As I was typing on my iPhone…

When using the iPhone (or any Smartphone), why is it that you don’t feel the screen is too small or constraining when you watch a video as against using it to type in an email? Is it the movement on the screen or the addition of the Z-axis that adds depth and expands the screen space? Or is it that you are just a passive consumer of information and don’t necessarily interact with the screen? Using the device for games has a similar effect. You forget that the device has boundaries and you are totally immersed and engaged in the drama of the game environment -more like being actually drawn into the screen, and being sucked into the third dimension.

On the other hand, while trying to type something, it’s a 2D surface and the boundaries are more pronounced as you type a relatively long email and you tend to feel constrained in the space. More words on the screen emphasize the small screen size. While browsing web pages, you zoom in and don’t get the entire picture and that could make it feel a bit constraining too.

Do the boundaries vanish the more immersive the environment is?

How can typing a text be made more immersive so that boundaries fade away?