What happened to the small phones?

[Guest (Tom)]

Hi all, I've not looked at phones for ages, and would appreciate any advice.

I don't upgrade often. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", but it is now time to upgrade. The only problem is that my last two phones have been the last two versions of "Xperia Mini", and I've been holding out in vain for a refresh.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a replacement?

It seems that ALL the latest handsets are impractically huge.... (I run and hill walk a lot, so the Xperia Mini was ideal and best I've ever owned. I know that there are all sorts of arm bands and weather proof pouches out there, but the modern designs are just too big to wear with other kit.

Ironically the Iphone now seems the smallest phone without going for a reduction in processing oomph and functionality from the mini.

I really don't want to go to apple until they allow me to sync my music and photos via usb without Itunes.... or unless they make an ITunes for Linux. Until then I don't see the point in stepping back into the dark ages.

Does anyone have suggestions for an ultra small phone with decent power, up to date OS, and gives me good usb/wifi connectivity to my computers or network shares like my old Xperia does with android?

Is the age of the small phone gone?

Thanks

Tom

[Guest Weezle]

There comes a point where a small touchscreen is too small to be practical, and generally users want more and more screen space and resolution. It is possible that in the future we will see a generation of "small is beautiful" handsets but for now at least it seems to be that big, clear screens are here for now. Personally I like them and the screen size was an important factor (I currently have a 4.7 inch screen), perhaps when I come to upgrade again I will struggle to find something I like?