In short, I'm sold on six-inchers. They fit best into a business paradigm, but can be a little unwieldy for consumer use unless you have big pockets or wear a jacket all the time. I doubt I could go back to a 4-inch device now though, I use my phone for too much. That being said, I haven't turned on my 7-inch tablet since getting a 6-inch smartphone.
Weird that you cover a redrand without even mentioning it's a rebrand. I mean sure it's a Mediatek version instead of SD 400 but it's still the Gionee Elife s5.1.
I didn't know it was a rebrand - the Elife s5.1 looks identical for sure. Kazam did tell me that part of their business portfolio is to bring some of the Asian branded phones into a more Euro-centric arena, although they didn't tell me that this might have been one of them with a different SoC. They did tell me that 95% of their product line is MediaTek however.
Many Gionee phones are sold as a rebrand all over he world. In the US Blu has a few. The previous thinnest phone the Gionee S5.5 is being sold by quite a few others as a redrand. And just days ago the S5.1 was officially recognized as the thinnest phone http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2014/10/g... I don't like that to reach that kind of thin they have to go with huge upper and lower bezels, like Apple does, i guess. And ofc no microSD but we should have thin phones and i keep hoping for as low as 4mm. Having more options is good.
>I like my phone to have some form of bulk – this way I know it is in my pocket and I would notice if >it went missing.
How are you going to lose a phone from your pant pocket? Was that a common occurrence for you back when we all had small, light feature phones?
>As a reference point, my daily driver is a 5.9-inch display with a 3300 mAh >battery that measures 10.9mm and weighs 217g
The Huawei Ascent Mate 7 has a 6-inch display, a 4100 mAh battery, weighs 185 grams and still measures only 7.9mm thick. Are you going to claim your phone is better, because it adds 2mm and 30 grams?
I have a fear of my smartphone going missing. Perhaps an irrational fear, but it exists.
Also, I never said anything about thicker is better - I only mentioned my personal preference on the matter. That sentence is there so readers know my major reference point when I talk about smartphones, especially when I get a hands-on with one that is on the opposite end of one particular scale.
I've had phones slide out of my jeans into the crack of couch, in the car on to the floor. It is really anoying to have to go digging around for your phone. The most annoying was having one slide out of the side utility pocket in a high voltage electric vault in a data center and not realizing until I had climbed out. I could see how a larger phone would prevent this.
Depending on the country or city, pick pockets could be a concern. Since living in NYC years ago, I still carry my wallet in my front pocket. Personally, I would not want to carry an iPhone when traveling in the country where I'm from.
Kasam Tornado 348 is nothing like the other android phones on the market (I'd recommend seeing a ranking like http://www.topreport.org/phones/ instead).
A candybar or flipphone in my front pocket below my wallet was much less likely to slip out than a fondleslab in the same pocket sitting adjacent to my wallet.
My Nokia 5300 had a bad happen of sliding out of my pocket at inopportune times including it's last adventure that ended with a broken screen and its premature death. This was a combination of size and the somewhat slippery plastic it was made of. Best feature phone I ever had otherwise.
I applied a good amount of torque across the diagonals, and I didn't notice any deformation. Some other media sites have said they found some subtle play in the design, but I didn't notice any in the pre-release sample I got my hands on.
Initially I misread your comment as 'Does it b(l)end'. It probably does blend. Almost everything does :)
I was of course mostly kidding, but thanks for the reply. I think iPhone 6 Plus did a good thing in the industry, demonstrating a possible problem in the future, where we are going to have even thiner devices, before it because really a problem. Apple's name and publicity here helped a lot.
As long as it's under .5" I'm good, any thinner than that is stupid. Just give me the biggest battery you can, that's all that matters. Cargo pants are a thing...
Disappointing that with, what, two dozen high profile phones available there's basically no ability to get a phone this thin that doesn't have a stripped down feature. I'm glad Ian is happy with his mega-phone, but I wish I had a similar option on the other end of the size spectrum.
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26 Comments
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adityarjun - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I noticed you said that you are using a 5.9" device. I would love lo read a short note about your thoughts on 6 inchers. A small article maybe?jjj - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
he already did that http://www.anandtech.com/show/7551/a-month-with-th...Ian Cutress - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
In short, I'm sold on six-inchers. They fit best into a business paradigm, but can be a little unwieldy for consumer use unless you have big pockets or wear a jacket all the time. I doubt I could go back to a 4-inch device now though, I use my phone for too much. That being said, I haven't turned on my 7-inch tablet since getting a 6-inch smartphone.adityarjun - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Cool! Looking forward to AT's review on the Nexus 6!jjj - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Weird that you cover a redrand without even mentioning it's a rebrand. I mean sure it's a Mediatek version instead of SD 400 but it's still the Gionee Elife s5.1.Ian Cutress - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I didn't know it was a rebrand - the Elife s5.1 looks identical for sure. Kazam did tell me that part of their business portfolio is to bring some of the Asian branded phones into a more Euro-centric arena, although they didn't tell me that this might have been one of them with a different SoC. They did tell me that 95% of their product line is MediaTek however.jjj - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Many Gionee phones are sold as a rebrand all over he world. In the US Blu has a few.The previous thinnest phone the Gionee S5.5 is being sold by quite a few others as a redrand.
