Is Smaller Always Better?

[Steve B]

Is it just me or is this trend toward smaller electronics going too far?

For instance, I wish I had a cell phone with a microphone that didn't end up in the middle of my cheek. I was totally cool with the ones that were the size they were about 5 or 10 years ago. It allowed for reasonably sized buttons and it just "feels" like the microphone should be near my mouth. I have an old Blackberry and I'm not looking forward to upgrading because the buttons are so small. I swear the next step in evolution is going to be that only the people with pointy fingers will survive (people with fat fingers won't be able to find dates via texting blunders, therefore, won't be able to procreate).

I used my son's mp3 player this week. It's smaller than a matchbook. All my kids have one (three) and we're always losing them. Sometimes they're in their pocket and they didn't know it and we searched the whole house for them. Again, the screen size and number of buttons are limited due to the size.

I had to spend extra to buy a digital camera that was the size of an old 35mm - mostly because it feels better to me when I'm holding something a little more substantial. I'm also afraid I'll drop the little ones.

I think laptops were plenty portable enough several years ago - but they keep getting smaller. Fortunately, there are choices in this area - but, I will opt for the ones with the full size keyboard and the bigger monitors.

I'm sure there are other examples - but, just because we CAN make something smaller doesn't mean they should in my opinion.

Maybe this is a market niche for some electronics company.

[Spider]

Right on, Steve!

Some years ago, there was talk of The Wall - one whole wall of one's office was equipped with several super-large monitors so you could hold a real, life-sized conference with everyone in their own offices connected by satellite link.

You could watch a football match like you were sitting on the edge of the pitch, not two miles away. You could watch a tennis match like you were one of the ball-boys. You could be right in the thick of the jungle in nature videos and literally in the middle of the action in any movie.

I just cannot imagine watching The Magnificent Seven or Dr, Zhivago (sp?) on a 1½" screen. Would these movies heve even been made if they knew they would be watched on a 1½" screen?

[Harold Mansfield]

I'm with you Steve. As much as I love a new gadget..smaller, thinner and lighter to me just means that sooner of later I'm going to drop it, break it, or loose it...I worry about that more than any technical issues.


Right on, Steve!
I just cannot imagine watching The Magnificent Seven or Dr, Zhivago (sp?) on a 1½" screen. Would these movies heve even been made if they knew they would be watched on a 1½" screen?

I have a little 7" T.V. on my desk to watch CNN, HG or a few other informative shows when I'm not listening to music and that's as small as I'm willing to go..only because it's only a foot away from my face. The cable that carries signal to the unit is heavier that the unit itself.

I have a couple of personal devices that supposedly will play a full length movie, but I couldn't imagine holding my iPod in my hand to watch a movie..why would I do that?

On the one end, we are getting bigger..bigger T.V.s, Monitors, and all kinds of improvements in sound, yet on the other we are equally consuming smaller displays, and earbuds.

There is a trend now that is going back the other way. Everyone's big deal on personal devices is how big the display is now, instead of how small.

When net books first came out, they were 9"-10" screens, but as the next generation was developed, I think they realized that maybe that was a little too small and now you see them with 11"-12" displays.

[vangogh]

It depends on the product and your own personal tastes I guess. With phones I'm fine with the size the are now. Bigger and I probably wouldn't carry one around with me, which kind of defeats the point.

Same thing with laptops. I've always bought laptops because they are more portable than a desktop. But that portability is more about being able to move it anywhere in the house easily and move it from coffee table to my lap tap and back. While I certainly pack the laptop when I'm going away for a week or a weekend, it's not something I really want to pack for day trips.

It comes down to personal tastes I think. Sometimes devices do get so small that it makes them unpractical, but unpractical for who? For the most part things are getting smaller because that's what most people want.

I couldn't imagine watching a movie for 2 hours on my phone, though I've watched plenty of 5 minute videos without problem. I even have an app for my iPhone that let me watch NFL games (you have to buy the NFL package through your cable or satellite provider). The app was free and it did come in handy. When I was in New York over Thanksgiving, I wanted to watch a Broncos game. The only way for me to get it was on my phone. It was fine. Not as good as watching it on a bigger screen, but it worked well enough for me to keep up with the game.

As far as smaller than a laptop, but bigger than a phone you're probably talking somewhere in the area of a 7-10 inch screen. Seems to me that was the size of many a tv screen for years, until they started getting bigger. As for camera and mp3 player, to me smaller is better. Neither is getting carried around for the day unless they're small enough.

Depends on who you are, the device in question, and what you want to use it for. For most things I'm happy to have the options. Sometimes bigger is better and sometimes smaller is better.

Edit I did just think of something that is always too small for me and that's the keyboards on phones. I've never found any that's easy for me to use. My thumbs are just a little too big. I can manage to type, but never with any speed. However I still wouldn't want my phone to be bigger to accommodate a bigger keyboard. I don't think I'd ever spend that much time typing on a phone. I'll manage to type short messages and save the heavy typing for another device.

