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Unfortunately the electronics manufacturers (and Google apparently) are, well, not very thoughtful when it comes to phone design. It's like they don't really k

Unfortunately the electronics manufacturers (and Google apparently) are, well, not very thoughtful when it comes to phone design. It's like they don't really know what else to do, so they've settled on simple-minded memes like "bigger = better!!!" Often this is sort of a reasonable plan in general... faster CPUs and more memory are usually helpful (if you can keep battery usage reasonable). But when applied uncritically and universally, without much judgement or thought, in a mad rush to out-spec the other guy ("Now Double The Size of Our Competitor!!!!"), this just leads to mediocrity, where everything apparently has great specs but nobody really likes them very much...

dnautics 13y ago
well I have to admit, I assumed that the bigger screen size meant bigger form factor but I looked it up and the nexus 5 is a smidge smaller than the nexus 4 in the dimensions that matter to me (might be thinner, didn't check). Still bigger than the nexus S, though.
LamaOfRuin 13y ago
I wish it wasn't the case, as I'd prefer they make smaller devices too, but it's not a simple minded meme. It's market research.
SkyMarshal 13y ago
They're making them bigger b/c that's the cultural preference in much of Asia, not b/c they have some flighty notion of bigger=better. Same reason iPhone got bigger in a recent major version upgrade. This has been discussed b/f at HN.
markmark 13y ago
Or perhaps people just genuinely want larger phones. Samsung's Note series sold very well. I know I personally would love the bigger screen of the Nexus 5 over my current Galaxy Nexus. I can't think of anything worse than having a tiny screen like the iphone.
ZeroGravitas 13y ago
Individual Android phones have had better customer ratings than the iPhones since the S3 and Note 2 (amongst others). And one of the key features the owners report as liking is the larger screens. Apple prefer to use ratings like JD Power, that group by manufacturer, as that helps those who only target the high-end. Though even on that metric various competitors have gained swiftly and Samsung tablets scored slightly higher than Apple in the latest results.

dnautics 13y ago

well I have to admit, I assumed that the bigger screen size meant bigger form factor but I looked it up and the nexus 5 is a smidge smaller than the nexus 4 in the dimensions that matter to me (might be thinner, didn't check). Still bigger than the nexus S, though.

LamaOfRuin 13y ago

I wish it wasn't the case, as I'd prefer they make smaller devices too, but it's not a simple minded meme. It's market research.

SkyMarshal 13y ago

They're making them bigger b/c that's the cultural preference in much of Asia, not b/c they have some flighty notion of bigger=better. Same reason iPhone got bigger in a recent major version upgrade. This has been discussed b/f at HN.

markmark 13y ago

Or perhaps people just genuinely want larger phones. Samsung's Note series sold very well. I know I personally would love the bigger screen of the Nexus 5 over my current Galaxy Nexus. I can't think of anything worse than having a tiny screen like the iphone.

ZeroGravitas 13y ago

Individual Android phones have had better customer ratings than the iPhones since the S3 and Note 2 (amongst others). And one of the key features the owners report as liking is the larger screens. Apple prefer to use ratings like JD Power, that group by manufacturer, as that helps those who only target the high-end. Though even on that metric various competitors have gained swiftly and Samsung tablets scored slightly higher than Apple in the latest results.