With all the talk of a large screen iPhone 6 this year, and potentially more in the years to follow, it's got me wondering — how big is too big? One of the arguments for a big screen iPhone is that it would better serve people who need a phone but want only one primary computing device. A 4.3- to 5-inch iPhone could satisfy them, but what about a 7.9-inch Retina iPad mini with Phone.app installed as well?
Unlike Samsung and some other manufacturers who include phone apps on their tablets, Apple currently keeps Phone functionality — among other things — off the iPad. Nevertheless, thanks to third-party apps, I've used the iPad mini as a pseudo-phone several times.
While not ideal, if phone functionality wasn't anywhere near the top of my list, the bigger screen size might just make up for the awkwardness. Thanks to Bluetooth and headsets, it's not as if you'd have to hold it to your head like an 80s-style boom box. You'd just have to tap the Phone app and make a call with all the convenience of an iPhone and all the advantages of the bigger screen.
FaceTime audio makes it possible, so do apps like Skype or even Google Hangouts. But Phone.app is the real deal. The same thing the iPhone has, that any phone has.
The question is — would an iPad with Phone.app be something you'd want?
