Looking at the teardowns of the GSM Galaxy Nexus and the LTE Galaxy Nexus [links below], it doesn't really seem like the size of the LTE chip makes a meaningful difference.
The power/battery requirements seem more likely to be a factor, esp. since by Gruber's own admission, Android handsets were getting bigger before LTE was released. Also, the biggest phones, like the 4.7" HTC Titan, aren't LTE (and the Titan is actually a Windows Phone 7 handset).
I think the battery is definitely a factor, and the different stock batteries for the GSM and LTE Galaxy Nexus devices speak to that. But I think the most likely or biggest factor is just that it's the most obvious way to differentiate from the iPhone. The usability of different size devices is debatable, but those huge screens really look great in the showroom.
The most likeliestest explanation, though, is that it's a combination of all of these things, plus the fact that they're stuffing more and more stuff onto the phones, like NFC chips, barometers, and front-facing cameras.
One of the advantages Android has over the iPhone is that it can go after many segments of the market, and manufacturers will choose various factors to differentiate themselves. One of them is size.
The power/battery requirements seem more likely to be a factor, esp. since by Gruber's own admission, Android handsets were getting bigger before LTE was released. Also, the biggest phones, like the 4.7" HTC Titan, aren't LTE (and the Titan is actually a Windows Phone 7 handset).
I think the battery is definitely a factor, and the different stock batteries for the GSM and LTE Galaxy Nexus devices speak to that. But I think the most likely or biggest factor is just that it's the most obvious way to differentiate from the iPhone. The usability of different size devices is debatable, but those huge screens really look great in the showroom.
The most likeliestest explanation, though, is that it's a combination of all of these things, plus the fact that they're stuffing more and more stuff onto the phones, like NFC chips, barometers, and front-facing cameras.
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung-Galaxy-Nexus-Teardown...
http://www.zdnet.com/photos/cracking-open-the-samsung-galaxy...