There's more than one perfect smartphone form factor
Published by Steve Litchfield at 6:48 UTC, October 14th 2009
From the Nokia N900 to the HTC HD2, I'm seeing a groundswell of opinion turning against smaller, slightly simpler smartphones - but I contend that what you're seeing and reading isn't even close to being representative of the mass market and that, as usual (and I know because I'm one of them) the geeks are skewing all the analysis towards faster, bigger, flashier...
I get excited as much as the next geek when I see high clock speeds (1GHz in the HD2's case), larger screens (4.3"), graphics accelerators, and so on. And yes, I absolutely get that such monster devices can do more and they can do it better, than cheaper, smaller ones. But only in particular use cases, and not necessarily for the man or woman in the street, out in the real world.
Take my wife (no, not literally, I'm still rather fond of her) as a minimalist example. She uses a Nokia E51 and, bar a gripe every now and then about the small 2.0" screen, absolutely loves it. It does everything she needs of a phone (and quite a bit besides). Her use case is for voice calling, texting (one a day or so, on average), Contacts, Calendar, some mobile Web, some Internet Radio, a few photos and videos here and there and a little music or podcast listening. And she wants something which doesn't look like a geek's plaything. All of this the E51 copes with easily. I'm planning to rectify the small screen issue by replacing the E51 with an E52 when the phone breaks - which, judging from its indestructibility over the last few years, might be a while yet.
Does my wife get even close to needing or wanting or needing one of the new breed of large, two-handed touchscreen devices? No, with a capital N.
What about my friend John? He's a student and loves his Nokia N95 to bits. He likes, yes, the fact that it does absolutely everything and he pushes S60's apps and the third party scene to its limit, with over 100 installed applications, but he also likes the small form factor that fits in his pocket and which he can use one-handed, the discrete, hardware keypad, the loud speakers and the way the screen can be read in all light conditions. And, being a student, he likes the fact that he hasn't had to upgrade it to anything else in almost three years and that even an eBay replacement would only be £100 or so.
Does John get close to needing or wanting one of the new breed of large, two-handed touchscreen devices? Again no.
Take my friend Travis. He's a creative sort and still loves his Nokia N82 because of the camera with Xenon flash - its fits in well with his also active night life and he takes lots of club photos - the N82 is small enough to take anywhere and almost indestructible.
Take my customer, Brian. He was a Psion user, then a Nokia E61 user, and is now a very happy E71 user. He loves having a qwerty keyboard but also leads an active semi-retired lifestyle in which the device has to fit into every pocket, every outfit, without getting in the way. He uses Contacts, Messaging, Web, Camera and Nokia Maps. And that's about it.
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So we have four examples taken from real life. All these people are quite technical, in terms of the national average, yet none of them would even consider a Nokia N900 or HTC HD2 (or, to be fair, a Nokia N97, probably) as their next phone.
The constant debates and arguments over whether device X is better than device Y are sometimes valid and sometimes not. When the phones are directly comparable (e.g. Nokia E75 versus HTC S740 or Nokia N86 versus Sony Ericsson C905) then I like getting involved in the 'fight' as much as the next analyst. But when some well-meaning geek proclaims that the Nokia N900 knocks spots off all the current Symbian OS-powered phones then I have to take exception. The N900 simply isn't a competitor for real people in the real world. It's a mobile computer-turned-smartphone and only really appeals to the highly technical and to people with a budget for shiny new gadgets. Yes, this is (absolutely) a valid market and it will sell well and garner some great reviews. But it's simply not appealing to the person who would traditionally have gone for a Nokia E71, for example
Even taking the current in-vogue example "The N900 knocks spots off the N97", I'd disagree with the comparison being entirely valid*, in that the two devices, despite their apparently similar form factor (though the N900 is bigger, go measure it if you don't believe me), are aimed at different markets. The N97 is designed to be used in a portrait, candy bar aspect for most of the time, either one-handed or two-handed, with the keyboard coming out in landscape form to bash out quick texts or type in a search clue (for example). In other words, it looks like a modern touchscreen candy bar that has a trick up its sleeve, whereas the N900 is a powerful widescreen/landscape mobile computer that's been impressively miniaturised and which can now be rotated into portrait mode to take phone calls.
