4.3" or 4.5" You Decide?

[cobraphx]

The reason I say they have 4.3's lying around(saying this loosely), is because this phone was not the original Bionic as we know. This phone was most likely going to be the next transformation of the DX2.

Since we know the screen is using the same tech(pentile) as the DX2, then in my mind this phone's screen was designed 7 months ago with the DX2's specs in mind. So most likely what happened is, they had already ordered massive amounts of these screens, knowing they'd be using them in the DX2 and it's big brother, the Targa(Bionic now).

By this logic they would have millions of the Nvidia Tegra2 processors sitting in the warehouse and would be using those in the Targa too. But this isn't the way Lean Manufacturing and JIT Manufacturing works. Moto may have told Samsung (or whomever will be supplying screens for future designs) that they expect to purchase a million 4.3" screens over the next year. But it isn't like calling up Amazon and a million screens show up on the loading dock by Monday. The orders are placed ahead of time depending on the manufacturer's lead time for the device. And they are as easily canceled if business conditions or customer needs change.

These things are planned (by supplier and customer) to be delivered as close to they day they are going to be assembled into shipping product as possible. Moto doesn't want millions of dollars of unused inventory sitting in a warehouse, it's very bad for the bottom line. The supplier can't turn out millions of screens overnight, they are capacity constrained. They want to make those screens over many months, so they can keep their employees employed. The Etna proves the point well, it would be a huge loss to drop the design with millions of dollars of parts sitting around ready to build all the phones. It wasn't a huge loss to drop it because the design hadn't moved to manufacturing and there wasn't a large inventory of parts ready to go into the DOA design. Exactly why JIT Manufacturing was adopted by companies like Motorola years ago.

 

[GBH2]

The reason I say they have 4.3's lying around(saying this loosely), is because this phone was not the original Bionic as we know. This phone was most likely going to be the next transformation of the DX2.

Since we know the screen is using the same tech(pentile) as the DX2, then in my mind this phone's screen was designed 7 months ago with the DX2's specs in mind. So most likely what happened is, they had already ordered massive amounts of these screens, knowing they'd be using them in the DX2 and it's big brother, the Targa(Bionic now).

By this logic they would have millions of the Nvidia Tegra2 processors sitting in the warehouse and would be using those in the Targa too. But this isn't the way Lean Manufacturing and JIT Manufacturing works. Moto may have told Samsung (or whomever will be supplying screens for future designs) that they expect to purchase a million 4.3" screens over the next year. But it isn't like calling up Amazon and a million screens show up on the loading dock by Monday. The orders are placed ahead of time depending on the manufacturer's lead time for the device. And they are as easily canceled if business conditions or customer needs change.

These things are planned (by supplier and customer) to be delivered as close to they day they are going to be assembled into shipping product as possible. Moto doesn't want millions of dollars of unused inventory sitting in a warehouse, it's very bad for the bottom line. The supplier can't turn out millions of screens overnight, they are capacity constrained. They want to make those screens over many months, so they can keep their employees employed. The Etna proves the point well, it would be a huge loss to drop the design with millions of dollars of parts sitting around ready to build all the phones. It wasn't a huge loss to drop it because the design hadn't moved to manufacturing and there wasn't a large inventory of parts ready to go into the DOA design. Exactly why JIT Manufacturing was adopted by companies like Motorola years ago.

I don't disagree with what you are saying but price per unit normally depends on volume. If Motorola orders 300,00 units each of 3.5, 3.7, 4.0, 4.3, 4.5 they may cost $9.47 each (just a wild guess for illustrative purposes) but if they order 1,000,000 each of 4.0 and 4.3 they may be $8.23 each as the cost to manufacture a specific display type will drop with the higher number of displays they make because there is a "startup" cost to produce a new display type/size.

 

[Liderc]

The reason I say they have 4.3's lying around(saying this loosely), is because this phone was not the original Bionic as we know. This phone was most likely going to be the next transformation of the DX2.

Since we know the screen is using the same tech(pentile) as the DX2, then in my mind this phone's screen was designed 7 months ago with the DX2's specs in mind. So most likely what happened is, they had already ordered massive amounts of these screens, knowing they'd be using them in the DX2 and it's big brother, the Targa(Bionic now).

By this logic they would have millions of the Nvidia Tegra2 processors sitting in the warehouse and would be using those in the Targa too. But this isn't the way Lean Manufacturing and JIT Manufacturing works. Moto may have told Samsung (or whomever will be supplying screens for future designs) that they expect to purchase a million 4.3" screens over the next year. But it isn't like calling up Amazon and a million screens show up on the loading dock by Monday. The orders are placed ahead of time depending on the manufacturer's lead time for the device. And they are as easily canceled if business conditions or customer needs change.

