Never mind the form factor - size is everything

[slitchfield]

Never mind the debates about which is best: clamshells, candybars, sliders, and so on. There's a wider debate going on - how large should a smart mobile device be? I argue that once you get beyond a certain size, you lose the 'take it everywhere' usefulness, you sacrifice robustness and you fail to achieve mass market sales.

Read on in the full article.

[krisse]

This article sums up why I think small-sized smartphones like the 6120 Classic or E51 are much more significant than devices like the N95.

A lot of non-phone-addicts I know take one look at pretty much any cutting-edge smartphone and say something like "no thanks, it won't fit in my back pocket".

Devices like the iPhone or E90 or N93 simply aren't on the menu for them, they will not buy a device beyond the size of a basic phone.

[Terry1100]

For those of us with human hands, I'd content that bigger is better (at least as far as useable smartphones are concerned).

I've just moved from an E70 to an E90. I loved the size and form factor of the E70 - but the screen (despite it's phenomenal resolution) is a bit on ht esmall side.

It's too soon to call on the size of the E90 for me, but initially I'd say it's at the top end of my personal size limit.

If we're going to see SatNav becoming standard (and that's probably a given), we'll need large(ish) screens for it to be of any use.

Remember the Motorola "brick"

[Cjp]

ah so thats why tescos are selling a pink 6120 now amongst its phone range.personally size doesnt really matter to me but form does.still owning the likes of a 6600 7610 6630 both n gages i find the pick up and usability important.like steve i love the e90(had one for a day but thats a long story)but now have a tytn2,maybe will eventually get to an n95 8gig but certainly the likes of the n78,n82,e51 will be pushed to the top of my shopping list soon.

we went to a party not to long ago and i had the tytn with me.the mrs forgot something so like the courteous man i am went back for it and in the process left the tytn back at home replacing it with my 6630.now what does that say about me haha.

[Kazutoyo]

Originally Posted by krisse

This article sums up why I think small-sized smartphones like the 6120 Classic or E51 are much more significant than devices like the N95.

A lot of non-phone-addicts I know take one look at pretty much any cutting-edge smartphone and say something like "no thanks, it won't fit in my back pocket".

Devices like the iPhone or E90 or N93 simply aren't on the menu for them, they will not buy a device beyond the size of a basic phone.

Yep. I want a powerful smartphone, but I also want it to be small. For years smartphones been too large for my taste, but with the 6120 Classic I felt it was very revolutionary, at least for me. And now I'm highly anticipating the 6220 Classic, which got everything I could wish for. Well, almost, as I also wish Nokia would include it among their N-Gage compatible devices.

A phone that doesn't easily slide into the pocket is useless as far as I'm concerned. And I never seen the point of internet tablets either, such as the Nokia N810, cause if I'm gonna pack something in a bag, I rather go for a small laptop.

[dougalzene]

A Nokia E51 with video out, please - I really like this feature on the N95. I don't want to watch much on the device but with the capacity for storage and playback in such small devices, it's the ability to bring it with you in the pocket that counts for me - there's usually a TV about or a music system for music. I'm not sure what the limits are or will be for these phones but 8-16GB microSD cards makes for a few films and a load of music.

[bartmanekul]

Exactly, its why I always avoided N series and usually went for the 6xxx series.

Like many people keep saying, the 6220 classic is going to cause hellva splash.

If the E90 had a faster camera or (preferably and) a better keyboard or (preferably and) if it could run Linux and Firefox with tabs and Noscript (noscript.net) then I wouldn't mind it being bigger.

The N810, The EeePC and the Macbook Air are close competitors of the E90 but they still require a separate phone (E90).

Nokia came out with a smaller version of the 9500 and perhaps they will come out with a smaller version of the E90. But if it had Linux, I would opt for a bigger version. Linux in an E70 would also be a killer app.

[dougalzene]

the 6220 classic looks ideal but for lack of wlan which i'd find hard to go without now (i could lose a bit of camera for more wifi!)

Finally someone with some sense about phone size. And Steve, did you know that the touchscreensize of the N800 matches the N95 phonesize! As such it there is but one conclusion to make. Put all the freaking buttons on the side or on the other side ;-)

snoyt.vox.com

[krisse]

Well, almost, as I also wish Nokia would include it among their N-Gage compatible devices.

I would be VERY surprised if Nokia didn't make the 6220 N-Gage-compatible.

Just to make it clear, the N-Gage compatibility list is never final, Nokia's said they're going to continually add new devices to it as they're released. The current list is just the starting point.

