We agree: Avatar is an amazing cinematic experience, best seen in the cinema or a huge TV (preferrably 3D, if you can afford it). Today, however, people are used to consuming multimedia on a variety of screen sizes, and watching a full-length movie on a cell phone, laptop or a tablet isn't unusual.
James Cameron (who also spoke earlier at CTIA) will have none of that. Talking about the upcoming Blu-ray release of Avatar, he said that watching the movie on an iPhone is "dumb."
"I don't feel that I'm making movies for iPhones. If someone wants to watch it on an iPhone, I'm not going to stop them, especially if they're paying for it, but I don't recommend it. I think it's dumb, when you have characters that are so small in the frame that they're not visible," Cameron said.
Cameron feels (almost) the same about laptops. "I don't know. I've never watched Avatar on a laptop. I guess it probably works, but I don't recommend it," he said.
While we agree that small screens aren't the best way to enjoy a movie, there are certain situations (on the subway, on a vacation) where it's perfectly acceptable (and enjoyable) to watch movies on a device like an iPhone, laptop, or (gasp!) an iPad.