Nokia to fans of smaller screens:Drop dead!

[RJ Priest]

I respect that we each have our own preferences, but for myself, after having a 4.8" screen (ATIV S), anything less is now too small. My brother's iPhone 4s (he switched to 920 at launch) sits as a comical paper weight on his desk. We can't believe how small it is, and how we once used such small screens.

Small screens are no longer desirable. The "pocketability" of a device with 5" screen is perfectly fine for the vast majority of people - with nothing else but benefits of a beautiful large screen, larger battery, and larger, improved (OIS, sensor size, etc) camera module.

 

[donoester]

DCProjMgr. My thought was the same before I went for the 720 and I'm happy with my choice. If they follow the current trend of low-end+humongous screens with even lower ppi, then my next phone won't be a Nokia. They're completely missing out on that iPhones still sell in much higher quantities than Lumias, and no matter what iPhone option you choose you get top performance in a compact form factor. Nokia are light years behind mastering this, but are catching up with the trends of other manufacturers. People normally uses pouches and bags for their tablets, so if a phone was introduced at the size of a mini tablet it wouldn't sell. Manufacturers are in a state of rage of realizing that they have been able to merge a tablet and phone and obtain a common OS experience. Well maybe by now LG can conclude that the form factor of the new VU series was too wide for practical use and people aren't too happy with the phone. Haha.

 

[smoledman]

The problem with Lumia phones is not that the screen is big, it's a huge bezel and heavy/bulky. Look at the Nexus 5. 5" screen, but only 130g and not any bigger in terms of surface area compared to a Lumia 920.

 

[stmav]

A bit over dramatic with the title aren't we?

 

[Reflexx]

A bit over dramatic with the title aren't we?

He was just trying to go out trolling.

He probably keeps looking back at this thread feeling disappointed that we're not up in arms and offended at his ridiculousness.

 

[Anilu7]

I kind of see his point, though. I've had several different size screens, ranging from 3" to 4.2" and I prefer about a 4.5", no bigger. A 5" phone is just too big for my use. It's user preference and it's too bad that most manufacturers are hopping on the 'bigger is better' bandwagon. I think there's even a 6" phone (Mega, I think?). That's just too much imho.

 

[snowmutt]

I understand his post. Industry changes, and where 4.3" was the norm, now 5.0" screens are.

However, I am with everyone else: The 4.0"-5.0" screen size isn't going to die. As a matter of a fact, being on WP those "lesser specs" of the "Mini" devices will still sing like a Barber Shop Quartet, and those who want smaller devices will be drawn to WP.

Now, those sub-4.0" devices may be completely forgetton soon. With bezels shrinking like my bank account on Black Friday, the 4.0"-4.3" devices are the same size as some of those 3.7" of yesterday. Soon, there just may be no need to go smaller as a consumer, maybe even in developing markets.

 

[fdalbor]

While I don't agree with much of what he said I do have similar feelings. I bought a 820 because it had a decent screen 4.3 but was much smaller than the 920. I have two 7" Kindle Fires, I don't want or need a screen bigger than 4.3/4.7 inches and I like a smaller phone. I was hoping the 925 would be my next upgrade; but it does not have a removeable battery, does not have a S.D card slot, does not have wireless charging and AT&T (my current carrier) only has a 16GB model, plus I would like to see a quad core processor in the 900/800 size phone. If it does not happen I'll just stick with my 820, its a very good phone and I don't have to use a backpack to carry it in. Joking. But it is rather odd that they have not had any upgrades after the 810,820,822's came out. Got nothing against the big phones, if thats what you want then thats fine. But lets not forget the people who like just a handfull. Look at Apple, they seem to do just fine with only a 4" screen. Maybe they are trying to tell us something, and no I will never own a Apple phone. I did get a 520 when Amazon put them on sale for 64.99$ so I would have a small backup in case something ever happnes to my 820. It has a 4" screen and is even smaller than my 820.

 

[Stephen Vogel]

I understand his post. Industry changes, and where 4.3" was the norm, now 5.0" screens are.

However, I am with everyone else: The 4.0"-5.0" screen size isn't going to die. As a matter of a fact, being on WP those "lesser specs" of the "Mini" devices will still sing like a Barber Shop Quartet, and those who want smaller devices will be drawn to WP.

Now, those sub-4.0" devices may be completely forgetton soon. With bezels shrinking like my bank account on Black Friday, the 4.0"-4.3" devices are the same size as some of those 3.7" of yesterday. Soon, there just may be no need to go smaller as a consumer, maybe even in developing markets.

