Author Topic: "Compact" smartphone size creep  (Read 4385 times)

Biggsy

  • A bodge too far
  • Twit @iceblinker
    • My stuff on eBay
"Compact" smartphone size creep
« on: 28 February, 2018, 02:39:39 pm »
Just an observation (and news of a new model):

Sony Xperia high-end models in chronological order: overall dimensions, screen size & ratio, weight:

Z3 Compact: 127.3 x 64.9 x 8.6 mm, 4.6" (16:9), 129 g -- a genuinely compact smartphone.

Z5 Compact: 127 x 65 x 8.9 mm, 4.6" (16:9), 138 g -- just a tiny tad bigger on paper than its predecessor but noticeably chunkier in the hand (partly due to the squarer edges, perhaps).

XZ1 Compact: 129 x 64 x 9.3 mm, 4.6" (16:9), 140 g -- feels very similar to the Z5C but still the creep trend continues upwards.

XZ2 Compact: 135 x 65 x 12.1 mm, 5" (18:9), 168 g -- taking the piss now.  I've yet to handle this one but 28 extra grams must make it feel substantially heavier, not to mention all that bulging thickness (albeit just at the middle rather than edges).

I've been a fan of this series (with unusually high specs for the sizes) but the XZ1C might be my last.  Of course the XZ2C is smaller than its big brother (XZ2) but they've got a cheek calling it compact.  Fugly as well.  Still quite narrow, to be fair.

Incidentally, Sony seems to have lost interested in tablets.  No new models for more than a couple of years and now even the whole tablet section has disappeared from their webshite.
●●●  My eBay items  ●●●  Twitter  ●●●

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #1 on: 28 February, 2018, 03:04:58 pm »
You're not the first to rant about this.  I suspect half the problem is that the market for tablets has stagnated.  Presumably all the grandparents and students now have their iPads, and all the toddlers have a Hudl to stickify as they watch their algorithmically generated toy-unboxing videos.  The cycle tourists and other weirdos who had a killer app for a high-end Android tablet were never a big market to begin with.

So phones have been expanding as people use them as a primary device, I suspect partially as an attempt to improve battery life.  It's rubbish.  I want a phone that fits in my pocket[1], and a device with a proper keyboard to type on.  Not a half-arsed compromise that works for neither, and watches (no matter how smart) give me dermatitis.

There does seem to be an ultimate width limit for one-handed use that manufacturers are paying some attention to, even if they do seem to consistently exceed it by 5-10mm.  But the side effect of that is the aspect ratios are getting sillier.

Barakta uses my old ZTE Blade as an eBook reader (wouldn't be my choice, but it seems to suit her unusual ergonomic and visual requirements).  It was always a bit too narrow to use a touchscreen QWERTY keyboard on (other now unfashionable input methods worked better), but it was admirably pocketable.  My Nokia E52 (a smartphone that was actually a phone with internet applications, rather than a PDA you could make calls on) was effectively bricked by the demise of the Nokia servers, otherwise I'd probably still be using it.

Bah!


[1] See pockets rants passim.

Karla

  • car(e) free
    • Lost Byway - around the world by bike
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #2 on: 28 February, 2018, 03:13:11 pm »
There does seem to be an ultimate width limit for one-handed use that manufacturers are paying some attention to, even if they do seem to consistently exceed it by 5-10mm. 

So I'm not the only one to notice this?  Perhaps they all have very long thumbs at the Samsung HQ.  I'll be passing near there next year, I'll check.

(on which note, Samsung are South Korean; there must be some good conspiracy theories out there about Kim Jong Un being bankrolled by Apple in an attempt to wipe out the competition?

Beardy

  • Shedist
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #3 on: 28 February, 2018, 03:43:22 pm »
So phones have been expanding as people use them as a primary device, I suspect partially as an attempt to improve battery life.  It's rubbish.  I want a phone that fits in my pocket[1], and a device with a proper keyboard to type on.  Not a half-arsed compromise that works for neither, and watches (no matter how smart) give me dermatitis.

[1] See pockets rants passim.
You need bigger pockets. I'm iP 6+ fits nicely in my pocket and a recent bout of 'IWANTONEITSE' directed at an iP X was killed in it's tracks when I went shopping for one and found out how diddy it was. The iP8+ doesn't really offer enough wow or features to be a contender. In fact, my mate, also a long time fanboy has jumped ship and gone all robotic with a Oneplus 8 (or whatever the latest number is) and having seen it, I'm also considering the move, though I'll let him struggle on for a few more weeks yet to see if he jumps back.
For every complex problem in the world, there is a simple and easily understood solution that’s wrong.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #4 on: 28 February, 2018, 04:02:53 pm »
I would have said it was tablets that were the unsatisfactory compromise. Too big to be really portable but the lack of keyboard makes them too unergonomic to use for anything other than, well, watching stuff. Whereas phones at least get portability and laptops/desktops get writeability and discability.

