Is size really important?

Started by Chino, April 05, 2016, 06:22:39 AM

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Chino

Sorry if you opened this thread hoping to read about dicks.

HP has unveiled its new Spectre laptop. It's only .4" thick and has been declared the world's thinnest laptop. It seems to have okay hardware with a hefty price tag of $1200. I can't help but think that a good chunk of that price is for the technology needed to make the laptop so thin and the R&D that went into designing it. I have an equivalent, fatter HP laptop that I paid $750 for, and can't for the life of me imagine spending an additional $450 just to have it .2" thinner.

When it comes to the size of portable devices, I never understood the need to go to the extreme in regards to thinness. It's more fragile, and is your day really any better/easier because your laptop is a .25" thinner or a half pound lighter than your previous one? I'd almost rather them put those same electronics in an over sized body just for the added protection.

Same thing with phones. I've been reading speculation that Apples next (near future) iPhone won't have a headphone jack. It's the thickest piece of hardware, it can't be changed due to industry standards, and it's the only component restricting the phone from getting thinner. How much thinner does the phone need to be? I suppose the argument can be made for pocket comfort, but it's already thin as hell. Will shaving off another millimeter really be noticeable?

BlobVanDam

Apple had issues with the iPhone being so thin you could bend it, so there's a convergence point at which the cons can outweigh the pros.

My current laptop is average thickness and weight for a modern laptop, which is lighter and thinner than one from only a few years before that, and still feels relatively sturdy. I've never thought I needed it smaller, but if it could be thinner and lighter without sacrificing anything, sure why not. I would worry about if it's sacrificing strength, or runs hotter due to less room for cooling, and personally wouldn't compromise on either of those things just to make something thinner, which is fairly trivial to me at that point. New technologies such as OLED will naturally allow technology to evolve to be thinner and lighter over time, but it's not a major selling point for me at all given the small size of most portable technology already.

Zydar


rumborak

The last two phones of mine I actually bought cases for, partially because to protect them, but partially also because they were so thin and sleek, they had a way of slipping out of my hand.

Interesting side discussion: I've been looking at replacing my current laptop (which I'm only keeping alive through various USB devices, since the internal ones have died). Somehow I had this idea that it would be nice to have something that could serve both as a laptop and a tablet. Problem is, the form factors just don't work out. If it's a tablet it's too small for being laptop, and the other way around. You can't do serious work on a tablet, and using a laptop as a tablet is ridiculous. Additionally, Android makes for a decent tablet OS, but it's still sorely lacking in productivity apps (e.g. not even a decent image manipulation app like GIMP).

CrimsonSunrise


cramx3

Quote from: rumborak on April 05, 2016, 02:35:31 PM
The last two phones of mine I actually bought cases for, partially because to protect them, but partially also because they were so thin and sleek, they had a way of slipping out of my hand.

Interesting side discussion: I've been looking at replacing my current laptop (which I'm only keeping alive through various USB devices, since the internal ones have died). Somehow I had this idea that it would be nice to have something that could serve both as a laptop and a tablet. Problem is, the form factors just don't work out. If it's a tablet it's too small for being laptop, and the other way around. You can't do serious work on a tablet, and using a laptop as a tablet is ridiculous. Additionally, Android makes for a decent tablet OS, but it's still sorely lacking in productivity apps (e.g. not even a decent image manipulation app like GIMP).

I had the Sony VAIO Core DUO 11, which was a really well specced laptop that could flip into a tablet.  Was really an awesome device.  I ended up just never using it once work gave me a macbook pro.  I also have an ipad.  I use nothing besides my normal laptop.  I just find all these gadgets are not for me.  Give me a big fat laptop with good guts.  The fancy doesnt work for me anymore it seems.  So I bought that laptop for 1200 and sold it on ebay last fall for like 400 after a few years.

