Comments on: Them Phones Are Getting Skinny

By: Stuart Darnley

Stuart Darnley — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:21:45 +0000

It appears that I may be the only one put off by these ridiculously thin phones of late. I see people with them (huge amount of RAZRs usually) and simply feel like snatching them from the person in question and snapping them in half out of repulsion, they're hideous. If all future phones follow this "trend" I'll be stuck with my curret k750i (respectable thickness) for a long time.

By: Brett Wayn

Brett Wayn — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 19:36:11 +0000

NTT Docomo actually studied this in the initial rollout of their MOVA series of phones around 1999, 2000. They plotted on a graph how sales went up as weight went down. I recall seeing the graph maybe in a sales presentation, or perhaps in Natsuno's book, "iMode Strategy."

By: Jon

Jon — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 03:35:26 +0000

I don't need a slim phone for regular phone use - I have a Moto L2 for weddings and formal occasions but the UI makes the baby Jesus cry, so I stick to a SE z520 most of the way. The main reason I gave up carrying a smartphone was because of the bulk, though - the Sony P800 and the Nokia 6620 were both way too big for me.

Thing is, though, unless I'm sending e-mail from the phone, I can't think of anything that would compel me to take a smartphone rather than, say, just installing Opera Mini on a W810i.

By: dave

dave — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 19:00:43 +0000

hey, quick request OM (or others at gigaom) – in advance of the holidays thing, could you perhaps get reviews of these smart phones (eg treo v motorolaq versus others) from some of your own tech circle friends? honestly, i could care less about why wired chose the q this year as editor’s pick because i know a lot of folks who like the palm’s speed and utility…curious to hear what some of the ubergeeks thing, and not what wired’s advertisers and partners want to hear (hey, maybe you could do an ubergeek profile weekly, like ‘what’s in my office.car.desk etc’ including the ‘why’…just a thought…

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:48:05 +0000

My bad Paul, thanks for pointing it out, I have updated the post to reflect that.

By: Paul Stamatiou

Paul Stamatiou — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:40:23 +0000

"The downside of the skinniness is that the battery doesn’t very long."

I think you left out the word "last".

Best, Paul

By: Andrew M

Andrew M — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:19:13 +0000

I absolutely purchase based on slimness of design. Its the first factor I look for, its funny most photo's of phones show the front an back, never how thin they are. The Treo 750 and Nokia N95 both suffer form being way to thick. Maybe I suffer from Phoneorexia or Mobulimia, but thats why I purchased the Slvr and my eventual smart phone purchase will be as slim as possible.

By: Startups.in/India

Startups.in/India — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:18:29 +0000

Did you post that "test" msg using pearl/dash?

By: JR

JR — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:15:24 +0000

I like thin, but battery life is more important. I do like my 8700 for now.

By: JR

JR — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:11:24 +0000

I like thin, but battery life is more important.

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:10:17 +0000

I never thought i would see the day when the blackberry could be used with one hand. wow. I am sold on pearl, though find something quite elegant about my Nokia E61. But Pearl is not a tough sell at all.

By: Isabel

Isabel — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:04:19 +0000

I bought a Blackberry Pearl because it's tiny. I was skeptical about the QuickType keypad and went to a T-Mobile store to try it out. It was so unexpectedly small that I was sold on the spot.

By: Startups.in/India

Startups.in/India — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 17:57:52 +0000

I think being sleek does help get the attention/date. However, when it comes to a lasting relationship, it takes more than just a sleek look.

By: Gersham

Gersham — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 17:38:15 +0000

Quite simply people buy phones based on their form and price. Features don't really matter much. Being skinny is pretty important and will sell a whole bunch of phones. However, despite being thin these phones above look like calculators to the average consumer and will not break the mass market. The current top phones are phones like the Samsung D900, the LG KG800 (Chocolate), and the Sony Ericsson W810i.

You want thin? Check out the Samsung SGH-X820. Half the thickness of the Pearl at 7mm.