Higher resolution handsets coming
If nothing else, the iPhone has definitely shown the benefit of a higher resolution screen on an Internet-capable handset. Handset manufacturers likely agree as DigiTimes is reporting that Taiwan handset panel makers are heading towards higher res screens. After using an iPhone this morning and having used a VGA Windows Mobile device back in 2003, I gravitate towards handheld devices with larger screens and higher resolutions like the Nokia N800, for example. The overall user experience is just that much more satisfying. When I compared Safari on the iPhone with Opera Mini 4 on my Dash this morning, the interface wasn’t all that much different; it was the larger screen on the iPhone that did it for me.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
Frankly, I wish they’d keep boosting the resolution well beyond what it is now. As long as the graphical elements, fonts, what have you, are adjusted to make use of the extra resolution then screens would just keep getting sharper and sharper. Also, unfortunately, slower as it would take more CPU power to move the pixels, and it would probably impact battery life negatively as well… but those are things I could live with. The resolution is one reason I’m excited about the reports about the HTC Omni; I want to go even higher than the current VGA I have now.
Funnily enough, we have been using PDAs with 3.5 inches screen for years now. My Axim has a great screen but its VGA. Why manufacturers have not gone the way to 3.5 or 4 by simply boosting the resolution instead of shrinking the screen is beyond me. At least HTC has understood that screen estate is important even in a Windows Mobile device. Truth be told, that’s what the Omni seems to be all about. Like Chippy said, it’s the Advantage done right.