These things are planned (by supplier and customer) to be delivered as close to they day they are going to be assembled into shipping product as possible. Moto doesn't want millions of dollars of unused inventory sitting in a warehouse, it's very bad for the bottom line. The supplier can't turn out millions of screens overnight, they are capacity constrained. They want to make those screens over many months, so they can keep their employees employed. The Etna proves the point well, it would be a huge loss to drop the design with millions of dollars of parts sitting around ready to build all the phones. It wasn't a huge loss to drop it because the design hadn't moved to manufacturing and there wasn't a large inventory of parts ready to go into the DOA design. Exactly why JIT Manufacturing was adopted by companies like Motorola years ago.

The point still stands that this phone was designed with the DX in mind, which has a 4.3'' screen. It will be the same screen.

 

[GBH2]

The reason I say they have 4.3's lying around(saying this loosely), is because this phone was not the original Bionic as we know. This phone was most likely going to be the next transformation of the DX2.

Since we know the screen is using the same tech(pentile) as the DX2, then in my mind this phone's screen was designed 7 months ago with the DX2's specs in mind. So most likely what happened is, they had already ordered massive amounts of these screens, knowing they'd be using them in the DX2 and it's big brother, the Targa(Bionic now).

By this logic they would have millions of the Nvidia Tegra2 processors sitting in the warehouse and would be using those in the Targa too. But this isn't the way Lean Manufacturing and JIT Manufacturing works. Moto may have told Samsung (or whomever will be supplying screens for future designs) that they expect to purchase a million 4.3" screens over the next year. But it isn't like calling up Amazon and a million screens show up on the loading dock by Monday. The orders are placed ahead of time depending on the manufacturer's lead time for the device. And they are as easily canceled if business conditions or customer needs change.

These things are planned (by supplier and customer) to be delivered as close to they day they are going to be assembled into shipping product as possible. Moto doesn't want millions of dollars of unused inventory sitting in a warehouse, it's very bad for the bottom line. The supplier can't turn out millions of screens overnight, they are capacity constrained. They want to make those screens over many months, so they can keep their employees employed. The Etna proves the point well, it would be a huge loss to drop the design with millions of dollars of parts sitting around ready to build all the phones. It wasn't a huge loss to drop it because the design hadn't moved to manufacturing and there wasn't a large inventory of parts ready to go into the DOA design. Exactly why JIT Manufacturing was adopted by companies like Motorola years ago.

The point still stands that this phone was designed with the DX in mind, which has a 4.3'' screen. It will be the same screen.

Where did you get this information? I heard that Targa was always planned as a refresh to the Bionic(Etna).

 

[cobraphx]

I don't disagree with what you are saying but price per unit normally depends on volume. If Motorola orders 300,00 units each of 3.5, 3.7, 4.0, 4.3, 4.5 they may cost $9.47 each (just a wild guess for illustrative purposes) but if they order 1,000,000 each of 4.0 and 4.3 they may be $8.23 each as the cost to manufacture a specific display type will drop with the higher number of displays they make because there is a "startup" cost to produce a new display type/size.

This is somewhat true, but the day they canceled the Etna they canceled the orders for the screens they had planned to put into the Etna. Why would they not? The screens are shipped in quantities of thousands per week. Why let them be built and shipped when the design they would be going into has been canceled. Supplier agreements and pending orders change pretty often in the semiconductor industry. Remember, Moto had already been working with the Targa screen supplier at this point, and likely placed orders for this screen as well. If it wasn't the same screen from the beginning, why would they redesign the Targa to fit the Etna's screen?

If it's the same supplier for both screens, I can tell you that the supplier would prefer to loose the orders for the old screen over the ones for the new screen. This is best for them for several reasons. The older screen is in more products, cutting predicted production by 10% with an established product hurts a lot less than loosing 100% of your orders for a new design. This hurts the bottom line even more because you can be charge a small premium for the latest and greatest new design. And by the time Moto has designed it into a product (in this case Targa), the supplier has spent all the R&D money to develop the process to produce it. A new, expensive design without orders this is not good for business.

 

[tcayton49]

The point still stands that this phone was designed with the DX in mind, which has a 4.3'' screen. It will be the same screen.

I don't know if it was designed to take the place of the DX2 or not, but that wouldn't mean it would have to have the same screen. The Droid and Droid 2 both had 3.7" but it was bumped to 4" for the D3. The DX and DX2 have 4.3" so they might have wanted to bump the third one up to 4.5

 

[Liderc]

By this logic they would have millions of the Nvidia Tegra2 processors sitting in the warehouse and would be using those in the Targa too. But this isn't the way Lean Manufacturing and JIT Manufacturing works. Moto may have told Samsung (or whomever will be supplying screens for future designs) that they expect to purchase a million 4.3" screens over the next year. But it isn't like calling up Amazon and a million screens show up on the loading dock by Monday. The orders are placed ahead of time depending on the manufacturer's lead time for the device. And they are as easily canceled if business conditions or customer needs change.