[KristineS]

Depends on who you are, the device in question, and what you want to use it for. For most things I'm happy to have the options. Sometimes bigger is better and sometimes smaller is better.



Got to agree with you on that one Vangogh. I never thought I would use my cellphone for anything but making calls and texting, but when I'm traveling, it is great to be able to play games and access the web. With my laptop down the last few days, I've used my phone to check e-mails and access Facebook and Twitter. It isn't something I'd want to do all the time, but it is nice to have as an option.

[vangogh]

That's how it is for me too. No question you're going to get a better browsing experience on something larger than a phone, but it's nice to have the phone with you in a pinch. And as more designers and developers get with the program you'll see sites set up to work better on mobile devices.

I understand completely what Steve and Frederick are saying. Somewhere over the last few years the idea that smaller was automatically better seemed to become the prevailing wisdom. Sometimes smaller is just harder to use. There's a limit to how small you can.

Of course technology can catch up and set a new limit. It probably won't be long until we don't need to type a message on a smart phone. We'll have better speech recognition. Some phones might then get reduced to something you stick in your ear and talk. I know what Steve said about the microphone not coming down to your mouth, but they do a better job now of not needing to.

[cbscreative]

Well I hope the electronics people swing through here doing some market research so our opinion counts for something. I have to go with larger most of the time, but I don't spend a lot of time "on the road" either. I realize that influences my preferences significantly.

I've often been tossed on issues like the size of a laptop. I have zero interest in one of those 10-12 inch screens, but I do battle with the 15-18 difference. I am very pleased with my 15.4. It's easy to to move around when I need to so it's small enough to be easily portable, yet large enough for screen size.

However, I often would like to go with 17 or 18 for the full keyboard (I don't like the conventional laptop keyboard at all). Many of the tasks I do require the numerical keypad for ease of use. Yet the larger laptops are just big enough that they're not as easy to lug around. It's definitely a trade-off.

Fortunately, I doubt we need to worry too much for several years. The baby boomers are a huge (and older) market that can't be ignored and they tend to prefer larger, especially displays. I suspect the electronics industry will offer both options since the kids tend to prefer the small stuff and they are a huge market too.

[vangogh]

However, I often would like to go with 17 or 18 for the full keyboard

And here I find the 17 or 18 inch laptops too big. I don't have any need for the number pad so the smaller keyboard is fine for me. Again just another case of to each his own.

Where's the problem though. Seems like laptops come in models ranging from under 10 inches up to 17 inches now so can't we all find the one that's the right size for us? A few years ago 15.4 inches was as big as it got in laptops. At the same time they've gotten smaller, they've also gotten bigger.

[cbscreative]

The only "problem" I was stating was not that laptops don't offer enough variety, they do. It's just for only the 2 extra inches between a 15 and 17, there's a surprising amount of difference in portability. For just going out in the back yard on a nice day, I doubt it would matter, I'd prefer the 17 there. For going to a meeting, the slightly smaller size is more practical without being too small.

I've opted for the 15.4 as a trade-off. But when I wish I had the numerical keypad, I sometimes wonder which way I should choose. I can always go get a larger laptop so I have both, but then I would have to properly license all the software I use too. That wouldn't really be worth the expense right now.

[vangogh]

Oh I agree. Those couple extra inches make a huge difference in how portable a laptop is.

I'm kind of playing devil's advocate here. I don't think the idea of electronics getting too small is a new one. I've been hearing people say the same for about as long as I can remember.

Ultimately it's the market that decides. Phones are smaller, because that's what people want. Netbooks now exist, because that's what people want. Now tablets are coming that will be even smaller. And get ready, because as Flash drives become cheaper we'll be able to put a lot more data on even smaller devices.

If you think about mp3 players why shouldn't they be small. How many physical parts do they need. Most walkman like products have always been sized based on what they were playing. The original tape players were the size of a cassette plus a little. mp3 players only need the plus a little. As long as it's big enough to select songs and see what's playing why would it need to be any bigger. It's nice being able to carry your music collection in your pocket.

[Harold Mansfield]

If you think about mp3 players why shouldn't they be small. How many physical parts do they need. Most walkman like products have always been sized based on what they were playing. The original tape players were the size of a cassette plus a little. mp3 players only need the plus a little. As long as it's big enough to select songs and see what's playing why would it need to be any bigger. It's nice being able to carry your music collection in your pocket.

Ain't that the truth. It took me a while to embrace CD's, but I was ready with digital memory.
Take a look around now and there's things that you don't see in my place that used to be a part of the decor....a rack of CD's and a shelf full of movies. No more glove box full of disk cases, or the old sun visor CD holder.

I don't have either one anymore...I mean I still get CD's for review from my blog, but more and more artists are sending a download link.

