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Smartphones: When is 'big' too big? (Smartphones Unlocked)

I've handled a lot of oversize smartphones in my years as a reviewer. That's a bit of a trick statement, I'll admit, since both handset screen sizes and our perception of them as large or small have grown throughout the years.

Today, phablets like the Samsung Galaxy Mega (6.3 inches), Huawei Ascend Mate (6.1), andSony Xperia Z Ultra (6.44) aren't merely outliers giving niche users the come hither. They form a fully fledged category of XXL smartphone -- that's only getting bigger.

Samsung, HTC, and Nokia are all releasing, or rumored to be launching, new gentle giants in the coming year. These will join the six biggest cellular screens you can buy right now.

To appreciate just how much perception has shifted, we've got to think back. The original iPhone wowed with its 3.5-inch screen. Before Apple's all-touch achievement entered the scene, the industry had never seen a cell phone screen so large, with such a roomy virtual keyboard.

Supersize me: Giants of the smartphone world (pictures)

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Fast-forward three years to 2010, when Dell made headlines (but not many sales) with its unprecedented, 5-inch Dell Streak. It was, for all intents and purposes, the industry's first real phablet, though its screen size was ahead of its time and it suffered from feature and design flaws.

These days, a premium smartphone with a display measuring smaller than 4.5 inches is a point of suspicion and 5 inches is the new norm, even as users and reviewers lashed back against ever-larger "jumbo phones" just a handful of years ago.

Clearly, there's a market for smartphones so large they spill into tablet territory.

The case for jumbo phones
There are several good reasons why jumbo phones are taking off, and it isn't only because of supply.

• Visual over audio: As people rely on smartphones more for computing than for calls, the viewing experience takes priority.
• Pixel power: Higher-resolution displays can deliver fine detail and rich color. Of course, larger panels have long existed for TVs and even tablets, but the difference here is that you need more pixel density when viewing the smartphone about 6 inches away from your face.
• Hardware support: A larger screen is a power-hungry screen that requires a higher-octane processor and a large enough battery to fire up a wider field of pixels fast and bright enough. The design must also be svelte enough to carry around without bulking up pockets.