_Each week [Ross Rubin](http://twitter.com/rossrubin) contributes [Switched On](http://www.engadget.com/tag/switchedon), a column about consumer technology._
In the golden era of the PDA, many debated whether future consumers would adopt a one-device or two-device approach. The two-devicers argued that the connectivity for phone calls would come from a simple, bare-bones cellphone while all the fancy data management would occur on a Bluetooth-tethered, PDA-like device unbound from cellular contracts. The Handspring Treo was for many the first converged-device handset that accomplished key tasks well enough to make a convincing case for handset integration, and the smartphone revolution ensued.
The first iPhone featured a large screen for its time but not a much larger footprint than its contemporary competitors such as the [BlackBerry](http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/blackberry-10-event-roundup/) or Treo. Competitors asked if a 3.5-inch handheld palette was good for consuming web content, wasn't a 4.3-inch display -- like that on the [HTC EVO 4G ](http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/19/htc-evo-4g-review/)better? Screen sizes and attendant resolution continued to grow with the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note, 5.5-inch [Galaxy Note II](http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/08/samsung-galaxy-note-ii-review/) and culminating in the 6.1-inch [Huawei Ascend Mate](http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/07/huawei-ascend-mate-hands-on-at-ces-2013/) that debuted at CES. Samsung and Huawei are joined by LG, Sony and HTC in offering or announcing a 5-inch or larger Android phone. The latter joined the pocket-stuffing ranks with the 5-inch Droid DNA on Verizon, available in China as the [HTC Butterfly](http://www.engadget.com/gallery/htc-butterfly-hands-on-in-beijing/).
Filed under: [Handhelds](http://www.engadget.com/category/handhelds/)
**[Comments](http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/03/a-handset-for-human-hands/#comments)**
URL: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/03/a-handset-for-human-hands/
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