I'm not trying to say it's the
wrong size or anything.
I have a friend who lives in a warm climate, wears cargo shorts year-round and couldn't care less about anything other than long-form reading on the thing. And he won't shut up about how awesome his Nook Color fits his life. I get it, for him. Or for a hypothetical mad-reader who has a purse or pouch they carry everywhere.
I just hear a lot of chatter about how the 7" size is desirable coming from people who don't/can't already wear clothing that makes sense of the form-factor. [1] Or don't have that long-form reading focus. [2]
And I don't get that. I figure there has to be something to it. Which is why I still talk about it. I'm just not seeing it.
[1] e.g. they don't live in a climate or work environment where they can sport cargo pants/shorts all the time, or they don't already wear a jacket everywhere with pockets big enough, etc. And there, "it fits some pockets" sounds more hypothetical and comes off like they've just turned "you have to carry a bag that you don't already" into "you have to carry conforming_clothing, that you don't already".
[2] Personally, that's the only time I wish my iPad was more comfortable to one-hand. It doesn't come up often. But during long reading sessions, while I'm rotating postures and grips, I miss the one-hand grips that are available with a paperback, magazine, or 7" tablet. But I'm not so short on comfortable grips that it matters much. That said, I never found the weight of an iPad to be a problem either. So maybe that's just me.