They've also said they will definitely be adding non-Nseries S60 devices to the list, which I reckon means the 6220 and 6210 and perhaps all future S60s too.

For those of us with human hands, I'd content that bigger is better (at least as far as useable smartphones are concerned).

Good point, and if a billion people a year are buying phones then there's bound to be a very very diverse range of customers. We're never going to see a perfect phone that suits everyone.

Although I don't have large hands, I am a huge fan of big buttons on phones, it makes them more accessible not just to people with bigger hands but people who are nervous about technology. Big buttons are somehow friendlier and simpler-looking. Buttons ought to use as much surface area as possible, there shouldn't be any borders around the buttons.

When I did the 6120 review for AAS I praised pretty much everything about the phone except the buttons, which were a bit on the small side, and didn't go right to the edges. It was the same problem on the 6110.

Fortunately the 6220 Classic and 6210 Navigator seem to have learned this lesson and have buttons which stretch right to the edges of the phone, very much like the 3110 Classic.

And Steve, did you know that the touchscreensize of the N800 matches the N95 phonesize! As such it there is but one conclusion to make. Put all the freaking buttons on the side or on the other side

An interesting point. If touchscreens can occupy the entire front of a device, then something similar to the N800 could indeed be a competitor to the N95.

The N810 is getting closer to this, it has most of its buttons in a slide-out panel rather than on the front of the phone. I bet the next tablet goes even further in shrinking the area around the screen.

[Solnyshok]

i'm another power user who prefers size over doitall form factor. I have smartphone 6120c, pocketpc hx4700, umpc everun, laptop thinkpad and desktop. My experience has taught me that there are certain thresholds to that device shall not exceed, to be usable in certain scenarios. Here it is -
1. Smallest. the phone that you can use with one hand and never think of its weight. I would say that it is limited by weight. Something around 130g. And i'm against touch screen in such device cause it makes me think twice how to carry it, also reduces one hand usability. This size is not good for prolonged internet use, but should do well for news reading, photo blogging, chat, im, voip and navigation
2. Pocket internet device, limited to 300-350g (think MID, N810), you can carry it in the jacket pocket, tank trousers or travel pouch with your tickets and credit cards. Good for everything except typing and office content creation. Leisure Travel and entertainment device.
3. laptop - shall include keyboard since the only reason to choose it over mid, is ability to type longer texts. I also see little rationale to have it smaller than A4 (think macbook air), since whenever I'm out and about doing business, I still carry some a4 papers with me. I would also take it with touchscreen, but that's my personal preference.

[bills2north]

Hey Steve,

Thanks for sticking up for E90!

To me many Nokia phones could go on a diet. N96 ain´t exactly thin and narrow either at width: 55 mm, thickness: 18-20 mm. E90´s 57 x 20 mm doesn´t feel much different then. It´s the 4" screen on E90 that makes the big difference compared to N96´s 2.8".
But of course that adds 3.1 cm to the length which keeps many people from getting the brick. Ah yes, and there´s the weight factor.

I´d hoped Nokia was moving towards N76´s razor -to coin a phrase , thinness. It´s a great size for a smartphone. It´s also reliable and quick. Let´s see more of those. My son loves his!

Happy Easter

[malerocks]

I agree on the part about the large buttons. Very important for me for ease of use. Thats why I used to love the n93. Not that I hate it now... :-)

After long waiting for the right phone I bought an E70 in Nov 2006. Then as E90 came out, I doubted if my decision was right. Having a look at the E90 I have to say: No, this is not what I want to have as phone, it's just too big. Now my trouble starts. I am looking for a new phone because E70 only accepts max. 2 GB of storage card. The Wikipedia in german already takes 1.4 GB, and I want to have some space for pictures and movies and similar, and I'd like to have at least 3-4 GB space for my music (OGG/Vorbis). The E70 despite the memory card restriction is exactly what I want:

- 320x240 is not enough. 352x416 is much better
- The QWERTY is fantastic while being not bigger than another phone
- There is no touchscreen (this is important for me, don't like 'em)
- WLAN is wonderful e. g. to get pictures from the card (using WebDAV via Apache/Raccoon)

I'd be willing to spend quite some money for my next phone if it fulfils my needs, but I don't see any device that comes even close to it. Sadly I expect that Nokia won''t update the E70. It would be ok to have a firmware update for support of SDHC or another device in the E70 form factor (but more resolution than that 320x240!). My opinion is that Nokia made the decision that the market for such a wonderful device just isn't big enough. That's very sad if true.