These things are planned (by supplier and customer) to be delivered as close to they day they are going to be assembled into shipping product as possible. Moto doesn't want millions of dollars of unused inventory sitting in a warehouse, it's very bad for the bottom line. The supplier can't turn out millions of screens overnight, they are capacity constrained. They want to make those screens over many months, so they can keep their employees employed. The Etna proves the point well, it would be a huge loss to drop the design with millions of dollars of parts sitting around ready to build all the phones. It wasn't a huge loss to drop it because the design hadn't moved to manufacturing and there wasn't a large inventory of parts ready to go into the DOA design. Exactly why JIT Manufacturing was adopted by companies like Motorola years ago.

The point still stands that this phone was designed with the DX in mind, which has a 4.3'' screen. It will be the same screen.

Where did you get this information? I heard that Targa was always planned as a refresh to the Bionic(Etna).

The Targa was never supposed to be used for the Bionic. We had already seen fuzzy pictures of the Targa prior to it being announced that the Etna Bionic was being trashed. I'm sure someone can post a link showing the Targa being leaked prior to the "Bionic is being sent back for upgrades"

It was going to be a separate phone, hence the phone not resembling the original Bionic and it basically looking exactly like a DX2.

 

[GBH2]

The point still stands that this phone was designed with the DX in mind, which has a 4.3'' screen. It will be the same screen.

Where did you get this information? I heard that Targa was always planned as a refresh to the Bionic(Etna).

The Targa was never supposed to be used for the Bionic. We had already seen fuzzy pictures of the Targa prior to it being announced that the Etna Bionic was being trashed. I'm sure someone can post a link showing the Targa being leaked prior to the "Bionic is being sent back for upgrades"

It was going to be a separate phone, hence the phone not resembling the original Bionic and it basically looking exactly like a DX2.

You misunderstood what I said. I know that Targa was not supposed to be used for the Bionic and you are correct that it was leaked before Etna was scrapped.

I heard that Targa was originally planned to be a "refresh" or "upgrade" to the original Bionic (like Bionic 2 or Bionic Pro). I have never heard about it talked about as a DX3, except from you. I was wondering if you had heard this somewhere(I am genuinely curious) or if this was just an assumption you made based on the fact that Bionic has similarities to DX2.

 

[Liderc]

I'll look for the link today, but I've read it before and I thought it was common knowledge since the Targa looks nearly exactly like the DX and uses most of it's parts. Even using similar hardware placement within the phone, hence the similar hump on the back of the device.

 

[Suuperflie]

It's 4.3. The Charge screen is wider that moto screens, which is why the supposed Bionic screen looks bigger, but it's not as wide. Also, it looks like those 2 images are at slightly different angles which will mask the difference in the width.

 

[AdamPA1006]

Motorola Droid 3 to feature OMAP4, Motorola Targa to be first phone with quad-core NVIDIA Kal-El? | Android and Me

This was the pictures of the Targa, which does look similar to our leaks now. I definitely the rumors that it was supposed to have the quad core processor though and launch this holiday season, too bad no quad core. And I dont like how the screen looks so tall and skinny on the Bionic I would rather it a bit more square

 

[Arkbird]

Motorola Droid 3 to feature OMAP4, Motorola Targa to be first phone with quad-core NVIDIA Kal-El? | Android and Me

This was the pictures of the Targa, which does look similar to our leaks now. I definitely the rumors that it was supposed to have the quad core processor though and launch this holiday season, too bad no quad core. And I dont like how the screen looks so tall and skinny on the Bionic I would rather it a bit more square

16:9 ratio. You like the 4:3 better?

 

[das2042]

I don't see a quad core phone coming out this year. I thought I read ti was going to have them ready by the end of this year but they would still have to be tested with phone manufacturers. So I have a feeling it'll be this time next year when those are ready. Oh and 4.5 is way better than 4.3, bigger is always better. Lol

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums

 

[AdamPA1006]

Motorola Droid 3 to feature OMAP4, Motorola Targa to be first phone with quad-core NVIDIA Kal-El? | Android and Me

This was the pictures of the Targa, which does look similar to our leaks now. I definitely the rumors that it was supposed to have the quad core processor though and launch this holiday season, too bad no quad core. And I dont like how the screen looks so tall and skinny on the Bionic I would rather it a bit more square

16:9 ratio. You like the 4:3 better?

16:9 is standard for most phones right? Maybe I'm just imagining things about the screen

 

[GBH2]

Motorola Droid 3 to feature OMAP4, Motorola Targa to be first phone with quad-core NVIDIA Kal-El? | Android and Me

This was the pictures of the Targa, which does look similar to our leaks now. I definitely the rumors that it was supposed to have the quad core processor though and launch this holiday season, too bad no quad core. And I dont like how the screen looks so tall and skinny on the Bionic I would rather it a bit more square

16:9 ratio. You like the 4:3 better?

16:9 is standard for most phones right? Maybe I'm just imagining things about the screen

Actually, I think it is just moto that has been 16:9 while most of the other phones are closer to 4:3. I can understand people liking a screen that is a little wider and not as tall, I think it is probably a bit more usable for browsing web pages, viewing documents, etc. - but I like 16:9 because it will translate well to standard HD aspect ratios for 720p and 1080p and I like the bigger screen phones where the smaller width isn't as big of a deal.