I wish people would stop generalizing on this size thing. Different people have use for different sizes, there is no one size that is superior or sub-optimal for all.
I was saying it was 'suboptimal' in the context of the OP's question, not 'universally suboptimal', so an accusation of generalization suggests you didn't understand my post. I didn't think I had to say "in the context of this discussion" after every sentence. Perhaps
840quadra will also reconsider their interpretation as well.
To reiterate, the OP asked the following:
If you are also a person who sees nothing wrong with hauling around a 10 inch tablet, then how do you consider a 5.5 inch device too big to carry around.
I see nothing wrong with hauling around a 10 inch tablet. Since I am that sort of person, why would I benefit from hauling around a 5.5 inch tablet? The size offers no benefit. If I see nothing wrong with carrying something that size around, as the OP suggested, I might as well carrying something that size around - a 10" tablet. In this case, the Note offers no benefit, because a smaller size is not what this particular case values.
If there are people, then, who
do think the Note is too large, they are a different group of people (or a different set of use-cases). They imagine using such a device in various situations. In many cases, the Note is too large: they find the Note too big to use one-handed, because it doesn't fit their pockets, because it is too heavy, because they can't mount it on their bicycle or bring it running, whatever their reasons are. In these cases, the Note offers no benefit, because a larger screen is not what this particular case values.
The OP's question just conflates the two use cases. It says to the former group, "Wouldn't you like something easier to carry?" and ignores how they would have to give up the screen size they value. It says to the latter group, "Wouldn't you like something bigger to read?" and ignores how they would have to give up mobility.
It then supposes all of these people are of the same group, ignores how preference satisfaction trades off precisely between the attributes of mobility and screen size, and then scratches its head at the contradiction which results.
Reconsider your claims as follows (my commentary in bold):
The 5.5 inch note is more useful than the iPhone but less mobile, which is a major reason why people buy the iPhone and more mobile than then iPad but less useful, which is a major reason why people buy the iPad
It applies the virtues of mobility to a case where screen size is the determining factor, and touts the virtues of screen size in a case where mobility is the determining factor.
If you knew that "A pick-up truck hauls more than a Prius" and "A Prius gets better gas mileage than a pick-up", would you think that battery-powered subcompacts which have a half-bed on the back and a towing hitch are 'optimal'?
I hope this has made things clear, and why your niche case doesn't address the OP's faulty assumptions.
As for
840quadra, platitudes about 'choice' really miss the point - in this case, the Apple products offer choice by gearing devices towards actual use cases, instead of making a device which misunderstands the contexts in which tablets and phones have their relative strengths. I offered an argument; if you think there's something wrong with it, point it out instead of dismissing it as 'subjective'.