Am I the only one that thinks 5 inches is far too big for a phone? I'm not sure how I feel about the 4 inch iPhone 5, but I'm certain I don't want anything that is 5 inches.
He's now fairly sure 5" wouldn't feel any different
Mobile phones started big & awkward & for a long time (10-15 years) size was the number one feature & differentiator. There were no inherent advantages to size. It fits in your car, it fits in your bag, it fits in your pocket, its comfortable in your pocket... It became a habit to think of smaller sleeker phones as advanced.
But, they got a lot smaller then they needed to be for us to carry them everywhere. There was just no tradeoff to size (other than price) so we kept going. We (or at least I) carried around walkmans that were much bigger.
It would be interesting if the standard size becomes >5". That implies it took us a fairly long time to figure out the optimal size.
With 1280x720 pixels I use it a lot now instead of my iPad and laptops. A 5" device would cut even more into pad and laptop use time.
BTW, the 1280x720 pixel display is so very useful. That should be the minimum for a smart phone.