10/4/14 3:02 PM

latest move crossed over the size tipping point. i

went from a droid razr maxx to a droid maxx, basically a continuation of motorola's big-ass-battery model. it's not petite, but it's nowhere near the massive phablets that are so popular. slightly smaller than a iphone6.

battery went from 3200mah to 3500mah w/ better energy management, so it kicks ass in longevity. also liking the 8 core design -- it has dedicated cores for all sorts of random functions, that with lots of memory makes is a screamer in the performance dept.

but the size...the screen is *slightly* bigger which means the body is similarly *slightly* bigger...and that little bit has pushed it over to being incrementally too big for my preference.

no going back on this unit, im a no-contract direct purchaser so i've committed...but this is my last move in this direction...next phone will be smaller.

here it is compared to an iphone5 -- form-factor wise, the iphone5 is perfect...if it only ran android and was maybe a bit thicker so it could rock a big-ass battery it'd be super perfect:

<img src="http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_large/hash/d3/f5/d3f525473f08eb593dd1489c6dbbc24d.JPG?itok=V950f_Gy">

10/4/14 4:13 PM

I hear 'ya.

I just traded up a month ago from an iPhone 4s to a 5s. I like the width of the 4 & 5 series, with the increased length/height of the 5S being useful for texting/typing when in landscape mode.

My wife just did the "free" trade in of her 4s to an iPhone 6, and inside an Otterbox Defender, it's just huge. Too big for my tastes and I hope Apple keeps making the 5 sized phone. Not everybody wants a phablet.

10/4/14 4:45 PM

I hear you all!

I always curse (but under my breath) about the ever increasing size of phones. But I thought it's just a female thing.

I found it really pathetic watching people holding up those gigantic phablet in front of their face taking pictures. At Rockefeller Center, you can't even see around you due to all these big fat screens everybody was holding up!

I can see the point of the tablet for surfing on the couch. So ok you got a phablet, can you please keep the phones small, alright???

10/4/14 5:29 PM

Perhaps we need a new "Just say NO!" campaign. We could make T-shirts with lemmings lined up in front to get into an Apple store. ;-)

Call me a luddite if you like, but I like my tiny phone that is just that, a phone.

10/4/14 7:14 PM

Oh I like the extra functionality, for the occasional use while on the road!

But I'm not willing to haul around a freaking brick! For what? So I can surf while sitting in a restaurant with 2 other people who're also surfing (and NOT talking to each other)?

While I don't own Apple stocks, I do think Jobs got it right balancing the functional screen size and portability of the iPhone.

10/4/14 7:24 PM

quote:

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For what? So I can surf while sitting in a restaurant with 2 other people who're also surfing?

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10/4/14 11:07 PM

Well, perhaps not. But this is my iPhone 6 plus mounted to the stem of our tandem.
I use a bluetooth HR strap and the GPS for speed/distance.



Battery lasts 6 hours. Visible even in Arizona sun.

(The mount is temporary; just something I rigged up for today's ride.)

Sandiway

10/5/14 3:54 AM

I refuse to get anything bigger than a 5S. If a phone won't fit in my pocket I won't carry it. I am not getting a man purse to carry my phone in or putting it on my belt like a total dweeb.

I put my phone in my jersey pocket while I ride an most of time ride with no data in my face at all. I will use a bike computer when I do my large group rides in July and during training for that event but since July I have been data free while I ride. Zen ya know...

Back to phones, I enjoy having a smart phone but I am totally annoyed by people who stare at Facebook or their phones while interacting in the flesh with yet another group of folks.

The 5S is a perfect size. The 4 series was too, if they only packed the power in the same size package. I would have stuck with a 4 series size phone.

I don't like droids because of the scheduled 2 year crash I have seen so many of the do. My son is using a 4 year old iPhone 4 that still is going fine. Though he kills the battery with games on it.

I also like the totally seamless Apple integration in the home. Even with their recent hiccups things just work with no effort.

