In response to a question at its
press conference today about whether Apple could've done anything to avoid its antenna issues with the iPhone 4, Steve took the opportunity to rip on bigger rivals, saying that making a phone so big "
you can't get your hand around it" helps, but that "no one's going to buy that." We're assuming he's likely talking about the latest crop of 4-, 4.3- and 5-inch phones that include the
Galaxy S series, the
EVO 4G,
Droid X, and
Dell Streak, even going so far as to call them "Hummers" (we take it you don't ever drive a Hummer, Steve?). Though ripping on the competition is to be expected, perhaps the more interesting takeaway here is that we can't realistically expect an iPhone much bigger than the 3.5-inch display they use today -- presumably that'll all be reserved for
iPad territory going forward. We personally don't mind something with a little more screen real estate -- but hey, maybe humans need to go through a few more cycles of evolutionary hand enlargement before Cupertino's willing to capitulate.
posted July 16th 2010 12:40PM
i think the sales numbers of phones like the EVO 4G and HD2, and probably the DROID X speak for themselves. Plenty of people buy big phones. I think he's just mad that the iPhone 4 only has a 3.5" screen, which I think is alittle small. 3.7" and 4" are a better screen size, and 4.3" is a bit big.
Welcome to America: Choice!
@HighestRanked2
Pepsi taste awful. we all know pepsi cheated on the challenge
I think most people would welcome 50% more screen real estate at the cost of an additional ~.3" in physical size.
@senormatt
well, technically, iphone 4 has 4 times the screen real estate with a REDUCTION in size.
@senormatt
compared to the iphone 3gs and previous generations
bad signal we have a bumper for that
Why does anyone believe what this man says, anymore?
@HighestRanked2 I have the iPhone 4. My sister and her boyfriend got the iPhone 4 two days after I got mine. My friend Dave got his 1 day before launch day. WE ALL HAVE THE DEATH GRIP. I can replicate it every time. The signal bars drop from 4 to zero then drops the call. If its not widespread, then how come Replacement was not an option? What is worst than an iHater is an iTroll.
I think Steve maybe on to something here. I'm not sure people will buy large phones either.
However, I do think that some people will buy small tablets with integrated telephony services. I think after people use the 4.3" screens and see how useful they are, that will stimulate demand for larger devices for a better Internet experience.
@zeorai
the interesting thing is, the dimensions for the EVO 4g is very similar to the iphone, save for the thickness. however, the large screen does have a less aesthetic appeal than the iphone 4, not to mention the poor battery life. it's sorta in an uncanny valley of too much of a good thing.
bad signal we have a bumper for that.
i love my big azz evo
"No one will ever need more than 637 Kilobytes of memory" -Bill Gates
@PopRocks
memory got smaller... you can fit GBs on a microSD card. unless you can make a 5" screen smaller, it's a pretty moot point.
Endgadget should run a poll on phone size. Everyone would say yes to a bigger screen, but how many really want a larger phone?
I tried an EVO. I liked it before, tho not enough to switch from my 3GS. The form factor made for much better viewing and software typing. I think after all of this news, I will wait for it to get the 2.2 update, and choose between it and the Galaxy. BTW, for those waiting for the Verizon version, if you use office email (exchange) make sure you look at their data plan rates..
no one's going to buy????????
let me rephrase the sentence
YOU aren't going to buy.
Galaxy S line is great, they can play MKVs.
Also the 4 inch screen makes reading subs easy instead of having to squint.
You know Apple is in trouble when Steve starts attacking the competition without provocation.
Ironic that he would say nobody is going to buy a big phone when both the Evo 4G and Droid X are sold out everywhere. The Droid Incredible is sold out as well. Hmm come to think of it it seems like every new Android phone is selling out now. Maybe that's why Steve is sweating. Samsung Captivate, Vibrant, Fascinate, and Epic 4G will skyrocket Android sales even further.
