Phablets... Born out of Necessity.

I marvelled recently at how easy it was to type on a friends new Samsung Note 5... that it was the first touch screen I had ever used which I found as easy to actually write a long correspondence on as my old Q10. Then it suddenly dawned on me... the problem all along was that with my big fingers without the tactile feedback and 'alignment assistance' of a physical keyboard devices simply had to become larger.

A friend and I challenged a few other friends to a type off with four devices... an iPhone 4, an Samsung S4, my Q10, and his Note 5. Across the board everyone agree that the iPhone 4 was the worst device to try to actually type anything on, most people preferred the Q10 to S4, while most preferred the Note 5 to the Q10 for typing. However, one thing which everyone agreed on was that the device they were most impressed by was the Q10 for the simple fact that it is by far the smallest device which they could comfortable compose a longer email on.

20 years ago it was all about miniaturization - the past few years it has been about who can make the largest phone driven by how much more usable larger touch-screens are. I know our experiment wasn't very scientific, but it BlackBerry came out with a Q10 sized device running android I suspect there would be many who would consider the device. Problem is that, unless you have small fingers, for a touch-screen keyboard to be easy to use the device ends up being larger than comfortably fits into a shirt pocket.

I use a Note 5 myself, with SwiftKey, having a resizeable keyboard. I can make the keys larger or smaller to suit my need and tastes.

I never thought I'd be able to use anything less than a physical keyboard. I couldn't type worth a flip on my daughter's iPhone, primarily because of lack of haptic feedback.

Then I tried a BlackBerry 9850, and that changed my mind. But I ended up moving to Android because an app I love wasn't going to be supported.

I graduated from the S series to the Note 5 last year. It is really a solid phone, and the size bothers me not a whit. It's truly the first phone I've loved since my 8330.

While certainly a larger screen means more keyboard area (which can be customized smaller with some third-party apps), phablets primarily exist because people wanted larger screen sizes for all of the various things they do on their phones, from documents to apps to video to web browsing to pictures to games. A bigger screen makes for a better experience for all of those things, at least for most people.

Sure, the largest phones aren't very pocket-friendly, but phones like my LG G4, which are nearly all screen with almost no bezel, give you a large screen in a fairly small body, and it's also thin, which makes it very pocket friendly except for the tiny pockets in some women's pants. But given the number of women who carry iPhone 6+'s, that's a tradeoff many seem perfectly willing to make.

A larger phone also means more room for the battery, allowing longer runtimes - always a plus.

Products evolve to meet evolving needs. Early smartphones had small screens mostly out of necessity - batteries were small and screens were expensive. But as more people used smartphones for more things, and as costs came down, the natural evolution was to larger screens.

I use a passport, and the physical keyboard is Devine, I do not enjoy typing on virtual keyboards as I'm always missing typing. I will have to go kicking and screaming to switch back

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by Troy Tiscareno

While certainly a larger screen means more keyboard area (which can be customized smaller with some third-party apps), phablets primarily exist because people wanted larger screen sizes for all of the various things they do on their phones, from documents to apps to video to web browsing to pictures to games. A bigger screen makes for a better experience for all of those things, at least for most people.

Sure, the largest phones aren't very pocket-friendly, but phones like my LG G4, which are nearly all screen with almost no bezel, give you a large screen in a fairly small body, and it's also thin, which makes it very pocket friendly except for the tiny pockets in some women's pants. But given the number of women who carry iPhone 6+'s, that's a tradeoff many seem perfectly willing to make.

A larger phone also means more room for the battery, allowing longer runtimes - always a plus.

Products evolve to meet evolving needs. Early smartphones had small screens mostly out of necessity - batteries were small and screens were expensive. But as more people used smartphones for more things, and as costs came down, the natural evolution was to larger screens.

I have to disagree with that, although true for part of the market there are still many who are beginning to agree with Steve Jobs that phones are getting to be too large... unless playing games and watching videos is what is most important to you. Following you argument, since you can now get 9" screens for reasonable prices and watching movies is so much better on a large screen that we will all be running around making calls on iPad sized phones.