So, folks, a little perspective please. A Nokia 5530 XpressMusic touchscreen phone is not supposed to compete with the N900. Neither is the E52. And neither, for different reasons, are the N86 and N97, funnily enough. Can we please just appreciate each device for its own benefits - and, yes, criticise each for its own flaws, without quoting horrendous mismatches of form factor, price or use?
Steve Litchfield, All About Symbian and All About Maemo, 14 October 2009
*and no, I'm not defending some of the performance issues of the N97 - they're up to Nokia to sort out in the upcoming software tweaks - but these are a separate issue
Categories: Hardware, Miscellaneous, Editorial Thoughts
Platforms: General, S60 3rd Edition, S60 5th Edition, General
News Discussion
I've been a BIG Nokia fan till two months ago (N95 forever) but when I tried the HTC Hero I just fell in love and now I would never go back. And it's just the beginning, this are the first devices still far from perfect and what we will have in just few months is gonna change the market. I just hope Nokia will not be so blind to ignore this situation, the N97 (has been a big "passo falso". The N900 seems a big step forward but I wanna see it in real action before I judge.
Still my preference is still for none-touchscreen phones. Unless device makers can create a touchscreen phone with proper face buttons and a physical keypad that allows for easy one handed use, you won't see me buying one anytime soon.
Steve, you used your wife as an example, so I'm going to use mine. ^_^
She has loved pretty much every phone she has owned. To be fair, that's not really surprising as I choose them for her and she's a quick learner with a positive disposition. However, she doesn't really give much thought to what a more advanced smartphone will do for her, she leaves that to me.
Hence, with each new device she finds herself increasingly empowered. She didn't expect that to be the case, but that is in fact how things have turned out. Hence, my point is this; Every year my wife would say, "I don't need a new phone, I like the one I have", but then end up saying, "I really like my new phone, it's so much more useful then my last one".
Call me a zealot if you like, but for my money the iPhone form factor is the most useful. I don't need a plastic slide-out keyboard, and I certainly don't need a load of little buttons festooned all over the device. I just need a large multi-touch control surface, a slim form factor and some creative and powerful software.
I personally believe that this is what everybody wants... They just don't know they want it yet!
Of course this isn't the end of the story, this is bound to happen again and again, with each new user interface paradigm.
I've considered all the new and shiny smartphones on the market right now, and the only one that has caught my attention is the E72, a totally similar form factor to my favorite phone.
Not for me the larger brightest touch-screen that will last maybe a good day of moderate use, if lucky. I need my phone to last a few days between charging, and the E71 does that, up to four days on occasions!
Let's look at the specs:
N97: 117.2mm x 55.3mm x 15.9mm
N900: 110.9mm x 59.8mm x 18mm
While it's thicker and larger, and also fairly less long. So you can't really say it's bigger, it's just size differently.
Ooh, James, that sounds *awfully* like something Steve Jobs might say..... 8-)
NO SH*T SHERLOCK!
Talk about stating the obvious.
For me, if the phone is not pocketable then it's not a comfortable carry-everywhere device, it's not a phone. This applies to iPhone, N97, N900 (fails very badly on depth). The 5800 is about as big as I would be prepared to carry, and I only tolerate that because of its incredible value for money.
If the 6700 classic had Wi-Fi then that is the perfect phone for me. And it has S40......
The portability of a phone cannot be measured by any one dimension, but what is impotant is the way it feels and sits in a pocket. If it goes into a jeans pocket and you can feel it restricting your leg movement then it's a fail.
I'm looking forward to trying a slim X6, and I am considering making feature sacrifices to carry a 6700. Depends on how the X6 feels.
My most important features are, portability, robustness and signal strength (ability to maintain connection at extreme range). Functional features are considered after these, and flashy gimmicks are at the bottom of the list.
So obviously the iPhone is a big fail for me as it majors on the gimmicks, so is the N97, N900 and the HTC Hero with that stupid bent chin. I would rather just carry a laptop than one of those monsters.
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Originally Posted by Jaggz
I'm going to disagree this time. With every fibre in my being I believe that the classic smartphone form factor, with it's face buttons, side buttons and slide out keyboard is an evolutionary dead-end which will be truly dead and buried within 6 years.