...and as much as a try to go paperless, I definitely have less paper than a normal adult my age would have had 10 years ago...and the only time I buy stamps is to send out greeting cards.

[vangogh]

I still have plenty of CDs, but I can remember when I switched from vinyl to CD. It wasn't an easy change at first, because I liked how albums sounded more than CDs. I actually grew to like the pops and scratches and some songs now don't sound right without them. I also liked having the cover art and album notes. They aren't the same with CDs.

But oh, all the space it saved.

Now with the music being digital there's even more space to be saved and you can actually get back the cover art and liner notes and more in a somewhat different forum.

The players are tiny, but again why do they need to be any bigger? As long as they're big enough for your fingers to control what's playing and you can see well enough to make a selection it, that's as big as it needs to be. I'd much rather carry around an iPod than the old walkman's or walkman cd players or better still a boombox.

[Harold Mansfield]

I still have plenty of CDs, but I can remember when I switched from vinyl to CD. It wasn't an easy change at first, because I liked how albums sounded more than CDs. I actually grew to like the pops and scratches and some songs now don't sound right without them. I also liked having the cover art and album notes. They aren't the same with CDs.

But oh, all the space it saved.


Hey, it was a tough transition for those of us who grew up physically putting the needle on the record (cranking the old Victrola for some of us:))

Sure the album art and informational inserts and back cover aren't the same ( man I remember the Ohio Players album cover 'Honey"..that was very memorable for a 10 year old kid), but now we have Instant access, Music Forums, Artists websites, Press Packs, Blogs, Artists on My Space and Facebook, Newsletters and Mailing lists...and a ton of images on Google.

We definitely have more information.

[vangogh]

I'm not complaining at all with the change. It was hard to give up that vinyl though. I ended up selling most every album I owned for about $1 each, which actually wasn't too bad. I think most of them I was buying when they were about $5 or $6 so I ended up getting a decent deal.

[nealrm]

I like the small MP3 players. With todays storages I can put more on an MP3 player than I could store in my room back in the 80's.

On cell phone I'm willing to trade on the extras for a good signal, sound and a keypad large enough to type on.

Laptops need to be either very small or big. If I am on the go, I want one that is small and easy to carry. But if I need to do any real work, I want a full sized keyboard and screen.

[Spider]

I still have 200-300 LPs. Been promising myself for ages to record them onto CD or just store them on a dedicated computer. One day! Got a bunch of cassette tapes with 1950s - 70s rock and roll original hits. Plan to transpose them, too. One day!

But now I have Pandora, why bother?!!

[Harold Mansfield]

I still have 200-300 LPs. Been promising myself for ages to record them onto CD or just store them on a dedicated computer. One day! Got a bunch of cassette tapes with 1950s - 70s rock and roll original hits. Plan to transpose them, too. One day!

But now I have Pandora, why bother?!!

With that many albums, I would probably just store them someplace cool and dry and just keep the collection as is. Like you said, when you want instant access you can just go to Pandora.

There are a few things that I keep it it's original (consumer) format and never touch..like "Scarface", The Collectors Edition on VHS (that's what it was originally released on), "Tombstone" (with Kurt Russel and Val Kilmer) dbl disk collectors edition, and a stack of old George Clinton/Parliament/Funkadelic albums.

I mean you just can't get rid of everything..some stuff are classics.

[Evan]

A small cell phone?

Like this one: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/57/185825739_71069d8ba5.jpg (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/57/185825739_71069d8ba5.jpg)

[huggytree]

im using my new 'small' laptop right now...i make so many typing errors with it its almost unusable...with my full size keyboard i rarely have problems...i wish i would have gotten a larger laptop

too small is not better....just right is best

[vangogh]

On the other side I find it impossible to type on a full sized keyboard. I'm so used to typing on a laptop that I find full sized keyboards practically useless.

I think it's less about the size and more about what you're used to. Your fingers have muscle memory and reach for keys in the places where they usually find them. When you switch to another keyboard whether it's bigger or smaller the keys are in different places and you find it harder to type.

[billbenson]

When I moved out of the country, I stuck all my LP's on the street. The places that bought and traded them at the time would only give me 10 cents a LP and I had repurchased the ones I really like on CD. I eventually converted all my cd's to mp3's. I still have the cd's somewhere in the garage, but the cases are long gone. They are on a spool like you buy cd's to burn. My cell phone has a radio and room for about 500 mp3's. I need to put a new radio in my car, but a power amp, speakers and an input for an mp3 player / radio is really all I need.

[cbscreative]

A small cell phone?

Like this one: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/57/185825739_71069d8ba5.jpg (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/57/185825739_71069d8ba5.jpg)

I remember reading an article approx 2 years ago where they has invented a phone that can be implanted in a tooth. One drawback was it only capable of incoming calls.