I know many people who have been holding on to their older iPhone (even paying Apple ridiculous amounts to replace the batteries to keep them working) awaiting the new 4" iPhone SE. Apples has seen the light, that there are many cell phone users who simply find new devices too large and want premium smaller devices.

Plus, you completely missed what is is that I was saying. That what has made 'newer' touch screen devices so much better with regards to usability for typing is there larger size and that there is an under serviced market segment who want smaller devices, a segment best served by a quality keyboard device.

As for women, my daughter carries her Samsung S in her backpack, my wife carries her iPhone 6 in her purse, when my daughter is headed out for the evening she slips the SIMM out of her Samsung and into an old Blackberry Curve which slips into nicely and comfortably into her jeans.

Yes many people who have phones are happy with the current size, but others would prefer a device which is small enough that you can still fasten the button on the pocket of a typical men's dress shirt to secure it in place rather than have it stick out the top.

As for larger batteries, the biggest power consumer is the screen and power consumption is almost directly related to screen size. Yes you get a larger battery in a larger device BUT you need the larger battery to get the same runtime just to power the screen - it does not necessarily equate to longer runtime for the device.

Originally Posted by Ziffster

As for women, my daughter carries her Samsung S in her backpack, my wife carries her iPhone 6 in her purse, when my daughter is headed out for the evening she slips the SIMM out of her Samsung and into an old Blackberry Curve which slips into nicely and comfortably into her jeans.

I didn't think I would adjust to a large device, but it only took me a day to adapt to the 5.7" Moto X Pure Edition. My previous device was the the 2013 Moto X. I have no issues carrying it in the front pocket of my jeans, but I don't wear skinny jeans. Now that I've used a large device, I wouldn't want to use a small device ever again.

I know it isn't a phablet but the day I got my Z10, coming from an S60 Nokia, it definitely feels like holding one.

Ya gotta realize, I do things with my Note 5 I only dreamed of on other phones. Edit and sign Documents, edit photos with the S-Pen, edit pictures with just a touch or two.

I also use it for entertainment, communication of various forms, in every way I ever did when I had BB as my primary device. I enjoy the large, beautiful screen with great resolution, and I really enjoy the faster networks available now.

I'm surprised clothing designers haven't started making bigger pockets.

Originally Posted by DrBoomBotz

I'm surprised clothing designers haven't started making bigger pockets.

Some do. I typically wear cargo shorts or Carpenter jeans, so pocket size is quite accommodating. I even carry my 7" tab that way, or even a hardback novel.

Originally Posted by DrBoomBotz

I'm surprised clothing designers haven't started making bigger pockets.

Actually, that's absolutely been a trend the last couple of years, exactly because of the popularity of larger phones.

Originally Posted by BergerKing

Some do. I typically wear cargo shorts or Carpenter jeans, so pocket size is quite accommodating. I even carry my 7" tab that way, or even a hardback novel.

Originally Posted by Troy Tiscareno

Actually, that's absolutely been a trend the last couple of years, exactly because of the popularity of larger phones.

There are a lot of cargo pants available for women too.

Originally Posted by BergerKing

Some do. I typically wear cargo shorts or Carpenter jeans, so pocket size is quite accommodating. I even carry my 7" tab that way, or even a hardback novel.

I just typed this on my playbook.
I much prefer typing on it than my nexus 6.

Oh, what could have been.

Originally Posted by DrBoomBotz

I just typed this on my playbook.
I much prefer typing on it than my nexus 6.

Oh, what could have been.

I can understand that. For a while I used the Priv's BB Keyboard on my Note, the only one I've used longer than a couple of hours, but I returned to SwiftKey because of certain features that are important to how I use, and the speed I use my device. It is really a fine keyboard, but the way I have mine customized works perfectly for me.

I have a tablet, as well, but I'm so accustomed to using my phone that I prefer it. Besides, I use SwiftKey with Cloud Sync, so my keyboard learns across my devices, and I don't have to repeat input when I switch.