10/5/14 6:47 AM

I tend to keep my phones longer than the 2 year period. But I do find their battery starts to lose capacity after about a year to a year and half. By year 2, the shortening of battery life is noticeable.

I'm slow in changing phone because I took my time finding the best for the point of time. Those few months it took me to research/wait was when I noticed AND annoyed by the short battery life.

My current phone is close to 2 years. I've not been too pleased with this one so can't wait to change.

quote:

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I am totally annoyed by people who stare at Facebook or their phones while interacting in the flesh with yet another group of folks.

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10/5/14 8:01 AM

<i>"...I would simply get up and leave. I can be equally rude too."</i>

really? i'm *shocked*! ;-)

10/5/14 8:11 AM

The bigger the phone, the better the battery life. That's because most of the phone is actually battery. My iPhone 6 plus has great battery life (i.e. > 1 day). My old iPhone 4, I can deplete the battery in 2 hours, just watching some videos and browsing around.

So if you want a tiny phone, you have to compromise with respect to battery life.

Sandiway

10/5/14 9:10 AM

The absolute biggest battery killer is a poor/weak connection. When I am in the woods with mine, I often find that the battery life is very short because the phone has to work so hard to boost the signal for it to even work. My phone died in 4 hours yesterday while hunting, yet in a different area last week I have a ripping fast LTE connection and it worked as well as it would in town.

10/5/14 10:06 AM

I bought an iPhone 5S, my first smart phone, because I wanted Internet access and a few apps. We already had an iMac and an iPad, so staying with Apple seemed to be the easiest choice.

As a retiree with a landline, I have no problem turning my phone off in the evening, sometimes forgetting to turn it on the next day until I am going out. Often, if I'm not expecting a call or there isn't some situation in the family (like my daughter who will be giving birth any day now), I may not even turn the phone on while carrying it. Admittedly that means losing a minute or two if there is an emergency, but the odds are small. And it means I can often go a full week without having to charge it.

Bluetooth can suck the juice. I only have that active in my wife's car where I can use the hands-free feature. Fortunately the iPhone has an easily accessible toggle which can switch it off and on without having to dive into the Settings app. I imagine Androids do too.

Like Erik, I've found if I'm in an area of poor cell coverage, the battery life is much worse. I turn the phone off.

Some apps will still use power in the background. If you don't need them, close them.

iOS8 also has a feature that can help. Under Settings/General/Usage/Battery Usage, you get a report on what apps have used the most power. It's retroactive, not in real time, but it can help you analyze where you might save.

10/5/14 10:17 AM

I just ordered a 6 Plus because I have poor eyesight. I don't mind carrying it if it means I can see things better.

I suspect in a few years someone will "invent" a smaller phone and users will flock to it.

10/5/14 10:31 AM

Like Erik I don't want a bigger phone than my 5 because it's hard to carry. As an old guy approaching senility, I am paranoid about losing phones, wallet, keys. I like zippered pockets, jacket pockets, etc., but they're not always available. If it's the front pocket of chinos or whatever, a bigger phone would fall out even easier. If you're going to have a backpack or briefcase, might as well throw an iPad in it.

10/5/14 10:59 AM

quote:

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a bigger phone would fall out even easier.

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10/5/14 11:09 AM

the super-thick "costanza"!

<img src="http://mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_640x430/public/costanza-wallet_6.jpg">

10/5/14 11:50 AM

Elaine likes the big phone, but then again there is the purse as a vehicle. I am fast in the no man purse camp. I hat carrying stuff around. I's wear cycling jerseys all the time if not for the luggage discomfort when sitting etc. ;)

I want the big screen with the small phone.

Thus the question, is the bigger phone screen more susceptible to screen damage?

10/5/14 12:51 PM

i think, all things being equal, yes.

it pushes the edges of the screen closer to the corners/edges of the case, if you drop more likely to crack the glass w/ less material to buffer shock.

also, as we've seen w/ the iphone6, for devices that are really thin combined with the increased leverage from a larger case, more likely to get enough flex to crack the glass.

