whereas I'm almost always putting my phone in my pockets. My Gnex can be tight in some of my pants so I'm hesitant about the Note 2 but with so few phone calls I make vs. web browsing, video watching etc., the larger screen size would be great.

 

[Prinny]

I dunno, when I worked at Samsung, I handled the note a little before it was released.

The phone was nice don't get me wrong, but I didn't like how big it was.

To ME, the size of my Evo 3D is the perfect size. Anything bigger, and I'd be afraid of it breaking in my pockets or something.

But hey, to each their own

 

[ocnbrze]

I dunno, when I worked at Samsung, I handled the note a little before it was released.

The phone was nice don't get me wrong, but I didn't like how big it was.

To ME, the size of my Evo 3D is the perfect size. Anything bigger, and I'd be afraid of it breaking in my pockets or something.

But hey, to each their own

well for me the evo 3d was a little too skinny for me. the og evo and now for me the evo lte is just the perfect screen size. to me the note is just way to big to be a phone. i tried it and it did not fell comfortable in hands nor in my pocket which is where i keep my phone.

 

[Bob Maxey]

I love larger screens. I might balance my large screen device with a nice Diesel Watch on the wrist.

 

[NightAngel79]

I'm waiting for a 5(+) HTC phone myself. Would like to see what the 6" device looks like in the hand

 

[novox77]

The market is still trying to identify what the ideal screen size is for a smartphone as well as how small or large you can make a screen before the number of people buyers drops to the point where it's no longer profitable to make phones beyond that size.

It would appear that we have not yet found the upper limit. A decade of shrinking feature phones have gotten people conditioned to think that smaller is better, and I think the emergence of smartphones is slowly changing that mentality.

Despite the nonsense that Apple likes to spew about ideal screen size, the market will accept a broad range of sizes, so as long as manufacturers other than Apple exist, you'll most likely be able to buy a device with the screen size you like best.

 

[Bob Cat]

I could go with a 5" + myself.

 

[Bob Maxey]

It would appear that we have not yet found the upper limit. A decade of shrinking feature phones have gotten people conditioned to think that smaller is better, and I think the emergence of smartphones is slowly changing that mentality.

I remember the brick. Too big, but just perfect as far as those with radio phones were concerned. No more huge transceiver and tube power supply that had to be put in the trunk of your car. Then came the cells. I loved the folders because they were smaller. Motorola TAC / MicroTAC (?) which people loved, I think.

I wonder . . . did the mobile web and twitter and facebook and youtube help people decide larger was better? Seems like these services were partly responsible. Are we returning to the brick phone days?

We have iPads which some find too big and Kindles which are just right or too small for others and my favorite vaporware, the iPad Mini that some people want because their iPhone screen is too small and the iPad is too big but it will be larger than the Fire which is perhaps too small, so people will buy the Mini until the smaller version, the Mini 2 arrives.

This time, with a phone built in. Apple will become confused and sue itself for stealing and upon appeal, the court will determine that Apple was wrong.

but still no NFC, sorry.

I want an S 3 because the Note is too big, but I want a Note because the larger screen makes reading easier but not as easy as my iPad which is sometimes too big, so I carry my Triumph which I would like a bit more if the screen were a bit larger.

I want an iPhone because with my new suit, I will be cool enough to own one. Not the 5, but the 5s or 6 with the larger screen. They made it one millimeter larger, you know?

Folding screens is what we need. Perhaps a phone with a screen that can be rolled up so it fits my leather cigar case. Or one truly amazing phone available with different screen sizes. That would sell until Apple sues to stop it.

Apple and the Silly Putty people should invent silly stretchy phones. I recall being able to lift pictures from the newspaper and stretch them. So I had NFC and the ability to copy files decades ago. No DRM, either.

Not sure about IP theft; Beetle Bailey ever gave me written permission to copy his likeness.