If you've got small hands, I feel for ya, but just buy something else.
You mean... normal hands? I have fairly average-sized hands (as determined by the highly scientific method of having compared hand sizes with many friends over the years), and the Nexus 4 with its 4.7" screen is uncomfortably large. I can reach the top left corner with my right thumb, but I always feel like I'm going to drop the phone when I do it.
You chopped off my next sentence which was the point of my post.
Anyway, I just did a run around the office and with a sample of 12, I'm tentatively concluding that I have average-size adult male hands. The way I hold my MotoX, I can hit the top left if I have to. (Again--I wonder how often people actually have to, assuming they know to left swipe for the most common use case.)
Investigating more--without realizing it until now, the way I hold the phone I actually adjust my grip on it to hit the far bottom left. I even adjust my grip slightly for the back button. It's still a one handed thing. You train yourself, withing limits, to adjust as needed. (I'm left-handed. Perhaps I should start complaining that no one designs a UI for us.) It's still very usuable and it's not a big sacrifice if you appreciate a bigger screen, like most people apparently do. If people didn't like bigger screens, manufacturers wouldn't be steadily bumping sizes up. I assume the market (i.e., actual sales) will correct the error when they go too big.
Your next sentence wasn't particularly useful, as there aren't any other choices. If I want what I consider a reasonably-sized phone (~4.2"), I have to settle for something with crap specs.
I use a few apps that poorly implement the top-left button such that left-swiping doesn't do anything. Sigh.
Yeah, just playing with mine, and noting how I readjust my grip to do various things. I just always feel like I'm about to drop my phone when I have to do that.
And I just realized: I've never dropped and broken the screen on a phone until I got my Nexus 4 (which I've broken 3 times). My Nexus One and Nexus S lived happily break-free (well, ok, my S broke because someone [accidentally] violently elbowed it out of my hand, but that's hardly due to the size of the phone).
We'll see if the market "fixes" this. I'm skeptical, as phones have been larger than my preference for at least 2 years now, and they're still growing.
As I alluded to in my first post, if the trend of "bigger is better" doesn't work for you or your hands, I feel for ya. I really do. These are devices we use constantly so it is good to invest time to find something that works well for you. (I'm preaching to the choir here, I'm sure.)
Small flagship phones might be hard to find (although the Moto X was never top-of-the-line in specs either), but they are quality options out there, admittedly more in the 4.7-inch range than 4.2. The just-announced Galaxy Alpha might be one to look at. As is the new Sony Z3 Compact. Probably others too, but I haven't followed the market super-closely. Good luck!
Thanks for the well-wishes. The Z3 Compact ("compact"? really?) is 4.6", but I'm expecting if I want a phone with reasonable specs, I'm going to be stuck with something like that. Oof.
You mean... normal hands? I have fairly average-sized hands (as determined by the highly scientific method of having compared hand sizes with many friends over the years), and the Nexus 4 with its 4.7" screen is uncomfortably large. I can reach the top left corner with my right thumb, but I always feel like I'm going to drop the phone when I do it.