The iPhone empire is crumbling very fast. Over 100,000 apps on Android already. The 3 newest Android phones are all sold out and Samsung is unleashing Galaxy S Android phones simultaneously on all 4 carriers with a superior screen technology to iPhone. I knew this fate was inevitable for Apple and the iPhone. Apple's one size fits all walled-garden business model simply does not work long term. Apple is repeating the 80's all over again.
@cool8man
the reason android market is getting big is because they aren't regulating it. android market has way looser requirements than the app store. 3% of app store apps are rejected not only because they don't do what it suppose to do, but it compromises the user experience on the phone.
@Icepop4who
The App Store has no bad apps in it? Really?
@cool8man Oh jeez guy... Those phones sell out not only because people like them, but also because they don't make that many of them.
You should be aware that the iPhone 4 has been sold out everywhere too, so does that term really mean as much as you affix to it?
@hey buddy The Motorola Droid is the flagship phone for Verizon, they've put more money into marketing their Droid phones than any other phones in the past year. To say that they're not making many of them is pure stupidity. Do you really think that Verizon would spend as much money blanketing the air waves with Droid Incredible & Droid X ads if they weren't manufacturing many of them?
The HTC Evo has also become the flagship phone on Sprint. The Evo is the cornerstone of Sprint's 4G marketing effort. Again do you really think they are not making many of them? Seriously? When you put all the Android phones together this new found success can't be dismissed as not a threat. Android marketshare is growing each quarter by huge percentages while iPhone marketshare is going down slightly. With the way that T-mobile, Sprint, and Verizon are advertising their Android phones it's almost as if all 3 carriers have teamed up to take down the iPhone. This is the first time in history where all of AT&T's competitors were promoting Android phones as their flagship devices. It used to be that Verizon was pushing Blackberry OS, Sprint was pushing Palm OS, and T-mobile was pushing Android or Sidekick. Now you have all 3 getting behind Android at the same time. Apple is good at marketing, but they can't outmarket the combined efforts of Google/Sprint/Verizon/T-mobile/Motorola/HTC/Samsung/LG who are all promoting Android. Android has become the Windows to Apple's iOS Mac.
I reiterate my point, it is stupid for Apple's CEO to be saying that nobody wants big phones when the fastest selling smartphone to date on Sprint is a 4.3" screen device and the company is unable to keep them in stock over a month after launch. Obviously a significant number of people do want larger screens. Maybe they don't represent the majority of people, but it doesn't mean those sales are insignificant.
Apple's one size fits all approach to the cellphone industry is going to fail just as it has in the past in the computer industry. 1 new phone every 12-months with minor upgrades on a single carrier is not going to cut it anymore when the competition is advancing every month and offering a variety of devices to suit the needs of the individual across all networks. Some people want big phones, some want small phones, and some want medium. Some want keyboards and some don't. Some want Sprint, Verizon, T-mobile, or AT&T. Google will have a phone for everybody's needs, Apple won't.
That's a REALLY STUPID comment by him. Only those afraid of something would say something like that. Look I'm an Apple guy, MBP, about to buy a few iMac's for the office but I've never had any desire for the iPhone. I anted the Nexus One, couldn't get it through Verizon, wanted the Incredible - they couldn't get enough of them in.. so I went with the big phone (according to Jobs) and I absolutely still look at it and MARVEL in AWE. The big phone works, works fast, and works well. His arrogance is really starting to bug me. In the store the EVO looked too big - but once I got it in my hands it was perfect I can't imagine having anything any smaller or I couldn't read the damn thing.
@HighestRanked2
HaHa don't you sound really stupid. I swear you must be 5 the way you feel like you must comment on everyone's opinion with a play ground come back. What was naive about my comment? That I love Apple products, that I have many of them but because I don't the phone you have you call me naive and innocent. That was the lamest play ground come back ever.
Anyone with any sense knows to root their phone and get rid of the Nascar program if they don't want it. I think its funny that the Nascar app was your main reply for not liking the "big phone".