Steve, you used your wife as an example, so I'm going to use mine. ^_^ She has loved pretty much every phone she has owned. To be fair, that's not really surprising as I choose them for her and she's a quick learner with a positive disposition. However, she doesn't really give much thought to what a more advanced smartphone will do for her, she leaves that to me. Hence, with each new device she finds herself increasingly empowered. She didn't expect that to be the case, but that is in fact how things have turned out. Hence, my point is this; Every year my wife would say, "I don't need a new phone, I like the one I have", but then end up saying, "I really like my new phone, it's so much more useful then my last one". Call me a zealot if you like, but for my money the iPhone form factor is the most useful. I don't need a plastic slide-out keyboard, and I certainly don't need a load of little buttons festooned all over the device. I just need a large multi-touch control surface, a slim form factor and some creative and powerful software. I personally believe that this is what everybody wants... They just don't know they want it yet! Of course this isn't the end of the story, this is bound to happen again and again, with each new user interface paradigm. |
That, and I still prefer my 5700 to my (supposed) replacement, LG Arena (because it was the cheapest with a decently specced camera), solely for the physical keys.
Can I say : I personally believe that having lots of physical keys is what everybody wants... They're just in denial!
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Originally Posted by ThomasHerve
> though the N900 is bigger, go measure it if you don't believe me
Let's look at the specs: N97: 117.2mm x 55.3mm x 15.9mm N900: 110.9mm x 59.8mm x 18mm While it's thicker and larger, and also fairly less long. So you can't really say it's bigger, it's just size differently. |
N900 181 grams 113 cc
It's bigger ~ 28%.
So yes, I definitely agree that not everyone needs an iPhone or N97 or N900. Eventually, most phones will probably have touchscreens, but that doesn't mean you need to go buy a new touch-driven phone now. There's plenty of smartphones that can fit your needs for hundreds less.
In the late nineties when phones weren't that advanced the big craze was all about how tiny they could get, but now...? And especially for us smatphone users... Comparing a few millimeters here and a couple of dozen grams there and then saying that one phone is a 'brick' compared to the other, saying things like: 'I'd rather just carry my laptop' is plain ridiculous in my book.
As for pocketability, c'mon... All those phones mentioned are perfectly pocketable. For my past 8-9 years of using smartphones (which includes phones, or 'bricks' like the P800, 9300, E61, E90), the only one I really found too uncomfortable to carry in my pocket was the Nokia 9500 Communicator - but its little brother the 9300 was perfect.
I currently us the evilPhone (jailbroken, of course) which is one of my most comfortable smartphones to carry in a pocket because of its thinness and its smooth form - more comfortable than my N95 8GB. But again, that is far from the most important thing form me. The poor battery life, though, is very much exaggerated as it easily outperforms my N95 8GB. Not to mention signal strength... A couple of weeks ago, at my cabin with poor coverage, my girlfriends E75 (on the exact same operator as me and even the same plan) got 0-1 signal bars, while my iPhone got 3-4 (2 at worst)... Sorry, just had to clarify some of (the many) misconceptions regarding the iPhone hatred floating around here...
Anyway, I am a bit sick, well a lot sick actually, of Apple's 'Big Brother' (dear I say nazi-like) restrictions and as such I am looking forward to the N900 or possibly one of the new Androids coming. :) Right now there is sadly nothing out on the market that I find remotely interesting as a replacement, so my old 3G will have to do for a while longer.
I agree with what you're saying - whilst the iPhone is an awesome piece of technology and the N900 and HD2 also look brilliant they're just too big. To me a phone should be ergonomical in that it fits comfortably in one hand, can be operated with one hand and stored away easily. All my mates with iPhone's, N97's, Storms and i8910s all look like they're pecking away at one of Moses' tablets with theirs!
That's why I've stuck with my 5800. Sure, it's a bit plasticky and the screen isn't a sensitive as some of the others (although debranding it and installing the v31 firmware seems to have sharpened it up considerably) but it's a great phone, comfortable in the hand and does absolutely everything I want. As such I think my next phone will be the X6 which is really just an evolution of the 5800.
It reminds me of the craze in the late 90's for smaller and smaller phones which culminated in the 8300 (I think). It was tiny and virtually unusable but very fashionable. Strangely enough it's the same friends who had those phones who now have iPhones.
The phone industry seems driven by fashion - one year it's tiny phones, the next clamshells, the next tablets - but they always seem to come back to the hand sized, candybar format unit. I'm not sure the latest trend will be any different.
