NEW YORK – Over the past few years, smartphones have gradually gotten bigger and tablet computers have gotten smaller. So it should come as no surprise that devices in between are starting to emerge.

These Android devices, informally known as phablets, are better described as giant phones than baby tablets, as they can be used for phone calls. And for now, they aren’t much bigger than regular phones.

The larger screens – measuring 5 inches or more diagonally – make the devices slightly better for watching movies, reading books and consuming other media. They can also make the phones bulkier to carry – or so I thought.

I was pleasantly surprised when I took HTC Corp.’s new 5-inch Droid DNA phone out of the box. The DNA looks about the same size as my 4.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S III, one of the largest and most popular phones out there. I had to find a ruler to make sure I wasn’t sent the wrong phone.

HTC succeeds by making the DNA taller rather than wider, which is important because the width is what spans your palm when you’re holding it. Samsung Electronics Co.’s 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II feels too big in my hands.

The DNA is, in fact, a tad narrower than the S III, not enough to be noticeable, while being less than two-tenths of an inch larger on its longer side. The DNA is slightly thicker and heavier than the S III, though.

I didn’t believe I’d notice the small increase in screen size until I watched “Ice Age” on both the DNA and the S III side by side. But the difference is small.

Although watching a movie on a DNA beats doing it on the older iPhone’s 3.5-inch screen or even the 4 inches on the new iPhone 5, it isn’t the same as watching it on a 7-inch or 10-inch tablet computer. In most apps, I don’t actually get more content with the bigger screen.

Text and graphics in Gmail messages simply get slightly bigger on the DNA. Google’s maps are larger, but that doesn’t mean you see more surrounding area, just bigger parks and road names. Amazon’s Kindle app squeezes in an extra word in a line here and there, but you lose those gains once you reach the next paragraph.

The exceptions I spotted:

•Google’s Play Books app for reading e-books. The text appears about the same size on the DNA and the S III, meaning the app can fit a few more lines on the DNA device.

•Facebook. The app shows a tad more on the DNA when placed on its side like a movie screen. Side by side, it could mean seeing a bit more of a photo on the DNA, but it’s not enough to fit in an extra post from someone whining about a morning commute – you’d have to scroll down for more status updates like that. Strangely, I get less on the DNA when using Facebook with the phone held like a skyscraper. A black horizontal bar serves as a menu for settings and other tasks; on the S III, that menu button is built into the hardware and doesn’t take up screen space.

Because the DNA’s screen is only slightly bigger than the S III’s, I can see why I’m not getting more content, just larger text, images and video. I figure I’d need the Note and its even larger screen to get all that. After all, on a tablet’s 7-inch or 10-inch screen, I’m seeing much more, not just everything bigger.