Are there 4:3 android tablets?

Barty · 09-07-2013, 11:35 AM

I really dislike the 16:9 AR on mobile device. Too short in landscape, too narrow in portrait. 16:10 is better but I still rather have 4:3. The 16:9 AR is IMO really not ideal for anything but watching movies/tv, which comprises at most 5% of my tablet use. The surface is also 16:9 it looks like.

It's bad enough that 16:9 is taking over PC monitors and laptops, but at least with large screens it does not matter so much. And anyway it's not like you can readily turn your monitor to portrait mode.

So are there good android tablets with 4:3 AR? Thanks.

Katsunami · 09-07-2013, 02:04 PM

Yes there are, but not too many. I've selected the ones with a 4:3 resolution, on a Dutch price comparison website. Maybe you'll not understand some of the info, but you can certainly pick out the brands and types to research.

List of 4:3 Android 4.x tablets

mr ploppy · 09-07-2013, 02:28 PM

I bought a MOMO11 Bird last year, I'm pleased with that.

JD Gumby · 09-07-2013, 10:21 PM

Most 8" Android tablets are 4:3, at least as of last winter (when I last went looking for a tab). I think widescreen's (which, of course, is better for almost everything other than reading) getting more popular at that size these days, though.

avid01 · 12-16-2013, 08:29 AM

I need a better 8"3:4 than the HP Slate 8 Pro. Not really "Pro".

What else is upcoming or available?

theducks · 12-16-2013, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

Most 8" Android tablets are 4:3, at least as of last winter (when I last went looking for a tab). I think widescreen's (which, of course, is better for almost everything other than reading) getting more popular at that size these days, though.

Interesting comment

Paperback books in the USA are 9:16 (longscreen, which is WS in Portrait)

HarryT · 12-16-2013, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

Interesting comment

Paperback books in the USA are 9:16 (longscreen, which is WS in Portrait)

But most PDFs are formatted for an A4 page, which is much closer to 4:3 than 16:9 or 16:10. That's why I find my iPad with its 4:3 aspect ratio so useful as a PDF reader (I have to read a lot of academic PDFs for my studies).

WillysJeepMan · 12-16-2013, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

Interesting comment

Paperback books in the USA are 9:16 (longscreen, which is WS in Portrait)

SOME paperback books in the US are 9:16, but not all.
Printed comic books are: 7.25 x 10.5 (essentially 4:3-portrait)
Most magazines and documents are letter (8.5"x11") format (essentially 4:3 portrait)
Magazines (digest formfactor) are: 5.375" x 8.375" (mid-way between 16:9 and 4:3 portrait)

On the flipside, not all movies and TV shows are 16:9. Older TV shows are Academy ratio (4:3). Older movies are often wider than 16:9. Ben Hur is 2.74:1 which is basically 25:9. Even most newer movies aren't 16:9... many are 2.4:1, or 21:9.

A case could be made that 16:9 is a more arbitrary aspect ratio and less common than 4:3.

Ultimately it comes down to personal preference in what media will be consumed on the device. So your

is unwarranted in response to who someone claims something is "better"... it's subjective.

Tomsk · 12-16-2013, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

A case could be made that 16:9 is a more arbitrary aspect ratio and less common than 4:3.

You're correct.
This video explains.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CgrMsjGk7k

corroonb · 12-17-2013, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

But most PDFs are formatted for an A4 page, which is much closer to 4:3 than 16:9 or 16:10. That's why I find my iPad with its 4:3 aspect ratio so useful as a PDF reader (I have to read a lot of academic PDFs for my studies).

I read PDFs on my Nexus 7 in landscape mode with fit to width setting in Adobe Reader so I scroll down the page. I find this actually pretty usable, far more than I would have expected. Sometimes I find text a little small but I imagine this is more of an issue on the slightly larger tablets that display the full page rather than a horizontal slice of it.

Barty · 12-20-2013, 06:41 PM

Now that I've had some time with a nexus 7, I can confirm my dislike of 16:9. It's only good for watching video, which I don't do much of. For everything else, it's either too squat or too narrow. The n7, like many Android tablets, use soft keys in lieu of physical buttons, so there's even less vertical space in landscape. The keyboard is squashed in landscape and squished in portrait. In comparison, keys on the iPad keyboard look reasonably square like real keyboard keys.

