I do recall back in those days when we started off with mobile phones that is fat, tall and thick. At those days, owning a phone is a luxury whereby you'll be the one standing out in the crowd and people would look at you in awe as you make your phone calls.
Fast forward a bit then we go into an era of miniature phones, manufacturers made mobile devices smaller and smaller with the caption "Because I can" and the consumers ended up buying them quoting "Because I can afford...". I'm sure you know who you are.
But in today's world where the mobile industry had flourished and smartphones (or dare I say, mobile computing) is all around us. There are still choices when it comes to the size of the device - it all depends on what you need to do with it and what you want it to do for you.
Recently, I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 with the sole reason that I would need that for work. I actually had made a long assessment before jumping into the buying decision for I'm afraid that it would later become a white elephant sitting somewhere in the house. Moreover, I do have my company's laptop (15 inch) running on UBUNTU and my smartphone of (5.5 inch) running on Android, does a gigantic 10.1 incher fits into my work or personal life ? Here are some thoughts:-
Size DOES matters !
When I made the decision to purchase my Note 2, I was basically planning to retire my ASUS Transformer TF101 (10.1 inch tablet) as my work gadget. I thought that the 5.5 inch device would suffice to take notes during meetings and draw diagrams (Yeah, I use the stylus a lot) and easy to carry around as a communication device.
But I soon discovered that I am not able to write many things in that 5.5 inch of real estate, moreover taking notes in meetings are more of scribbling than writing nicely on the canvas. When it comes to drawing, the autoshape function of S-Note does comes in handy but it's also not flawless (You can't just replace Microsoft VISIO with that).
After a few months of trying and trying, I soon discovered that I need something that is larger in size, a bigger canvas is good but then again, how big is too big ?
How big is too big ?
When I purchase the Note 10.1, the Note 8 is already out in the Malaysian market. I was actually wondering if I should jump into the 8 incher game play instead of choosing the largest screen available in our market. But then again, there's this thought that comes into me, "What am I going to use to interact with it ? Finger or Stylus ? And if using stylus, doesn't it makes more sense to have a larger canvas to write or draw ?"
I can't convince myself enough that I need something that is big because of the way I interact with it. It makes sense if you're using an 7 or 8 inch tablet with a finger and not expecting to draw, paint or write onto it. Nexus 7, iPad Mini makes sense, but Note 8 ? I dunno, I believe the same question I would post back to you is, "How frequent do you use your stylus ?"
Stylus VS Keyboard
My prior ASUS Transformer TF101 is one of the best device I had owned. If only ASUS had came out with a device this year with the same form factor (Attached keyboard with battery and USB) and more powerful processor upgrade, I would had chosen ASUS without a blink. Let's face it, physical Keyboard had been around and will always be around because of us (as humans) we respond well to touches. Typing on a flat screen just can't give you the feel of typing the correct letters effectively.
But what if it comes to writing ? Unless if you're born with doctor's writing, then perhaps you better stick to nothing except keyboard. The stylus is still one of the best tool you can use for various different purposes. Are you born in those days when computers are scarce ? Going to school with a box full of pencils and erasers ? Yes, a stylus works very much like your pencil, it provides the capability to write, paint, editing, croping and such. A mouse just can't cut into that kind of precision. Buying a tablet and to fully use it would give you the sense of satisfaction that it's worth your money.
Moreover I have a kid now who is learning how to write and draw. Bringing papers and pencils to restaurant is a mistake. Why not let him practice on the tablet itself ?
Conclusion
So in a nutshell, what is your next device solely depends on what you wish to do with it and what kind of experience you wish to gain from it. Here are some thoughts:-
Small size device (5 inch and below)
Pros:
1) Nice to pocket, sleek and stylish (?)
Cons:
1) Precision is required to work with it, especially those with fat fingers (Careful when driving !)
2) May lack of battery life compared with the larger guys
Medium size device (5 to 8 inch)
Pros:
1) Larger canvas to work with (better for those who have ailing eyesight)
2) May offer better battery life
3) Better for videos
Cons:
1) May not be pocket-able (Prone to snatch thieves... heh)
2) Awkward as a communication device (Imagine your 8 inch tablet suddenly receives a phone call and you forgot your headset)
Large size device (Above 8 inch)
1) Best for videos
2) Largest available canvas for every sort of feature possible (i.e. Multiple multitasking windows)
Cons:
*As with Medium size device
1) Heavy aswell hell !
