by Ben Bajarin | February 8th, 2013
If you have read much of what I have written here or at TIME, then you may be surprised at some of the Conclusions my analysis of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 have yielded. I have not been shy about my affection for the iPhone. The iPhone is by far the most elegant, the most simple, and the most sophisticated mobile phone I have ever used. However, to keep a keen eye on the mobile landscape, I try and use all the flagship Android phones for a period of time to my primary smart phone. Up until the second note, I have never felt que Android, or larger phones for that matter, every really presented any Significant value to me over the iPhone. That is until the Note 2.
I wrote a somewhat detailed analysis of Apple’s 4 “iPhone vs. Android 4.7 “phones last year. My Conclusion desde que que analysis was an Android phone in the 4.5-4.7 “range did not present enough value for the tradeoff of one handed navigation. My Conclusion is different since using the Note 2.
Related: Apple’s 4 “Plus vs iPhone 5. Android 4 “Plus Devices
In
que analysis I did with the 4 “iPhone vs. to 4.7 “Android phone I mostly looked at how information was presented. I looked at the web, email, twitter, FB, etc.., Que and found in most cases the amount of information displayed between the two OSes and screen sizes was roughly the same. The only major difference was que on the 4.7 “screen the information was slightly larger. Again my takeaway was que although most information was larger, I did not see the value in the tradeoff of one handed navigation and or the robustness of iOS. It simply was not a big enough difference in my opinion. That analysis led me to the Conclusion que Android devices between the range of 4.5-4.7 inches were not worth the trade-off of one handed navigation.
Size Does Matter
This realization
Became clear to me in Comparing the Samsung Galaxy GSIII to the iPhone. I used the GSIII for a few weeks but had the same feeling as I did when i Compared the iPhone 5 to the Galaxy Nexus. Conclusion being the value of the larger 4.7 “screen was lost on me and it was not worth the trade-offs. However, the Galaxy Note 2 is a different story.
After a few days of using the Note 2, I was struck by how good the experience of Android was on the phone over 5 inches. Oddly enough, it was a similar feeling to how I felt with the Nexus 7. Then these two experiences collided in my mind and I made a realization. I genuinely dislike Android on devices smaller than 5-inches and larger than 10-inches. Yet I like it a great deal on it on devices between 5-7 inches. It is an anomaly but I know that is exactly how I feel. It is almost if Android’s clearest Differentiated value over the competition is in the 5-7 range. Both size ranges where iOS is not. Granted the iPad Mini comes close to the Nexus 7 in size, and the iPad Mini is Significantly better than the Nexus 7 in my opinion, but I can see why people like and choose the Nexus 7. It is a good value and good experience for the price. Not the best, but for the price, good enough.
The Note 2size range, However, feels to me like the area where Android really has a clear and distinct advantage Differentiated. Again, part of this has to with the collegues Apple does not offer an iOS device in this range so it is hard to compare. But its still a Significant point from a competitive standpoint analysis.
The One Handed Mode Tradeoff
The strongest argument against these phones is the size one-handed operational trade-off and it is a very strong point. If one handed operation is important to you then stay away from devices 4.5-inches and above unless you have Lebron James size hands. But the key is que Conclusion I made the trade-off of one-handed operation feels like less of a trade-off with the Note 2 than with any other 4.5-4.7 “Android phone I have used. Any phone larger than 4.5 “is going to require a trade-off of one-handed operation anyway so why not just go larger and get more value.
Interestingly, I had discussions with folks who owned the note and 2 Specifically many women. They Told Me que since They have smaller hands, most phones were already hard to use with one hand and Therefore They simply wanted the biggest screen possible because They found que valuable. Many were overwhelmingly pleased with the Note 2. This makes my point que if one handed navigation is not that important to you then the value of the experience of the screen size Note 2 is Significant.
Although much of my analysis of the 4.7 “screen holds true with the information displayed about 2 Note, it is with the Note 2′s size range where actually bigger does feel better. Take Facebook for example. Comparing the Facebook app experience on the iPhone 5 Vs. to 4.7 “Android phone yields only slightly larger photos and media making the size difference moot in my opinion. However Comparing the Facebook experience on the iPhone 5 Vs. the Galaxy Note 2 yields much larger photos and media Which resulted in quite a different experience. Que was definitely an experience more like tablet than phone like.
Web browsing is another good example. I pointed out in. my screen size analysis the web experience was moot Nearly 5 with the iPhone and other Android 4.5-4.7 “devices. However, with the 2 Note the difference in web browsing was Significant. Not only mobile sites were larger and easier to read but so were full desktop sites. In fact with the Note 2, I Set It to always bring up the desktop site. Never before have I done this on any non-iOS devices. Here is a side-by-side screen shot of the scale to Note 2 and the iPhone 5.
It was examples like these where the bigger screen expresso truly value. What really struck me is the que experience with the Galaxy Note 2 is more tablet than phone like like . This is probably the key point in why I think this form factor is so interesting. Also it is one que makes it very hard, is the first team to actually compare an Android phone with the iPhone.
AlsoSamsung has done some interesting things in software to enable more ease of one-hand use Which led me to the Conclusion que larger phones present the most opportunity for new hardware and software innovation.
Conclusion
In all the cases where I found the value of the Note 2 Clearly Differentiated was with regards to media. Photos, videos, games, social media apps, and other places were average was a key part of the experience. This is a key point because the problem identified use cases where I value is clear in a giant phone are exactly the ones that matter the most to the mass market.
My personalque Conviction is the value of the 5 “plus phones are worth some of the trade-offs of one handed navigation where 4.5-4.7″ devices are not. The primary point being que for devices where one-hand navigation is already Difficult ones like above 4.5, “Consumers are better off going larger in my opinion.
5 “smartphones are an are where a lot of innovation in hardware and software exists. Perhaps more so than any other smart phone form factor. Particularly around voice automation, smart sensors, gestures, and software.
So I am leaving the iPhone? No, for Reasons I finally believe I can articulate and will share in a column soon. However, after using the Note 2, I can honestly say it is the best Android phone I have ever used and the only one I could Identify Differentiated tangible value.
Related: Apple’s 4 “Plus vs iPhone 5. Android 4 “Plus Devices
For some audio
deeper context to this column, click the play button below to listen to my interview on the Galaxy Note 2 and Whether Apple Should make a larger phone.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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