New phones a little too big

[FrostMan]

Let me help you visualize. Droid and Droid X.

Looks like two blocks getting intimate.

But looking at that, there really is not any significant size difference to the point of complaining it will not fit in your pocket. I carried the first damn model of the PSP in my pocket back when I used to go to school a few years back.

 

[GrillMouster]

The Droid X is smaller than your Droid in total volume and it will slide into a pocket easier than the thicker Droid.

Droid 1
4.56 * 2.36 * 0.54 = 5.81 volume
2.36 * 0.54 = 1.27 area

Droid X
5.01 * 2.50 * 0.39 = 4.88 volume
2.50 * 0.39 = 0.98 area

It's a stiff solid device, not a liquid. It doesn't conform to the shape of your pocket, so "total volume" doesn't really matter to me. Now, the point about being thinner is a good one. I'd like a phone with less bulge in my pocket, so thinner can be better.

If I were a woman who carried her phone in her purse all the time, then the dimensions might not be a deal-breaker. However, I'm a man with pants of varying pocket-depth. My phone needs to fit in the space below the fold when I sit. Otherwise, it peeks out of the opening of the pocket. Then the thinness that made the phone so easy to slide in the pocket also makes it so easy to slide out, fall on the ground, and/or get lost.

 

[jroc]

Well another thing to keep in mind is that these aren't just phones anymore. With the introduction of the Moto Droid and the phones that follow these devices are becoming more of a netbook/low end laptop replacement. Also with better and better camera technology they may also become a viable alternative to a separate point and shoot.

Yea, I remember we talked about that in the original Shadow thread before we even knew the size of the phone..

the droid x is bigger than the evo and that phone is already too wide for my personal tastes. i don't want a tablet phone, i want a tastefully sized smart phone with the same features.

the new phones seem to be aiming to be a tablet / smart phone hybrid. it's good for screen size, the chasis itself is just too wide imo. it looks like you're holding one of those old school ti-86 graphing calculators up to your face. lol

Well I dont put my droid in my pocket either, but it will fit. Like other posters, this is just my opinion but as I think about it, I think the device will serve a purpose and be widely used, as device size increases, like the other poster said, its becoming less of a phone and more of "All-in-one" device.

Here's where I think we will see things head, I think what companies are mainly targeting these devices for are the people who use blue tooth all of or the majority of the time, hoping that trends lean towards people not using their phones physical talking features bur more or less relying on blue tooth becoming a standard that everyone uses.


Waiting for the motorola earplant bluetooth ..<g>

These 3 posts reminded me of something: I mentioned the 5" Dell Streak earlier; one day its labeled a phone, one day a tablet....I mentioned somewhere that if I got the Streak, I would treat it as a Tablet that can make/recieve calls cuz its so big. If I get the X, and it seems too big to me but I like it and wanna keep it, it might make me invest in my very first BlueTooth headset.

And there are some traditional Tablets coming out, one at least 11", that will have the ability to make calls, probably receive em too...

 

[BzB]

If I get the X, and it seems too big to me but I like it and wanna keep it, it might make me invest in my very first BlueTooth headset.

with the new phones it seems like bt headsets will be a must due to the size. that said, i like the hands free convenience of a bt headset regardless of phone size. you're better able to multitask while on the phone, especially if wifi is available. not to mention several states now have laws against talking and driving unless you're using one since it is safer.

 

[dezymond]

new phones are way too big. nice, but not very practical, especially for a phone.

 

[Mule65]

I'm a man with pants of varying pocket-depth. My phone needs to fit in the space below the fold when I sit. Otherwise, it peeks out of the opening of the pocket. Then the thinness that made the phone so easy to slide in the pocket also makes it so easy to slide out, fall on the ground, and/or get lost.

Yes, the Droid X will be 0.30" taller in the pocket. If a basic 5.4" Sharpie fits in your pocket below the fold then you should be alright. If you're worried about losing it then you could put duct tape over your pocket.

 

[GrillMouster]

hopefully the screen manufacturers will get better at reducing the border space around the screen so they can increase screen size without drastically increasing the external dimensions...

I agree that they should look at how they can increase screen space without dramatically increasing the external dimensions. I think they did that with DroidX.

One problem I've had with the droid is that I can never hand it to other people without them accidentally tapping something on the screen or one of the buttons below the screen (because they're not physical buttons). It's frustrating. Invariably, the first words out of other people's mouths after I hand them my droid is "I must've hit something". It takes a little while to get used to how to hold the Droid without hitting a button. Whenenver I hand the phone back to the person after fixing whatever problem they caused by accidentally tapping, they then hold the phone ever-so-slightly in their hand, which I can't stand either, because they're not securely gripping the phone! The slightest bump, and that thing will fall on the ground! I've never had this problem with iPhones or iPads, but I notice that, if anything, they have less of a border around the screen.

 

[baniels]

As time goes on it will be more and more difficult to find people that don't know how to hold a modern cell phone.

And someday it will be difficult to find people who think they have to double-click on web links.

One problem I've had with the droid is that I can never hand it to other people without them accidentally tapping something on the screen or one of the buttons below the screen (because they're not physical buttons). It's frustrating. Invariably, the first words out of other people's mouths after I hand them my droid is "I must've hit something". It takes a little while to get used to how to hold the Droid without hitting a button. Whenenver I hand the phone back to the person after fixing whatever problem they caused by accidentally tapping, they then hold the phone ever-so-slightly in their hand, which I can't stand either, because they're not securely gripping the phone! The slightest bump, and that thing will fall on the ground! I've never had this problem with iPhones or iPads, but I notice that, if anything, they have less of a border around the screen.