
The Phablet Revolution - prostoalex
http://flurrymobile.tumblr.com/post/117769261810/the-phablet-revolution?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonuKjOZKXonjHpfsX67O4uW6WwlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4AScFnI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrDHMbRiyLgMWRc%3D
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Stratoscope
I have one of the original Nexus 7's that was given out at Google I/O a few
years ago. After I got it I used it all the time around the house, and
sometimes on the road (using the mobile hotspot on my Droid Charge) when I
didn't mind carrying around an extra device.

Then I got a Galaxy Note 2. The day I got it was literally the last time I
used the Nexus 7. It did everything the Nexus 7 could do and it was always
with me. It had almost the same display resolution in a much smaller overall
package thanks to the slimmer bezel.

It was bigger than the Droid Charge, but it actually fit _better_ in my pants
pocket. My carrying system for years has been to put the phone (with no case)
in my left front pants pocket with the screen facing in to protect it. Keys
and change go in the right front pocket so they never scratch the phone. Don't
need cargo pants for this, just regular slacks or shorts.

This worked OK for the Droid Charge, but the phone always ended up sideways in
my pocket. When I sat down, the Droid would stick out because it was crosswise
with the long end against the curve of my leg. The Note 2 was big enough that
it wouldn't tip on its side in the pocket like that; it stayed upright with
the long end parallel to my leg and the short end going across. So despite
being a bigger phone, it ended up being less in the way.

Later upgraded to a Note 3 and Note 4, and wouldn't go back to a smaller phone
at all.

I do pay attention to pocket depth when I buy pants, but most of the styles I
like have reasonably deep pockets anyway.

I don't talk on the phone much, and when I do the larger size isn't a problem.
I mostly use my phone as a portable always-connected tablet.

For anyone who thinks these large phones exist only to give manufacturers
bigger numbers they could brag about, well, I'm your counterexample. They are
ideal for me.

~~~
kelnos
Do you ever run into problems dropping it? I stuck with the Nexus line from
the Nexus One all the way up to the 4, but even the 4 was too big for my hand.
I could barely use it one-handed, and I believe that contributed greatly to me
frequently dropping the phone (went through 2 screen replacements). Never had
I had this problem with a previous, smaller phone. After the N4, I downsized
and I'm much happier.

(I suppose that's also a thing: I want to be able to primarily use my phone
one-handed. If you're consistently a two-hand user, I guess this isn't much of
a problem.)

~~~
Stratoscope
Interesting point about the one hand vs. two hand operation.

I haven't had a problem with dropping the phone, but I do use two hands to
operate it except for simple things like scrolling. That's easy with one hand
- at least for normal vertically scrolling websites.

It does get annoying reading Kindle books with their ridiculous sideways page
turns where you have to tap the right side of the screen or drag the page
sideways. I love having all my books and magazines on my phone, but hate the
Kindle UI. Why can't I just scroll my books vertically like a normal website?
Being right-handed, I hold the phone in my left hand, so it's a pretty awkward
reach. [1]

The few close calls I've had were when I tried to get fancy and reach across
the phone with my thumb to tap some button on the screen - or flip a Kindle
page. Definitely see how it would be easier to drop if you're using it one-
handed.

[1] This reminds me of a question I've been curious about: I've read a few
times that most people hold their phone in their dominant hand (e.g. my right
hand). I never understood this, since I use it more like a small pad of paper
and pencil - the pad of course would be in my left hand and the pencil in my
right. Naturally when I'm using the Note's stylus I do it that way, but even
without the stylus I've always thought of it like a pad and pencil with my
finger being the pencil. I've always assumed that people who use their phone
with two hands do it this way, but I'd be interested to know whether people
who operate their phones with one hand use their dominant hand or the other
hand.

------
olefoo
I actually wish I could purchase an iPhone 6 in an iPhone 4s form factor.

I like being able to hold the phone with one hand and do everything I need
with my thumb. This seems like one of those trends thats driven by the
manufacturers need to position themselves rather than customer demand.

~~~
bluthru
I know tons of smart people have already thought about this, but I still
wonder if it would make more sense to collect almost all of the buttons at the
bottom of a phone's interface.

Maybe swiping to go back makes this point moot.

~~~
on_and_off
Android designers have explained that they moved away from tabs at the bottom
of the screen in 4.0 because with both the navigation bar & another set of
controls one of top of the other, users were just making way too many input
errors. (I don't have the source handy, sorry)

~~~
bluthru
My palm already hits the button in the bottom-right hand corner all the time
in certain apps with tabs, like the twitter app.

I really wish they'd get rid of that bottom tab bar and shove them under a
hamburger button even though that's supposedly bad.

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acabal
As a single data point, I recently dropped and shattered my trusty Nexus 4 and
was in a market for a new phone. I was extremely hesitant about getting a
Nexus 6, exactly because I thought it was way too big. I finally bit the
bullet, and I instantly loved it.

Yes, you need two hands to do most things. My thumb can't reach Android's
"back" button on the 6. But what I realized was that with the Nexus 4, I
_also_ couldn't reach everything with just my thumb. "Back" was within reach,
but the upper right and left weren't fully. So while yes, the 6 isn't strictly
as comfortable as the 4 was, the bigger screen is a minor tradeoff I'm
ultimately very happy with.

It also barely fits in my pocket, so the jury's still out as to whether that
makes it more prone to slipping out while seated. I'm not sure I want jeans
with deeper pockets just to accommodate my phone. But it hasn't been an issue
yet.

(Now if manufacturers would just improve the process they use to make these
hi-DPI screens so that the color temperature isn't splotchy. My Nexus 6
suffers from a pinkish bottom half, and apparently it's not an uncommon issue
for hi-DPI smartphones and non-Retina-brand hi-DPI laptops.)