Chino

I really don't understand why we haven't seen a full blown iPad/mac hybrid yet from Apple, especially now since they have that 12+" pro edition. My biggest complaint with my iPad is that it's virtually useless when it comes to creating content. Outside of not wanting to possibly derail their laptop line, I can't for the life of me fathom why bluetooth mouse support hasn't been added yet. I did it by jail breaking my iPad, but then half my apps stopped working because they detected a modified OS. They allowed you to connect a wireless keyboard to it from day one, why is adding a cursor so hard?

rumborak

That's been in Android forever, weird.

Bolsters

It's because Apple doesn't give a fuck if you want to use a mouse with your iPad or not. They don't want you to, so you can't (outside of jailbreaking).
Bolsters™

cramx3

Quote from: Bolsters on April 06, 2016, 07:12:06 AM
It's because Apple doesn't give a fuck if you want to use a mouse with your iPad or not. They don't want you to, so you can't (outside of jailbreaking).

I'm guessing this is the reason.  I'd imagine they could add mouse support over bluetooth to the next version of IOS but they don't want to because if you want to use a mouse apple product, you'll have to buy a macbook. 

YtseBitsySpider

clearly this thread and the original question doesn't matter to the females of the board.

Glad we can all put that to rest.

Refreshing honesty is refreshing.

TioJorge

Pretty much exactly what Blob said, for me. It's all about what you want out of your device and what you're using it for. For me, like Blob said, if I don't have to sacrifice performance or risk hardware damage (be it heating, it being so ridiculously thin that it's actually at risk to break, etc.) then of course I'd want it thinner simply because if the device is portable...well, more portability is better save for the aforementioned downgrades/risks. I'm definitely not going to give a shit if my laptop/iPhone/iPad is thinner if the overall performance is downgraded, but again, that's me. Maybe someone needs it for very minimal use and has it out constantly, I'm guessing it'd be perfect for that person.

So yeah, size absolutely matters but that doesn't mean anything in regards to how thin it is (or if you just really like lugging around a huge laptop, how big..?). For me, the iPhone 6+ is perfect because it's big enough that I can watch movies and such on it, as I do very often, but small enough that it still fits in my pocket and I can use it one-handed (because apparently I'm a fucking caveman). For others, it's ridiculously too big. Alternatively I also wouldn't want the phone any thinner because I personally like the weight of the phone and wouldn't want feeling that it's going to snap.

JayOctavarium

I have an averaged sized... laptop that suites me just fine. It's not super thin. It's not light. I am happy with it.


and like Rumby, I am always looking for cases for my phone (Galaxy S4) because the phone is just too damn thin. I like my phones like I like my women...  with a little meat on them.


kirksnosehair

HP's PC sales have been struggling and this is an attempt at innovation to spur some sales but it dropped into the marketplace with a collective thud that just about nobody heard or paid much attention to.


The thing is, making something smaller isn't all that innovative.  Now if you take a look at what Microsoft did with the Surface Pro tablet, that's innovation and those things are selling like wildfire and with good reason.   They present the best combination of price and features on the tablet market today. 


HP will sell these because they're HP and they're huge.  I'm not sure it's going to get them any more market share, though.

kirksnosehair

But to answer your initial question yes, size is important, but only to a point.


Executives want thin and light because it's easier to travel with so anytime there is true innovation in laptop form factor, the market takes notice.

Calvin6s

As usual, it all comes down to girth.

YtseBitsySpider

not always.
Tight pair of pants, tight pocket? You just can't get it to fit without it being uncomfortable.

Lynxo


Cable

I have a current form MacBook Air (same chassis as current, just a year slower). It is just probably the right size regarding thinness, and screen size (13). I could be a touch lighter, but beside that I love the thing. I walk around with it with one hand at times, and use it with much more ease for browsing and what not compared to my phone. I am anti-tablet.

But yeah, I wouldn't want thinner, or much lighter. There comes a fine balance, which I think they'll hit soon with phones too with being too big.