| It all started in 2011. Poor souls waiting in long Apple Store lines craned their necks to catch a glimpse of a big new phone that no one yet recognized. It was the Samsung Galaxy S II, with a bright and colorful 4.3-inch display that dwarfed the newly released iPhone 4S. Samsung’s message was simple: the next big thing is already here. And it kept on growing. |
| By the time Apple released the 4-inch iPhone 5, Android phones had effectively lapped it in the screen-size department. The popular Android phones, like the Galaxy S III, HTC One X, and Motorola Droid RAZR HD, were now closer to 5 inches. Samsung pushed things even further with the massively popular Galaxy Note lineup even 5 inches got small quickly. | | Yet at least for people I know, its the smaller phones that everyone wants to try. The HTC One mini, the HTC First, and even the Galaxy S4 mini all get the same reaction: "its the perfect size!" Yet its constantly clear that no one buys these smaller, cheaper phones, which are typically just lesser versions of their larger counterparts. Theres clearly a market for great, smaller phones (according to both my friends and to iPhone sales), yet no Android manufacturer has taken advantage. Even the Moto X, which feels remarkably small next to its competition, is a big phone. Flagship phones are growing and growing will it ever stop? | | All this brings me to Verizons new $99 Droid Mini, the smallest and cheapest in Motorolas new lineup of devices. The 4.3-inch device fits in right next to its other miniature counterparts, but comes with less of a spec downgrade than some other devices weve seen. It has the same software and the same processor as the Moto X, and the Droid Maxx and Ultra. Maybe this time, making a phone smaller doesnt have to mean making it worse. |
|
|