Fast forward a bit then we go into an era of miniature phones, manufacturers made mobile devices smaller and smaller with the caption "Because I can" and the consumers ended up buying them quoting "Because I can afford...". I'm sure you know who you are.
Recently, I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 with the sole reason that I would need that for work. I actually had made a long assessment before jumping into the buying decision for I'm afraid that it would later become a white elephant sitting somewhere in the house. Moreover, I do have my company's laptop (15 inch) running on UBUNTU and my smartphone of (5.5 inch) running on Android, does a gigantic 10.1 incher fits into my work or personal life ? Here are some thoughts:-
Size DOES matters !
When I made the decision to purchase my Note 2, I was basically planning to retire my ASUS Transformer TF101 (10.1 inch tablet) as my work gadget. I thought that the 5.5 inch device would suffice to take notes during meetings and draw diagrams (Yeah, I use the stylus a lot) and easy to carry around as a communication device.
But I soon discovered that I am not able to write many things in that 5.5 inch of real estate, moreover taking notes in meetings are more of scribbling than writing nicely on the canvas. When it comes to drawing, the autoshape function of S-Note does comes in handy but it's also not flawless (You can't just replace Microsoft VISIO with that).
After a few months of trying and trying, I soon discovered that I need something that is larger in size, a bigger canvas is good but then again, how big is too big ?
How big is too big ?
When I purchase the Note 10.1, the Note 8 is already out in the Malaysian market. I was actually wondering if I should jump into the 8 incher game play instead of choosing the largest screen available in our market. But then again, there's this thought that comes into me, "What am I going to use to interact with it ? Finger or Stylus ? And if using stylus, doesn't it makes more sense to have a larger canvas to write or draw ?"
I can't convince myself enough that I need something that is big because of the way I interact with it. It makes sense if you're using an 7 or 8 inch tablet with a finger and not expecting to draw, paint or write onto it. Nexus 7, iPad Mini makes sense, but Note 8 ? I dunno, I believe the same question I would post back to you is, "How frequent do you use your stylus ?"
Stylus VS Keyboard
My prior ASUS Transformer TF101 is one of the best device I had owned. If only ASUS had came out with a device this year with the same form factor (Attached keyboard with battery and USB) and more powerful processor upgrade, I would had chosen ASUS without a blink. Let's face it, physical Keyboard had been around and will always be around because of us (as humans) we respond well to touches. Typing on a flat screen just can't give you the feel of typing the correct letters effectively.
But what if it comes to writing ? Unless if you're born with doctor's writing, then perhaps you better stick to nothing except keyboard. The stylus is still one of the best tool you can use for various different purposes. Are you born in those days when computers are scarce ? Going to school with a box full of pencils and erasers ? Yes, a stylus works very much like your pencil, it provides the capability to write, paint, editing, croping and such. A mouse just can't cut into that kind of precision. Buying a tablet and to fully use it would give you the sense of satisfaction that it's worth your money.
Moreover I have a kid now who is learning how to write and draw. Bringing papers and pencils to restaurant is a mistake. Why not let him practice on the tablet itself ?
Conclusion
So in a nutshell, what is your next device solely depends on what you wish to do with it and what kind of experience you wish to gain from it. Here are some thoughts:-
Small size device (5 inch and below)
Pros:
1) Nice to pocket, sleek and stylish (?)
Cons:
1) Precision is required to work with it, especially those with fat fingers (Careful when driving !)
2) May lack of battery life compared with the larger guys
Medium size device (5 to 8 inch)
Pros:
1) Larger canvas to work with (better for those who have ailing eyesight)
2) May offer better battery life
3) Better for videos
Cons:
1) May not be pocket-able (Prone to snatch thieves... heh)
2) Awkward as a communication device (Imagine your 8 inch tablet suddenly receives a phone call and you forgot your headset)
Large size device (Above 8 inch)
1) Best for videos
2) Largest available canvas for every sort of feature possible (i.e. Multiple multitasking windows)
Cons:
*As with Medium size device
1) Heavy as
