I have small hands. They’re not super small—my younger sister sports much tinier digits–but they’re definitely not close to the size of an average man’s. For that reason, my Droid drives me crazy. In fact, so does every high-end smartphone. They just weren’t made for hands like mine.
Why I went smart
I wanted a high-end smartphone that utilized Android. After looking at several different phones, including the G1 and the Nexus One, I chose the Droid because it handles the tasks that I need to accomplish much faster than the older G1, and it has a physical keyboard, which the Nexus One lacks.
I was also excited to say goodbye to my tiny old Samsung, which was not only slow, but lacked a QWERTY keyboard. Typing on it was time consuming and annoying, and browsing the web was almost entirely out of the question.
I have had my Droid for about four months now, but I find myself missing the keyboard on my shitty Samsung. Don’t get me wrong—it’s nice not having to hit the “7” key four times to get the letter “S”–but it’s far more difficult for me to navigate the Droid’s keyboard than I expected.
The keyboard conundrum
I was severely let down to realize that what I wanted most, a smoother and faster typing experience, was not what I would be getting with the Droid. The phone was obviously created for someone with bigger hands than me–someone male.
Though I do ultimately enjoy the Droid, I am frustrated by the lack of devices suited to users like me: women that want high-end smartphones with smaller keyboards. In fact, today’s premiere handsets–the iPhone 3GS, Droid, Nexus One, and HD2–were all obviously made with larger hands in mind. When used with their ideal landscape orientation, these four phones measure 4.55, 4.56, 4.7 and 4.74 inches wide, respectively.
If these devices are any indication, then average size of the flagship smartphone is gradually increasing over time. It makes sense, too: bigger, better screens are fast becoming a hot commodity.
All of this isn’t to say that there are no smartphones with smaller keyboards or portrait orientations, however. The Palm Pre Plus and RIM’s QWERTY BlackBerries boast portrait orientation and a better fit for my hands. The Palm Pixi Plus has been particularly noted for its tiny keyboard, but that’s probably because it was created for women. (My colleagues have noted that the Pixi is the “mommy blogger phone.”)
While these phones might better fit my hand, the BlackBerry’s cruddy OS and Palm’s middling hardware make for lacking designs; they don’t hold a candle to the phones with the experience I really want.
Digging deeper
I’m not saying that the tech industry is dreadfully sexist or has deliberately conspired to keep me down with big phones. In fact, the reason why smartphones are catered towards men is clear: men dominate the tech industry, so it makes sense that its products would fit their needs. Furthermore, according to a study done by Google, 58% of smartphone users are male. Phone manufacturers are simply looking out for what their user base wants and needs, and the majority of that user base are male.
Even so, it’s extremely frustrating that 42% of US smartphone users are ignored by high-end phone makers, especially in this day and age. It seems as though very few gadgets are made with a woman in mind–unless, of course, you describe revamping an existing product with a pink bezel and flowers as “keeping a woman in mind.” If the Droid was pink, I’d totally think it was made just for me, right?! OMG!
Perhaps I’m simply getting my pants in a bunch over a relatively small issue, but I am frustrated by the lack of high-end devices that also offer a tactile experience I find comfortable. And, perhaps one day, a company will release a phone which offers exactly that. For now, I only have one request: make me a phone!
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