Most of those were because Apple wasn't on their chosen provider. Let's face it, had Verizon not launched the "Droid" campaign, Android wouldn't be where it is. They only did that because the didn't carry the iPhone and needed to compete within the space. Android had been around for sometime before the campaign, but mostly ignored. That all changed when the commercials hit the air with that now famous "droid" sound.
I can answer you. What you are calling a "phone" for me it's a pocket computer which happens to be also a communication device. But its first function, for me, is as a computer. My desktop computer had always the biggest screen I could get, or afford. Why? Because I need to work on my computer screen and I want as much information on the screen as possible. That's why I have bought first a 14 inch display, then 15, 21, 24, and finally 27 inch. On my pocket computer I want the same thing. A big screen so I can work comfortably and see as much information as possible but also it should still fit in my pocket so I can have maximum mobility. Why not an iPad? It doesn't fit into my pocket. I want a pocket computer not a bag computer.
It amazes me that people don't get your point. And that there are adults who literally base most of their argument on the idea that "other people might think you look stupid" is the quintessence of cognitive underdevelopment. Really? You're a grown man and you feel passionately about your choice of phone precisely because you are concerned about whether other people think you look silly using something else? Okay.
Because all these phones lose on every single metric against the iPhone (besides the screen size) and android does not provide a similar user experience. even if it is half of that number, do the math.
It's hilarious that you believe every smartphone buyer is making a researched, rational decision based on knowledgeable consideration of all the 'metrics', and user experience, and that making a bigger iPhone will obviously refute this. It's a fact that carriers are heavily pushing Android phones. It has nothing to do with the size, but many other financial considerations. Carriers aren't pushing and recommending the S3 because of the size.
I think the iPod and MacBook path is the direction they'll be heading.
Hmmm. With an IGZO screen they may be able to get voice radios inside a iPad mini with a somewhat smaller battery....
No, GM stopped responding the the demands of the market. They began producing cars people didn't want to buy. They were being eaten alive by their competition. GM had long been making a car for everyone, even when it was doing good. There were Novas for cheap transportation to Corvettes and Cadillacs and everything in between. They got caught up in bean counting, and the days where a Cadillac was substantially differentiated from a Chevy were long gone. They were badge engineered cars that used substandard materials. In its heyday, Earl wouldn't let the Pontiac design team even look at what the other teams were doing, and the same for all the other design teams. They had to design their own products with their own identity.
The MBA was Apples attempt at the netbook market, IMO. Jobs declared that Apple didn't do junk, so a small form factor that wasn't junk at a reasonable price was developed...the MBA. What a nice alternative it is...
Uh… huh.
Another falsehood.
No, it won't.
Uh...huh..
Right back at you. What on earth was the point of that? If there was no point, why communicate it? I think your dander is up about something else and you're taking a swing at the wrong guy for the wrong reason. My purpose in saying I'm an apple fan is within the same sentence you took it from: I want a large phone...but I want it from Apple because I'm a fan of Apple's products. Where on earth is the fallacy there? You're hyper vigilant because you're used to people using their alleged apple fandom to support their criticism of apple. But that wasn't what I was doing. Slow down, man. I don't post a lot, but for the most part I think we're on the same team....except for my enjoying a big screened phone.
So these Wall Street clowns and tech press goons whine and complain about Apple not innovating yet every time they give advice to Apple it's basically 'copy Samsung'. 
Sure Apple could release a 5" phone but what's innovative about that? All it is is copying what Android has already done. If I want a clone of Samsung I'll go buy the real thing.
If you actually have an argument, you can state it without doing that.
Do these Analysts ever take into account the fact that Samsung spent over $12B last year in marketing/advertising, with a large chunk no doubt spent on the Galaxy brand. Basically Samsung bought market share and mind share by spending an enormous amount of cash on marketing, Will they be able to continue to do that year after year? And at some point will consumers get sick of all Samsung all the time? Over saturation isn't necessarily a good thing.
If you actually have an argument, you can state it without doing that.
You need to relax, man. Read that sentence again a few times. It isn't what you think it is...you're fighting the good fight and then you punched me because I looked like the guys you're fighting. Let's try it again: I want a bigger phone. Because I love Apple, I want it from them. But they don't make it. Ergo, I have to go elsewhere. You think I'm trying to use a claim of being an apple fan to criticize apple, but what I'm saying is that I want a big phone...and I'd prefer apple to make it. You got hooked on the "but" thinking that I was criticizing them. I wasn't. They just don't make the phone I want. My saying that was pertinent because I was explaining why I went elsewhere. It's a completely legitimate point. You've got your dander up about the wrong guy.
I'm a huge apple fan, and I'd much rather have a 5 inch or bigger phone from them, but I wasn't going to hold my breath. A few months ago I switched to a Galaxy Note 2 and I absolutely love it. I'm a huge reader, both online and kindle books, and the screen is nearly identical in size to a paper back book and incredibly comfortable to read on. I don't think it's better...it just suits me very well.
