Though I echo the sentiment about most phone number input is not done by using the dial pad, there is still need to have a dial pad -- especially to interact wi

Though I echo the sentiment about most phone number input is not done by using the dial pad, there is still need to have a dial pad -- especially to interact with IVR systems. The telephone dial pad is as familiar as the QWERTY keyboard, and attempting to change that -- especially for something that people use less than ever -- seems futile to me. That said, the underlying point of increasing screen sizes leading to hard-to-reach dial pads is valid. What I'm missing though is that to me there's a painfully obvious solution: make the existing dial pad smaller. Nothing says it has to take up the entire physical screen space. Take the existing, familiar layout, and resize and reposition it to be within the "natural thumb arc" area. This does mean different size screens need different layouts, but that seems like a trivial detail.