Totally agree with the shrinking bezel thing. I initially thought the S3 and S4 were comically huge but its a bit of an illusion created by screen size with a small bezel for when I put my L800 on top of an S4 the size difference in practical terms was very small

 

[raul_junior]

I can take a hint. I know when I am not wanted. We had some good times - the amazing N95; the better-than-a-Blackberry keyboard on the E71; the N8 - still one of the best camera phones; the gorgeous Lumia 800.

Then things started to go downhill. When Windows Phone 8 came out, the best device I could get with a less than 4.5" screen was the 620. Not a bad little phone; a little squat; no Pureview. No wireless charging. I should have seen the signs.


But the past few months, the message has been clear: fans of small, easy to hold and pocket iPhone sized devices are dead to Nokia. Especially if they prefer premium features. Big is the new black. Small is only for third-world budget customers.

Don't get me wrong - I'm glad to see phablets in the Nokia lineup. They are great media devices and perfect for some people. But not for me. I have an 8" tablet. Why would I want a 6" phone? I can't be the only person that is noticing this big hole in the current Windows Phone lineup. Even the successor to the 620 is huge!

I love Windows Phone. It is easy to use and setup and the graphic design is classy. I would much prefer to with WP8 than go back to the competition.

But I only keep a phone for about 6 months. You've got to have something sparkly on the shelf to keep me around. I have in my hand a Moto X. And it feels damn good. Yes, it has a 4.7" screen. But the phone is hardly bigger than a Lumia 521. I know this for a fact because I have a 521 laying on top of it right now.

So, I guess this thing we had is over. But I just want to make this clear: you left me; I didn't leave you.

haha soon not even iPhones will be small, on of the rumors for the,iPhone 6 is a 5 inch display

 

[hopmedic]

http://forums.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-8/210477-official-what-wp-needs-succeed.html

 

[CrossedFaith]

As someone who's used so many different screen sizes and devices, I feel like chiming in on this thread...

I don't think it's that bad that Nokia is making screens 4" and up. Its a trend that is successful. Nokia wants to be able to compete.

Personally, while I really enjoy my 521, I would like something bigger. (And with a flash, but that's not relevant here.)

Also, before I got my 521, I ALMOST got an iPhone. Almost. But I decided the 521 since it had a bigger screen than an iPhone 4. Boy I'm glad I did. I <3 my 521~

 

[AngryNil]

Why do you title your thread about screen size, spend your post complaining about screen size, then say your solution is a 4.7" device?

[TABLE="width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD]Device[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]Height[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]Width[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]Thickness[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Lumia 520[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]119.9[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]64[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]9.9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Moto X[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]129.3[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]65.3[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]10.4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Lumia 925[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]129[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]70.6[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]8.5[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[worldspy99]

Thanks for the table. In God we trust, everyone else must provide data!
Physical size and dimensions are not the only thing that matter. How the phone actually feels in the person's hand is equally important. The Nokia phones feel substantial in the hand - Lumia 521 and Lumia 810 owner here. BTW I also have two Samsung phones, Nexus 4 and two iOS devices. I like the Nokia phones by far from all of these devices.

 

[cckgz4]

The 520-720 line seems to fit the criteria for the most part.

 

[cckgz4]

If the 520 had a FFC I'd keep it for YEARS.

 

[stalemate1]

They have half the RAM and are less powerful than their larger counterparts.
In addition, their cameras are worse (except for the One Mini).

Both have better specs than a lumia 925, they even have faster processors than the lumia 1020 (just less RAM)

Both have specs that are similar to, if not surpass the iPhone 5s.

how are these not flagship specs ?

 

[brunoadduarte]

What about the HTC one mini and Samsung galaxy S4 mini ? Both have LTE.

Both are overpriced and under-specd.

Small screens are no longer desirable. The "pocketability" of a device with 5" screen is perfectly fine for the vast majority of people - with nothing else but benefits of a beautiful large screen, larger battery, and larger, improved (OIS, sensor size, etc) camera module.

I'm standing here now, saying 5'' is not fine. It's too big and for me, it's mandatory for a phone to have a size that allows one handed use. Granted, there are some Android makers that are facilitating one handed use with the way they skin Android, but facilitating isn't the same as full on permitting it. I simply can't use an S4, a Z1 or an Ativ S without shuffling my hand around all of the phone while trying to use it single handedly. It simply isn't practical nor ergonomic (makers seem to have been forgetting this last term more and more over these last few years).

Totally agree with the shrinking bezel thing. I initially thought the S3 and S4 were comically huge but its a bit of an illusion created by screen size with a small bezel for when I put my L800 on top of an S4 the size difference in practical terms was very small

It's always a small difference. Problem is that thanks to those small differences from one year to the next, phones get bigger by the iteration... And bigger. And bigger.

 

[KBEscalona]

Well ther's the upcoming verizon 929 to be the re-incarnation of the 9 series with same specs as the 1520.

 

[gsquared]