~~~
kayoone
Exactly the same experience for me going from an htc one m7 to the iphone 6
plus. Was very skeptical, but i instantly loved it.

------
flyinglizard
The Nexus 6 really changed my usage habits. I was an avid tablet users,
carrying a Nexus 7 with me anywhere I go. Now I never use it anymore, and the
Nexus 10 only gets used on the treadmill. I can't imagine going back to a
small screen, and I hope the next Nexus doesn't go there as some sort of a new
trend (they can make it even bigger, slightly, for all that I care).

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makeitsuckless
Just because people are trying it en masse doesn't mean it's here to stay.

There are three things we know from experience:

1) Tablets seemed like a lovely idea, but after a while we got tired of their
limitations compared to laptops combined with their portability compared two
phones. They're useful on occassion, but they didn't quite hit the sweet spot.
And we still need an e-ink device for comfortable reading.

2) Smartphones are really cool, but they have limited usefulness when trying
to do something a bit more complex. An improvement over dumb phones and
feature phones, but not quite the sweet spot either.

3) We would really, really like to be able to stop carrying 4 devices around.

So "phablets" (I hate that name) are the next attempt to be all things (or at
least more than one thing) to all people. And everyone is trying them out,
just like tablets before them.

One hint that they're not here to stay is the pathetically desperate way
people try to justify the clumsiness of their expensive purchase. Seriously, I
constantly see people messing with these huge things going "no, it's not too
big, really, I love it!" while they're desperately trying to operate it
without dropping it. It's kind of tragic, and really emphasises it as a
fashion driven fad.

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bduerst
I wonder if the distribution of phablet android users being so
disproportionate to devices available is because most of the flagship products
are phablet sized (Samsung Galaxy S, Google Nexus, etc.)

~~~
bloaf
I agree. It seems possible that the larger screen size was driven by companies
looking for numbers they could make bigger than their competition.

Its also conceivable that whatever Apple had come up with would be bought not
because the consumers wanted it (i.e. big screens) but simply because they
wanted to have the latest Apple "thing."

In other words, bigger screens are simply trendy, and are therefore not here
to stay.

~~~
Romdeau
I have very large hands and I stopped using iPhones after I first used the
original Galaxy Note. I simply couldn't go back to the tiny screen even though
i did prefer iOS. I went through a couple of large phones after this and never
had a complaint. I bought an iPhone 6+ day one simply because it's the phone i
had been waiting for.

Phablets may not be for everyone, but neither are the small phones that are
rapidly becoming an endangered species.

~~~
kelnos
Thing is, the definition of "small" is changing. My 4.6" Sony Z3 Compact is
considered "small"!

Do the majority of smartphone users have large hands? I have fairly average-
sized hands, and my Z3C is nearing the limit of what I can comfortably use
one-handed.

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r00fus
When the Samsung Galaxy Tab originally came out in late 2010, it debuted with
a mandatory data subscription (seriously bad economics for purchasers).

What's interesting is that, in Europe, I remember discussion that the
mandatory subscription also included voice. So theoretically it was the proto-
phablet, though I'm not sure if that plan ever reached fruition.

I kept thinking even back then, hell, I already use BT headsets all the time,
why not a 7" screen?

~~~
ZeroGravitas
I'm fairly certain it did include voice in the UK, as I remember going to
check it out and see if it would fit in my pocket and was prepared to use a BT
headset (which I've never owned) if it worked out, but it was too big due to
the bezel.

Possibly still could have worked for someone who knew they'd always have a bag
with them.

But since the Note 2 I've been on the phablet bandwagon. It just makes sense.

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Lx1oG-AWb6h_ZG0
They consider 5" screens as a phablet, which seems pretty weird: when I think
of a phablet, it's something over 6", like the note series or the larger
lumias, or the iPhone 6+... By their definition, pretty much all android
flagships the last few years (including the galaxy s series) and the iPhone 6
are phablets, which is meaningless.

~~~
chrisbolt
The iPhone 6 Plus is 5.5" and the Galaxy Note maxes out at 5.7", so setting 6"
as the bar for a phablet makes no sense.

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Roonerelli
I'm surprised the increase in phablet use hasn't been at the expense of tablet
use. My experience has been that since getting an iphone 6+ I haven't used my
ipad at all

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kayoone
It's skewed because they consider everything above a 5" screen a phablet. That
basically includes every android flagship as a phablet, but not the iphone 6
which is 4.7"