Ob. increasing size of phones; yes, just like everything else.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

thing1

  • aka Joth
    • TandemThings
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #5 on: 28 February, 2018, 04:35:58 pm »
Ob. increasing size of phones; yes, just like everything else.

Exactly.

Well, except Cream Eggs. They're definitely shrinking.

And the value of the pound.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #6 on: 28 February, 2018, 04:41:02 pm »
I would have said it was tablets that were the unsatisfactory compromise. Too big to be really portable but the lack of keyboard makes them too unergonomic to use for anything other than, well, watching stuff.

Yeahbut you can get a case with a Bluetooth keyboard for most tablets, at which point you've solved their main inadequacy, and they become a portable computing device that trades the lack of a proper operating system for enhanced battery life and portability.  A bit like netbooks, it's perfectly valid but a bit niche.

(The problem with netbooks was that people bought them because they were cheaper than a proper computer, not because they were more portable.  As soon as you could make a half-decent laptop for the same price, the market mostly evaporated.)

Oaky

  • ACME Fire Safety Officer
  • Audax Club Mid-Essex
    • MEMWNS Map
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #7 on: 28 February, 2018, 04:48:57 pm »
Z1 Compact was not too dissimilar size-wise to my current Z5 Compact (but the 5 is noticeably heavier).  It was miles bigger than my previous Xperia Ray, a form-factor I still hanker after.
You are in a maze of twisty flat droves, all alike.

85.4 miles from Marsh Gibbon

Audax Club Mid-Essex Fire Safety Officer
http://acme.bike

Biggsy

  • A bodge too far
  • Twit @iceblinker
    • My stuff on eBay
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #8 on: 28 February, 2018, 06:34:39 pm »
I've not used my laptop since getting a tablet.  The greater portability has made up for the lack of proper keyboard for me.

Certainly laptop computers are still importantly useful for some, but look how many people are happy enough to use a phone for everything.  I think that's why tablets are getting less popular and phones are getting bigger.  The phone is the do-all device for the masses.  If I was only to have only one smart device then yes it would be a big phone, too.  But I can afford, and like to use, more than one smartie.
●●●  My eBay items  ●●●  Twitter  ●●●

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #9 on: 28 February, 2018, 06:44:56 pm »
Agreed, pretty much.  I don't have a current laptop, and other than a handful of occasions where I've needed eg. a wired ethernet port to configure some network kit, a tablet has been good enough for portable stuff.

But then I'm old fashioned and like a proper desktop computer for doing serious computer things.  For me, laptops are about portability.

ian

Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #10 on: 28 February, 2018, 07:14:51 pm »
I went through a phase where I tried to do everything on an iPad. Eventually gave up and admitted I preferred a proper computer, and frankly the difference between lugging a Macbook and iPad/keyboard around is minimal, but the latter has no limitations and fits the way I work (multiple applications, windows, desktops, my mind flutters around like a moth on LSD). Working on a tablet was too often a nest of workarounds and limitations. These days I mostly use my iPad as glorified music player for the bathroom and occasionally as reference display for documents I'm working on. For a portability, my phone does the trick. I'm not sure I'd buy another tablet, it's just an awkward middleground. Of course, if you're firing off emails to mum and updating fake news on FB, it might be all you need.

I don't like the phablet phones. The sweet spot in phones for me is the iPhone 4/SE. I have an SE of those from the mothership and it's perfectly trouser pocketable and the screen dimensions are good enough for most tasks and it feels sturdy enough for me to drop regularly. I don't mind my iPhone 6 but the size isn't quite so convenient.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #11 on: 28 February, 2018, 07:42:22 pm »
IOS is somewhat further from a proper computer than Android (in terms of things like filesystem access and ability to mount storage), which exacerbates the problem - particularly if you have limited network access, or want to deal with files that aren't photos/audio/video in a sensible way.  And yet there's a distinct shortage of higher-end Android tablets...

Oh, another niche killer application for the iPad - with one of those magic pen things, it's basically a portable Cintiq with awesome battery life.  Sort of thing that makes me glad I can't draw.

Blodwyn Pig

  • what a nice chap
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #12 on: 28 February, 2018, 07:47:04 pm »
slightly OT, but last week I was watching an episode of LEWIS, and judging by the car reg, about 2007, I couldn't help thinking....'my god their mobile phones are tiny!!' then the penny dropped, that's exactly what they were.....phones!!! nothing else.  Oh times have changed. :'(

Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #13 on: 28 February, 2018, 08:01:44 pm »
I am amazed by the sheer versatility of my Galaxy S7 but the screen remains stupidly small for somebody who suffers from primary loss of centre field and is registered blind.

