James Cameron Won’t Watch “Avatar” on a Phone. But if You Want To….

“Avatar” director James Cameron at D8, June 2, talking to Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher:

MR. MOSSBERG: Have you ever watched a movie on an iPhone or an iPad?

MR. CAMERON: The iPad I would do. The iPhone is just too small for me. Now, I think other media, whether it is news, sports or whatever it is, that is fine. But I would not watch a movie that way. To me there still has got to be some shred of sanctity in the film-watching experience.

Okay, the iPhone is too small, from a sanctity perspective. But what about the Vibrant Galaxy S Series Smartphone from T-Mobile? That’s an excellent device for viewing “Avatar,” say Samsung and News Corp. (NWS), which owns both 20th Century Fox and, um, this Web site. They’re including a copy of the movie with each new phone, preloaded on a two-gig external memory card.

To be fair, the Vibrant, which runs Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system, features a four-inch screen. And Apple’s (AAPL) handset has a mere 3.5 inches. So perhaps that’s enough to change Cameron’s mind.