Best 4-4.3 inch smartphone?

[Radeon962]

I'm an Android guy, but if I wanted a 4" phone, no question it would be an iPhone 5s.

 

[zerogear]

Whenever I see topics like these, the burger king commercial always pops into my head:

 

[poofyhairguy]

That guy is a proud 4S user.

 

[shortylickens]

The Droid Mini looks good but its Verizon only.

There just arent enough quality small phones out right now. For that matter, I dont see nearly enough keyboard phones either.

 

[shortylickens]

OH AND WHILE WE'RE ON THE FREAKIN SUBJECT:

I really miss having a damn trackball. Crosspad was nice too, but trackball is better.
Makes selecting text and browsing links a crapload easier. Can also be good for games but so few support it any more since no phones USE it any more.

Thats annoying.

 

[spdfreak]

Still have to recommend you look at the Nokia 82x series... they are generally free with contract and 100-150.00 on ebay for new ones. with the recent updates from Nokia and MS, they are probably the best mid-range phone out there right now.

 

[rcpratt]

Windows phones are out for a very simple but unavoidable reason. I'm on Android. The GF is going to need some encouragement and help along the way if she's going to depart from iOS. I don't have the time at the moment to learn a new OS just to teach her. She definitely would not take the plunge unless I was going to be assisting her.

Price is not much of a factor. I'd rather spend $200 on something new, shiny, and up-to-date that will last two years than saving $100 on a few month old phone.

So it looks like it's the Moto X or Droid Mini. I knooooow she'll have a better experience on the X. But can I get her to go 4.7"...

 

[poofyhairguy]

But can I get her to go 4.7"...

Take her to the store to look before you say the size of the screen to her. It looks small.

 

[rcpratt]

Take her to the store to look before you say the size of the screen to her. It looks small.

That's the plan. She wanted to see them in person anyways.

 

[Crono]

I know you plan on going Android, but if she does see a Windows Phone she likes in size and form factor over the other phones, I wouldn't hesitate to get one if she doesn't rely on a lot of iPhone-only apps.

Even if you aren't familiar with Windows Phone, it takes about 5 minutes to pick it up and get used to most of the features. Ridiculously easy to learn, easier than iOS and Android. My dad learned how to use one by himself, and he is the least tech-savvy person I know (he upgraded to an iPhone 5 a few weeks ago, though, and I did have to walk him through that and again with the iOS 7 update).

 

[desura]

What I like about windows phone is that the scrolling is free and fluid. While in Android, scrolling around often feels constrained, like they put the brakes on it more for some reason.

They probably ripped apple off in that part.

Only bad thing about windows phone really is that the apps aren't up to snuff for the most part. Like, there is no official pocket client yet on windows phone, which is pretty awful. And you are stuck with IE. Can't install any other browsers on there. IE is competitive though.

Also, it seems to me that unlike android...I cannot direct my phone to install apps on the sd card.

Otherwise, it's pretty darn good for what they get right, and all of my complaints aren't really fundamental design issues (like scrolling in android) but things that I expect to improve over time.

 

[pm]

My list would be:
o iPhone 5C/5S (4")
o Nokia Lumia 920 (4.7")
o Motorola Moto X (4.7")

Depending on what OS you like... I personally like all three OS's - I've been particularly impressed by Windows Mobile 8 and the Lumia 920 has a great camera. If Win8 has the apps that you want, then the Lumia is a great pick. I also really like the feel and battery life of the Moto X. It's a great size, and feels and looks great. And then the iPhone is always a good choice - the new iOS7 refresh brings the feature set closer to parity with Android.

 

[shady28]

My list would be:
o iPhone 5C/5S (4")
o Nokia Lumia 920 (4.7")
o Motorola Moto X (4.7")

Depending on what OS you like... I personally like all three OS's - I've been particularly impressed by Windows Mobile 8 and the Lumia 920 has a great camera. If Win8 has the apps that you want, then the Lumia is a great pick. I also really like the feel and battery life of the Moto X. It's a great size, and feels and looks great. And then the iPhone is always a good choice - the new iOS7 refresh brings the feature set closer to parity with Android.

The Lumia 92x is not a small phone, its a big slab, just like my Maxx. That's not what the OP was asking for. The main reason people are recommending the Moto X is that its physically small despite the 4.7" screen.

 

[pm]

The Lumia 92x is not a small phone, its a big slab, just like my Maxx. That's not what the OP was asking for. The main reason people are recommending the Moto X is that its physically small despite the 4.7" screen.

Well, yeah... but it has a nice camera - which the OP highlighted. But yeah, you are right.

 

[desura]

Nokia 820 is a bit smaller. About the same size as an HTC evo 3d.

 

[kasakka]

Only bad thing about windows phone really is that the apps aren't up to snuff for the most part. Like, there is no official pocket client yet on windows phone, which is pretty awful. And you are stuck with IE. Can't install any other browsers on there. IE is competitive though.

As a web developer I want to steer anyone away from Windows Phone. It's IE versions don't seem to work the same way as their desktop counterparts. We have had issues with WP8 IE10 where desktop IE10 worked just fine. Plus the mobile version has the worst lack of settings I've seen yet. I mean you can't even choose if you want to clear history, cache or cookies. It's all or nothing.

There is a serious lack of quality smaller phones. If only Samsung had gone for a 720p display on the S4 Mini, it would've been great.