I am told Chromecasting is the way to go. 

ian

Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #14 on: 28 February, 2018, 08:04:05 pm »
IOS is somewhat further from a proper computer than Android (in terms of things like filesystem access and ability to mount storage), which exacerbates the problem - particularly if you have limited network access, or want to deal with files that aren't photos/audio/video in a sensible way.  And yet there's a distinct shortage of higher-end Android tablets...

Oh, another niche killer application for the iPad - with one of those magic pen things, it's basically a portable Cintiq with awesome battery life.  Sort of thing that makes me glad I can't draw.

File OS was never a serious issue, it was mostly the way I work, which is lots of apps and windows. Multitasking was a late addition and rudimentary, there's just no convenient way to have multiple things open together, and the split screen was a kludge. I appreciate this probably makes me old. I'd rather sit in front of a 27 inch iMac but 13 inch of Macbook is a workable compromise.

Despite having a Wacom tablet, I mostly 'draw' with a mouse these days.

Beardy

  • Shedist
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #15 on: 01 March, 2018, 10:40:32 am »
These days I find a single screen very constraining, even when sat in front of my iMac 27 when editing photos (although I can mitigate that to some extent by having my iPad on the desk next to me).
When I'm sat at my desk for work, I have multiple monitors so I can work on a big spreadsheet and have a reference database open. when I'm mobile and just have a 13" Thinkpad I feel very claustrophobic.
For every complex problem in the world, there is a simple and easily understood solution that’s wrong.

ian

Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #16 on: 01 March, 2018, 10:51:29 am »
The ability to have multiple desktops and fluidly sweep between them (and even hover between them) is possibly my most favourite thing about computers ever. It's certainly a lifesaver with a 13 inch screen (I have 10 desktops).

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #17 on: 01 March, 2018, 02:28:44 pm »
I seem to do a combination of both: Multiple workspaces, but with various windows on one monitor that are visible on all workspaces.

Beardy

  • Shedist
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #18 on: 01 March, 2018, 03:51:53 pm »
I seem to do a combination of both: Multiple workspaces, but with various windows on one monitor that are visible on all workspaces.
Well, I didn't know you could do that. That's going to make using multiple desktops more useful
For every complex problem in the world, there is a simple and easily understood solution that’s wrong.

ian

Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #19 on: 01 March, 2018, 07:30:16 pm »
On Mac, right click the application icon in the dock and then options>assign to. Handy to pin a music player to all desktops, for instance.

thing1

  • aka Joth
    • TandemThings
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #20 on: 02 March, 2018, 04:01:58 pm »
The cycle tourists and other weirdos who had a killer app for a high-end Android tablet were never a big market to begin with.

So phones have been expanding as people use them as a primary device, I suspect partially as an attempt to improve battery life.  It's rubbish.  I want a phone that fits in my pocket[1], and a device with a proper keyboard to type on. 
...


Shipping now https://www.planetcom.co.uk/

Android device from some of the old Psion pda team. Friend just received one. I'm thinking it may make a good cycle touring blogging device.
400g weight, dual USB-C, SD-Card, optional SIM slot. Mini keyboard -- quality of which will make or break it.



Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #21 on: 02 March, 2018, 04:20:10 pm »
I've been following that project with interest, and would likely have backed the kickstarter if I didn't have a decent Samsung tablet with keyboard which is at a broadly similar point in the Moore's Law cycle.

I know someone who's handled one in the flesh, and made approving noises.


The only downside from a cycle tourist perspective is that a tablet form-factor is actually better for  a) studying maps  and  b) reading ebooks.  On the other hand, as a communications tool, the Psion form factor is hard to beat.

Mr Larrington

  • A bit ov a lyv wyr by slof standirds
  • Custard Wallah
    • Mr Larrington's Automatic Diary
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #22 on: 02 March, 2018, 04:59:18 pm »
If that's capable of talking to my camera I'd be seriously tempted.
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative & Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche
Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

thing1

  • aka Joth
    • TandemThings
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #23 on: 02 March, 2018, 10:04:57 pm »
I've been largely disappointed by my experiences getting cameras to transfer photos to Android. (and my camera has nfc, wifi, Bluetooth, USB and even SD card swapping all have pains)
That pda does dual boot to Linux, supposedly, which would surely be better for file transfers

Just realized this thread was supposed to be about smaller form phones. Sorry for the tangent

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: "Compact" smartphone size creep
« Reply #24 on: 02 March, 2018, 10:07:14 pm »
It's weird how moving files from one place to another never seems to get any easier.