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The Screen Size Debate

So we’ve been yelling at each other, back and forth, here at MobilityDigest.com through our email chaos about the merits of screen size.  Doug Smith seems to think that unless you can kill a small child or a full grown adult if he accidentally drops it from his hands, then it doesn’t cut it, having been lugging around his 4.3″ Telstra HD2 as training for when he finally gets the Dell Streak (or Steak as he so often refers it).  Some of us have been squinting and destroying our ocular senses to deal with the 2.8″ of VGA shame that is the Fuze.  Now to each, his own, which is why the hardware choice is great with Windows Phone 7 and Android but there is definitely a threshold for cellular phone screen size, and to me it’s 4″.

David K posted THIS yesterday to help you 4.3″ lovers figure out what you’ll be missing to grab some of the latest devices.  Well, should you be too lazy to download it or just didn’t see the article, let me sum up your loss: nothing functional.  Most people (not writing for this website) have better things to do with their life than staring at cell phone screens (ala new WP7 commericals) multi-touching the hell out them like a 3 year old with a square peg and a round hole.  Those people with lives typically prefer using their phone in one hand.  Now a secure grip on a cell phone will occupy enough of your hand that 4.3″ is just unusable.  Just try this experiment to see what I mean.  Hoist your 4.3″ slab of enormousness in one hand and then attempt to touch all four corners with that same hand’s thumb.  If you can do this without reshuffling your grip then you have some deformed E.T. fingers and should be curing disease or pleasuring the woman (or man because prostates need loving too) of your choice.

4.3″ destroys the one handed usability of cell phones, which is why the majority of the best selling cell phones (Incredible, Droid, iPhone as much as I hate to admit it) are not slabby monstrosities that require two hands and a pack mule to operate.  Not to mention the difference in battery life, pixel density, screen durability (because smaller screen area means less likely to break from blunt trauma), and pocket/purse space.

Now I’m sure there will be some of you that are dead set on a 4.3″ screen size and that is totally cool with me.  I have nothing against people with abnormally sized fingers (although the glove industry is not your friend) but 3.7-4″ is going to offer the best value for the average consumer.  Let us know what you think about screen size but I can bet none of you will be mentioning that fugly plastic monstrosity that LG and AT&T will be collectively hucking this holiday season.

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