True, true. You know me, I tend to trust Steve's judgement in these things. He does have a pretty amazing track record so far.
I've entered this post into my iCal and set an annual alarm, I'll check back in 2010 and see how things are progressing on this front. I've been doing this for the last couple of years with all sorts of mobile related blog posts, I have to say, the future is not that difficult to predict. Computers will get smaller and faster, displays will get brighter and more detailed, user interfaces will become more natural and more human... so if a device, or indeed a series of devices, don't fit into that progression then it's safe to say that they probably won't be around in 5 years.
I think of it like this. The slide-out keyboard on the N97 and N900 is taking up valuable space and resources that could otherwise be channel towards other features such as a bigger display or larger battery. Basically, each feature on any smartphone/pocket computer in a fight, a fight for survival. Every feature must prove its right to exist, and right now I don't hold up much hope for a physical keyboard.
Ah, I love threads like this one Steve, it really gets the synapses firing!
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Originally Posted by ThomasHerve
> though the N900 is bigger, go measure it if you don't believe me
Let's look at the specs: N97: 117.2mm x 55.3mm x 15.9mm N900: 110.9mm x 59.8mm x 18mm While it's thicker and larger, and also fairly less long. So you can't really say it's bigger, it's just size differently. |
I am faced with an upgrade in new year have used Palm Psion Clie XDA E70 and now Tytn2 Psion Clie and E70 were outstanding in terms or reliability but I find the TYTN web experience better than E70
I use Google Calendar 5 appointment a day on average ,Mail perhaps 10 mobile postings per day , Maps, and would like to use sat nav I think touch screen but am not sure and would like to find a good to do / planning app I likes the e70 keyboard better than the Tytn
tempted by android because of Google link but have always found Nokia to be most reliable my Tytn is getting really flakey as it comes to the end of its 2 year contract - three refirbs in 4 months
help
Got myself an E52 last week, and is extremely pleased about it, on all accounts, like the size, keypad and features.
things on screen like an iPhone so, someday, i'll get out manual to see how to use them"
When people but cars they buy what they need or just want whether it be a mini, 4 by 4, sports car etc. For too long the computer market has had far too little choice. This is great for IT managers as they hate making choices and having to stand by the consequences of their decisions. But for the consumer its a bit like saying you can buy any car you like as long as its in the Ford Escort range!
Lets hope the smart-phone market never ends up in that rut!
About what devices are geek devices I'm not too sure. I think it depends upon use. I would not describe a PC as a geek device as most people only use them for a few basic functions but they can be in a technical way by geeks. Similarly I would not describe an Iphone as a geek device as most people only use the basic functionality. However a jail breaked Iphone probably is getting towards making it a geeks device. The Maemo devices in concept, I would also put in this category is it has a very pretty consumer appealing interface and the basic functionality is not to my mind Geeky. OK its mainly for landscape use at the moment but at the end of the day that just a consumer option. You can use it in a more technical way but you have to make a conscious decision to install the applications use it in that way.
In reality I think the N900 is lacking in some basic functionality to make it a popular/ non geeky device but the son of N900 could well be different.
| From the Nokia N900 to the HTC HD2, I'm seeing a groundswell of opinion turning against smaller, slightly simpler smartphones - but I contend that what you're seeing and reading isn't even close to being representative of the mass market and that, as usual (and I know because I'm one of them) the geeks are skewing all the analysis towards faster, bigger, flashier... |
I'm happy with manufacturers pushing the envelope with smartphones though. If they traditionally just dished out what "regular consumers" said was "all they wanted in a phone" then there would be no SMS, cameras, MMS, Email, Mobile web of any kind.
10 years ago my mum said all she wanted was a phone to make calls. "None of this SMS rubbish, why would I want to write to someone when I could talk to them?".
5 years ago she said "I just need calls and texts, why would I want a camera in my pocket all day long?".
2 years ago: "Just calls, texts and a camera would be nice if it has a flash, why would I need to go on the internet? I only need to check my emails a few times a week."
Now she has a new phone and uses it to check her emails and facebook everyday. But that's all she'll ever need right? ... right?
She doesn't use the latest and greatest, but she reaps the benefits of them down the line.
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Originally Posted by Unregistered
10 years ago my mum said all she wanted was a phone to make calls.
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