I find people criticizing larger screened phones to a bit lazy. The complaint is almost invariably mingled with the idea that it is too big "for a phone." I've been saying for two years now that the device in your pocket is not a phone. It has phone technology, but it isn't a phone. Less than a year ago I jailbroke my iphone and stuck an app on it that allowed me to view which apps I used the most. After the first and second month my "phone" app was at number thirteen. It's even "worse" now - I have the smallest phone call plan available and I still only talk for a total about about twenty or thirty minutes a month...of my 450 minute plan. At the top of the list: text messages, email, facebook, zite, kindle, dropbox, google docs, and the like. After two years of this kind of result (I used both my iphone 4 and 4s the same way) I'm surprised more people haven't really caught on: as much as humans have a disposition to take what they're given, we really ought to stop calling these devices "phones." Especially if there are twelve other things I do on mine far more often. Even if my galaxy note 2 was bigger than the beast you had in your kitchen in the eighties and early nineties, can you really say my phone is "too big" for an email browser/composer? Messaging? Reading magazine-type information? Reading paperback-sized books? Sure, I talk on the phone occasionally, but most of my calls last about one or two minutes. Does anyone really think I am hindered by holding something that is merely one inch longer than what everyone else holds to their ear?
Yeah, we call them phones. But one could just as easily call it any of the names of the twelve apps I use more than my phone. And I'd bet anyone I know a hundred dollars their phone app is not in their top three most used apps. I'll win a lot more money than I lose. It's not a phone. It's a mobile device. Hell...it's literally a Personal Computer. Calling it a PC makes more technical sense than calling it a phone. One handed use is nice, but I'm not concerned about how many hands I have to use when I'm standing in line or sitting on a couch browsing the web or reading a book. Your phone is a PC, folks. And the perfect size is the one that fits your needs the most.
With all due respect, I think you're an extreme fringe case, in terms of using a phone. 20-30 min a month? That's less than a minute a day. Please don't try to draw conclusions as to the direction Apple should go based on those numbers, because I don't know a single person who uses their phone that little. Most of us have friends, family, work, and business calls constantly. Apparently you don't communicate with anyone by phone or have a social/work/family life that requires it - I'm not attacking you, but thats not how most people live. You're a fringe case, and you should aknowledge that, which is why an iPhone being used as a phone is irrelevant to you. To the vast majority, that isn't irrelevant. The phone app is by far my #1 app, email is second, safari or maps is 3rd, and then everything else. I'm guessing most people follow that rough pattern. Believe it or not, a phone IS still the most important function of these devices.
"Blank! BLANK! You're not looking at the big picture!"
"Blank! BLANK! You're not looking at the big picture!"
With all due respect, I think you're an extreme fringe case, in terms of using a phone. 20-30 min a month? That's less than a minute a day. Please don't try to draw conclusions as to the direction Apple should go based on those numbers, because I don't know a single person who uses their phone that little. Most of us have friends, family, work, and business calls constantly. Apparently you don't communicate with anyone by phone or have a social/work/family life that requires it - I'm not attacking you, but thats not how most people live. You're a fringe case, and you should aknowledge that, which is why an iPhone being used as a phone is irrelevant to you. To the vast majority, that isn't irrelevant. The phone app is by far my #1 app, email is second, safari or maps is 3rd, and then everything else. I'm guessing most people follow that rough pattern. Believe it or not, a phone IS still the most important function of these devices.
No disrespect taken, but where did you get the idea that I drew conclusions about what Apple should do? My entire post was about defending the value of larger size screens...when did I assert that Apple should make them? What I would like and what Apple should do to be successful are two different things.
I have a family. We don't require phone talks to figure out when to eat dinner.
I'm not a fringe case...but my own numbers are certainly in the minority, yes.
I'm not suggesting that people with families should "get over" having a phone. Actually, I think I was pretty adamant about people using what works for them.
No need to argue the point - I agree, the phone IS the most important APP on the device...but only because it is the one you don't want to be caught without in an emergency. I work in tech, and most of the guys I know do not spend significant time on their phones...and they are married, most of them with many children.
I disagree about that rough pattern.
Incidentally, we probably both agree that Apple should do just as they have always done...continue to make an awesome phone and not worry about anything else. I personally want one, but I am not at all making the argument that Apple "ought" to join that market. I just know I'd be a lot more satisfied with theirs if they did.
Something I want to add to this to clarify my major point is not that the phone is irrelevant. I would never leave my house without the ability to make phone calls. My point is that people are doing a lot more on their devices than they were many years ago, and as the computational power and ease with "phones" increases, the legitimacy of arguing that a smaller phone is Necessarily better is decreasing. I understand if people want one handed devices. It's convenient. But with more power and potential, people are using these phones in ways that make having a larger screen a worthwhile investment...even if one compromises one handed use. I'm not about saying, "it's better." I'm saying, it's legitimate, and while the phone is arguably the app you most need in ANY pinch, it is the extend of use of one's phone that determines the functionality of a screen size. A big screen does NOT hinder phone calls. It DOES enhance a huge range of other activities.
