OPINION: Size matters

And the iPhone is one of very few devices with the screen real estate to make browsing worth the effort – and you don’t have to stick to “designed for mobile” websites either. You can surf almost anywhere and make sense of the display.

Of course the other parameter required for the ‘perfect storm’ to work was decent download speeds, so it’s a given that 3G was essential for the iPhone to succeed as a data device.

Can we now assume that the other vendors of mobile magic will increase their screen sizes too? Maybe.

Apart from the long-lead times required to get this stuff to market, there’s bound to be some inertia to overcome in the marketing department. You know the types – they’ll try to flog a dead horse with every last breath.

But we desperately need an iPhone competitor, or three. If nobody else slides into this niche to compete with Apple all we can look forward to is even more restrictions on what we can do with our phones.

It will take some competition from other vendors with fewer restrictions on what you can load onto your mobile device before Apple relinquishes control of the iPhone.

Right now they won’t see the need while we keep on buying regardless of how they treat us.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a mobile phone with built-in micro projector. Then you’ll just point it at the nearest wall and there won’t be any shortage of screen real estate.

Battery life would probably suck. And it would get seriously weird on buses and trains with everyone competing for wall space to surf their favourite websites.

Maybe they’ll invent a multi-user version so all the passengers can vote for their favourite clip and then watch YouTube together on the….tube….