As I stated before, Apple fanboys are really starting to get a little worried that their "hey look at my phone - you know the one everyone else has that looks just like mine" is getting some bad press. I'll never buy another PC again but I doubt I'll ever buy an iPhone.
@sanders0906
and you bit the bait.
@Icepop4who
Yes I know, I love confrontation. I never lose confrontations and I love calling a spade a spade. Thanks for confirming its working :)
I have giant hands and agree that this is the path human evolution should be taking. So what if I can't button my shirt, I can comfortably hold an EVO!
@deedeedee ya, but there is only one iphone and only one release/year. There is how many androids now with multiple new ones released every month? and how many of those are bigger than the iphone? non-iphone users get a choice, iphone users don't, which makes the numbers look bigger. let's compare iphone to android, not ONE version of an android phone.
Hi Steve, I guess you can call me "No One". Nice to meet you.
Sent from my HTC EVO
You kno...now I lost respect for jobs, just stick to osx and ipod touch because a comment like this shows how oblivious he is. We had so many people at my job buy the Droid x yesterday and I've seen so many ppl buy the evo that I wouldn't expected since its release....try this one on for size, NOONE IS GOING TO BUY A PHONE THAT CAN'T MAKE CALLs
@Cokemanpac
yeah, 3 million people didn't buy an iphone to make calls.
@Icepop4who ya, those 3 million expected to make calls. boy did apple fool them
@deedeedee
I've owned a 3g for a year and a 3gs for another year, now I own a Google's Nexus One and let me tell you those phones are TRASH in every single aspect compared to my N1, and those phones did have the ability for making phone calls without having to put them in a condom. So no I Don't aspire to own an iphone because I have already got 2 of them and I will repeat what I've just said, THEY ARE TRASH.
@deedeedee
Makes me feel like i don't care. Lmao u must have a lot invested into this to be saying all that. It's annoying as hell to have calls drop. How about before these companies put all these.apps on phones, they make sure it can perform its primary function..MAKE A CALL!...that's all I'm sayin now get off my nuts u creeper
I'd rather have a bigger phone that works when I hold it than a smaller "phone" that cannot make calls without them being dropped.
no one going to buy a big phone....you can't say that and have those very same phones sold out everywhere LOL!!!!
And why is he bashing everyone else....thought this was about YOUR screw up lol
Jobs: No one's going to buy a big phone.
rederikus: No one's going to buy a phone that is so badly designed that it does not fulfil its prime function.
SUE THE BASTARDS
The photo of this article (Q & A in the background) should be titled:
Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs with hair and some fat guy.
I suppose the 'no one's going to buy' a big phone comment conveniently forgets the hundreds of thousands of 4 inch+ phones flying off shelves.
I had no idea the non-human/C.H.U.D market was so huge.
@Strand0410
yet iphone sells more than all of them combined.
@Strand0410 +1 for C.H.U.D.
a phone so big "you can't get your hand around it"
When I relayed this lovely Jobs snippet to my wife (who has been eyeing the Evo as her next device), she snapped back with "well you can't wrap your hand around the iPhone 4 either: it'll drop the call" - I love my wife.
:P
@MarcO
lol funniest thing I've heard all day
Hi Steve? Could you please just make the iPhone 4 work? No condoms or sausage cases. Just make it work. Now. I paid for it. Do it. Now.
@lerxst
safe calling is the only calling, or abstinence from calling.
Sure Stevie, why would anyone want a bigger screen? That's why HDTV sales are plummeting, right? Right?
No. And guess what, your iPhone with the mandatory case on it is the same size as these phones you're saying no one wants.
I love big screens!!!!
Yeah, I have an Evo and and it is perfect. I guess if you fall in to the emo-tight-legging look, you'll have trouble pocketing it.
If he is implying that the design have to be bigger for the antenna to be effective, he is taking us for fools. Those android phones are bigger because of bigger screens! Hello steve jobs, there are phones a third the size of iPhone that actually makes proper phone calls.