And just days ago the S5.1 was officially recognized as the thinnest phone http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2014/10/g...
I don't like that to reach that kind of thin they have to go with huge upper and lower bezels, like Apple does, i guess. And ofc no microSD but we should have thin phones and i keep hoping for as low as 4mm. Having more options is good.
tim851 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
>I like my phone to have some form of bulk – this way I know it is in my pocket and I would notice if>it went missing.
How are you going to lose a phone from your pant pocket? Was that a common occurrence for you back when we all had small, light feature phones?
>As a reference point, my daily driver is a 5.9-inch display with a 3300 mAh
>battery that measures 10.9mm and weighs 217g
The Huawei Ascent Mate 7 has a 6-inch display, a 4100 mAh battery, weighs 185 grams and still measures only 7.9mm thick. Are you going to claim your phone is better, because it adds 2mm and 30 grams?
Ian Cutress - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I have a fear of my smartphone going missing. Perhaps an irrational fear, but it exists.Also, I never said anything about thicker is better - I only mentioned my personal preference on the matter. That sentence is there so readers know my major reference point when I talk about smartphones, especially when I get a hands-on with one that is on the opposite end of one particular scale.
hpglow - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I've had phones slide out of my jeans into the crack of couch, in the car on to the floor. It is really anoying to have to go digging around for your phone. The most annoying was having one slide out of the side utility pocket in a high voltage electric vault in a data center and not realizing until I had climbed out. I could see how a larger phone would prevent this.Ktracho - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Depending on the country or city, pick pockets could be a concern. Since living in NYC years ago, I still carry my wallet in my front pocket. Personally, I would not want to carry an iPhone when traveling in the country where I'm from.craighamilton - Saturday, December 6, 2014 - link
Kasam Tornado 348 is nothing like the other android phones on the market (I'd recommend seeing a ranking like http://www.topreport.org/phones/ instead).DanNeely - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
A candybar or flipphone in my front pocket below my wallet was much less likely to slip out than a fondleslab in the same pocket sitting adjacent to my wallet.Flunk - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
My Nokia 5300 had a bad happen of sliding out of my pocket at inopportune times including it's last adventure that ended with a broken screen and its premature death. This was a combination of size and the somewhat slippery plastic it was made of. Best feature phone I ever had otherwise.hfm - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Physical buttons are a thing of the past. Please stop Android OEM's...polygon_21 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Gotta tell Samsung that firstsheh - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I prefer no on-screen nav buttons. I probably also prefer a physical home button to a capacitive one.flyingpants1 - Friday, October 17, 2014 - link
I prefer them too, but they take up space on the phone for little reason.yannigr2 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Yes, but does it bend? :pIan Cutress - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I applied a good amount of torque across the diagonals, and I didn't notice any deformation. Some other media sites have said they found some subtle play in the design, but I didn't notice any in the pre-release sample I got my hands on.Initially I misread your comment as 'Does it b(l)end'. It probably does blend. Almost everything does :)
yannigr2 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I was of course mostly kidding, but thanks for the reply. I think iPhone 6 Plus did a good thing in the industry, demonstrating a possible problem in the future, where we are going to have even thiner devices, before it because really a problem. Apple's name and publicity here helped a lot.Hrel - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
As long as it's under .5" I'm good, any thinner than that is stupid. Just give me the biggest battery you can, that's all that matters. Cargo pants are a thing...Sunrise089 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Disappointing that with, what, two dozen high profile phones available there's basically no ability to get a phone this thin that doesn't have a stripped down feature. I'm glad Ian is happy with his mega-phone, but I wish I had a similar option on the other end of the size spectrum.flyingpants1 - Friday, October 17, 2014 - link
Surprisingly negative review for one of the best-designed devices I've ever seen.So when Apple makes their stuff thinner, it's good, but when some other company does, it, it's TOO thin? Okay, Anandtech.
Sebhelyesfarku - Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - link
Maybe just the wrong lad got the review, he doesn't like thin phones, probably a fat arse.Amavhi - Sunday, October 19, 2014 - link
I do like to use a bit bulky phone that has a good feeling on my hands. And ya i dnt know whats the goal to make these excess thin phones.