Easy man. 40 isn't old...I'm still mid 30s, I don't want to think of 40 as "old" just yet.
Well, 40 may not 'be' old in terms of our lives these days (ask anyone over 40, we don't 'feel' old, mostly!)...but the human body's limitations begin to encroach once you're past the 40 mark, I know because at 44, my optometrist pointed out to me that my eyes were just beginning to lose their ability to refocus up close. She told me that I don't need reading glasses...yet. But, I'm on the verge. True, I'm now 45-1/2 and still without the reading glasses...but I the reality is there. I don't have a problem focusing on my iphone screen or reading the type, but I can understand that for some people it may just be too small to read off of in comfort.
With all due respect, I think you're an extreme fringe case, in terms of using a phone. 20-30 min a month? That's less than a minute a day. Please don't try to draw conclusions as to the direction Apple should go based on those numbers, because I don't know a single person who uses their phone that little. Most of us have friends, family, work, and business calls constantly. Apparently you don't communicate with anyone by phone or have a social/work/family life that requires it - I'm not attacking you, but thats not how most people live. You're a fringe case, and you should aknowledge that, which is why an iPhone being used as a phone is irrelevant to you. To the vast majority, that isn't irrelevant. The phone app is by far my #1 app, email is second, safari or maps is 3rd, and then everything else. I'm guessing most people follow that rough pattern. Believe it or not, a phone IS still the most important function of these devices.
It's an interesting question. My guess is that for most people (In the US at least--what do I know about how people behave in Asia or whatnot), the phone app is NOT the most important aspect of the device. Personally, I'm like the guy you quoted. Most days I don't use my iPhone as a phone at all. I'm in hours of meetings a day and exchange hundreds of emails, so I'm no hermit. It's just that the mobile phone aspect is not all that important. Obviously you're on the other "extreme" but I expect that most iPhone owners are somewhere in the middle.
In any case the "how does it look when I hold it to my head" factor is pretty darn silly. If I'm going to make a call of any length at all, I'll use earphones or the speakerphone feature. I probably spend 3 minutes a week holding it to my ear.
Well, 40 may not 'be' old in terms of our lives these days (ask anyone over 40, we don't 'feel' old, mostly!)...but the human body's limitations begin to encroach once you're past the 40 mark, I know because at 44, my optometrist pointed out to me that my eyes were just beginning to lose their ability to refocus up close. She told me that I don't need reading glasses...yet. But, I'm on the verge. True, I'm now 45-1/2 and still without the reading glasses...but I the reality is there. I don't have a problem focusing on my iphone screen or reading the type, but I can understand that for some people it may just be too small to read off of in comfort.
Yep. As soon as I turned 40 I went from being able to read the microprinting on US currency to not being able to read a newspaper comfortably without reading glasses. It was almost that abrupt. My eyes must have had a 40-year warranty. iPhone EZ Reader edition?
Sorry, but not having majority market share doesn't make you a niche product. 10% of anything isn't a niche, nor is raw market share alone the only consideration regarding whether something is a niche product. Macs are not niche products. Apple isn't chasing niches.
Not to mention Windows 8 doesn't have 90% of the market. The vast majority of Windows users are non-Windows 8/Win 7 users.
Yep. As soon as I turned 40 I went from being able to read the microprinting on US currency to not being able to read a newspaper comfortably without reading glasses. It was almost that abrupt. My eyes must have had a 40-year warranty. iPhone EZ Reader edition?
I'm getting depressed. I wore glasses/contacts since age 12 (21 years) until getting Lasik last year. I want to at least enjoy it a few years before having to put on reading glasses LOL. Nah, I knew in advance that was going to happen. But for now I'm grateful, 20/15 vision.
On topic - it doesn't bother me a bit if Apple makes a larger phone, honestly. I'm quite happy with my iPhone 5 screen size for now, but to each his or her own. Variety is the spice of life, they say.
It's pretty stupid how so many people here are getting riled about whether Apple should make an object a little bit bigger. There are much larger problems in life, I'd say...
You may not be alone, but I also don't think you're representative of the general public. Chasing niches is not what Apple needs to do.
Hilarious comment this. iPod aside, chasing niches is all that Apple does.
Simple fact of life is that people have their own personal preferences about screen size, and the closely correlated device size. This is true of smartphones, as it is true of Notebook computers, as it is true of tablets.
Apple recognises this in the last two categories, offering multiple screen sizes in iPads and MacBooks. Time for them to offer more choice with the iPhone. Otherwise they lose sales, and marketshare, and down the line, then developers ... and become even more of niche seller.
No point in letting other companies get a leg up.