10/5/14 7:55 PM

To preserve battery life when you're going into area of poor to zero coverage, turn the phone to "Airplane mode". That would stop the phone from hunting for signal when none to be had. You still have the phone as a camera and notebook (yes, I photograph maps and stuff into the phone to have them with me).

I went hiking in the Adirondack last week. At the trail head, I turned the phone to Airplane mode. My phone worked the whole day in the middle of the wilderness, with me taking occasional peek at the trail notes & taking some pictures. No signal? No problem!

Screen size: I disagree with Sandiway on bigger being the "better" direction. That maybe where the masses are moving. But it doesn't mean many of us PREFER smaller phone and don't mind putting up with the compromise of shorter battery life and smaller screen sizes.

Basically, I'd prefer to zoom & pan when needed in a small screen over a larger screen that can't fit into my pocket. And I have found various battery tricks to make do. With the help of my own brain, I can supplement the shortcoming of a smaller phones that are easier to carry. I get to have my cake and eat it too!

10/6/14 6:58 AM

From this week's Wait Wait don't tell me.....:

SAGAL: Brandon, it is nice to have you with us. You're going to play the game in which you must try to tell truth from fiction. Bill, what is Brandon's topic?

KURTIS: I'd lift a finger to help you, but that would require lifting a finger.

SAGAL: There's nothing worse than doing stuff so every day, there's another device that comes out that helps us not do stuff. This week, we read a story about a modern convenience so convenient we'll never have to move our bodies again. Guess the real story, you'll win Carl Kasell's voice on your voicemail at home. Are you ready to play?

WALKER: Yes.

SAGAL: All right. First let's hear from Paula Poundstone.

POUNDSTONE: Everyone knows if you have a smart phone, you've got the world by the tail. You've got email on your phone. You can surf the web on your phone. You can check your stocks, play music, watch videos, light your way, sharpen your memory and map your destination on your phone. You can impress people with your phone, wake yourself up with your phone. The only thing you can't do conveniently with the six-inch honker, Pop Mega phone is make a call or text. So it comes with a phone. It comes with a small phone called the Little Buddy. So it's a phone that comes with a phone. So when their Pop Mega phone rings, people answer and say let me call you back on my phone. It could have come with a scribe and a horse so when it rings, you dictate a note and send your little buddy off on his trusty steed. It's like a toaster oven that can cook casserole, work as a kiln and a tanning booth, but it can't make toast.

(LAUGHTER)

POUNDSTONE: So it comes with a toaster. A little buddy - it's like a car that has a big screen TV, retractable beds, Wi-Fi. a mini fridge, a pop-up dining table and an Xbox box. And if you need to get anywhere, it comes with a bike.

(LAUGHTER)

POUNDSTONE: It's a college that has its own theater company, symphony, sports teams and a hospital, but you take courses online. It's Harvard's little buddy. It's a wife that comes with a hooker.

(LAUGHTER)

POUNDSTONE: I want a phone that works like a phone. That would be modern.


She was NOT bluffing the listener:

http://www.androidauthority.com/alcatel-pop-mega-buddy-531878/

10/6/14 8:28 AM

The iwatch, coming soon,will be the little buddy...

10/6/14 10:53 AM

My phone is the buddy, and my laptop the mother of all something or other else?

-----
We got Elaine a LapTop that folds back flat and disables the tactile keyboard. We went back and forth how far in which direction to stay or go.

After looking at a Chromebook briefly, we wound up choosing an ASUS Transformer Book Flip i3 11.6"

Decided having it stay in one piece instead of separating was where we wanted to be.

10/6/14 10:57 AM

love it! mine is an android version, which over time has proved to be a nuisance. win8 would be much better.

but the first win8 version is cheaply made. the perfect version will run win8 and keep the premium case materials from the android transformer.

10/6/14 11:29 AM

"android version, has proved to be a nuisance"

I kind of foresaw that, or my PC background is just too deep perhaps. Also why the Chromebook was only briefly considered.