(also, horrible design putting the soft buttons right below the space bar!)

nomistakes · 02-01-2014, 08:25 AM

The superiority of the 4:3 aspect ratio is not in doubt as well as the fact that there's a lack of a decent Android device with that feature.

For me, a part for the screen , the ipad is completely usless.

It's a big iphone with a very closed os limitated on many aspects.

All my job (tonnes of pdf and office) and my calibre database are continuosly updated and syncronized on my dropbox and both are easly accessible on my Galaxy note 8 (thanks to "dropsync pro" and "calibre cloud").

All the changes and annotations I make on the pdf opened on my android are automatically sent back over the cloud to all my other devices (a notebook and a pc).

Tha same for calibre. With "calibre cloud" I can access my db (made of hundreads of pdf, sorted by tags, author, subject, etc), from my android in the same way I do on my calibre on my pc and each modification or annotation is directly shared over the cloud.

None of what I have described above is possible with an ipad.

Ibook sucks with pdf. It offers just a one way syncronization (from pc to ipad) that excludes the possibilty to send back the annotation and changes made from the ipad

There's no way of accessing the calibre db from a local folder stored on the ipad ( cos apple doesn't want it to be accessible).

The same for the dropbox folder. The only valid solution to open the document without wi-fi or 3g is the dumb "star button" and there's no way to send back all the modification made on the file, in the same way dropsync pro does in android.

How is it possible that Apple doen't realize that its device are completely useless for a professional use and for people who don't want to be forced to work with apple application?

I wrote this long post cos I'm still waiting for a very solid and powerfull 4:3 android, but it seems that android tablets are thought only as an entertainment devices

HarryT · 02-01-2014, 08:32 AM

Use the right tool for the right job. You're absolutely right in saying that iBooks is hopeless for PDFs. The answer is to use a decent PDF app, like "Goodreader", which is better than any PDF app I've come across for Android. An awful lot of "professionals" (myself included) find the iPad to be an extremely productive platform to get real work done on.

Mivo · 02-01-2014, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barty

(also, horrible design putting the soft buttons right below the space bar!)

I agree with that, and it's why I find typing emails or other text on the Nexus's virtual keyboard a bit annoying (I bought a small Bluetooth one).

I don't mind the aspect overly much. Compared to my iPad, it's more portable and easier to hold in one hand. 4:3 devices are more bulky. It's not a device I'd use heavily for PDF reading, but it's not what I bought it for, either. I prefer reading e-books on an e-ink reader, but the portrait mode of the N7 works well for that (I could see it being limited if you use very large fonts). Shorter lines allow for faster reading.

You may get used to the format. Took me a few weeks after switching to it from the iPad.

nomistakes · 02-07-2014, 01:11 AM

@harryt.

Sorry! I didn't want to diminish or offend ipad professional users.

I have done further research about goodreader that confirmed what you wrote and that convinced me of buying a mini retina ipad.

It remains tha fact that I won't be able to access my calibre database in tha same way I do with android.

I'm aware that even with "paper for ipad" I could obtain the same aim (since its similarity with calibre and the possibility to sync it over tha cloud by using dropbox) but that's another story since I'm not a mac owner.

Thanks again

09-07-2013, 11:35 AM	#1
Barty doofus Posts: 2,519 Karma: 13036221 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	Are there 4:3 android tablets? I really dislike the 16:9 AR on mobile device. Too short in landscape, too narrow in portrait. 16:10 is better but I still rather have 4:3. The 16:9 AR is IMO really not ideal for anything but watching movies/tv, which comprises at most 5% of my tablet use. The surface is also 16:9 it looks like. It's bad enough that 16:9 is taking over PC monitors and laptops, but at least with large screens it does not matter so much. And anyway it's not like you can readily turn your monitor to portrait mode. So are there good android tablets with 4:3 AR? Thanks.

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09-07-2013, 02:04 PM	#2
Katsunami Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,111 Karma: 34000001 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: KPW1, KA1	Yes there are, but not too many. I've selected the ones with a 4:3 resolution, on a Dutch price comparison website. Maybe you'll not understand some of the info, but you can certainly pick out the brands and types to research. List of 4:3 Android 4.x tablets

09-07-2013, 02:28 PM	#3
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	I bought a MOMO11 Bird last year, I'm pleased with that.

09-07-2013, 10:21 PM	#4
JD Gumby Cynical Old Curmudgeon Posts: 1,085 Karma: 8495696 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Halifax, Canada Device: Kobo Mini, Kobo Arc, HTC Desire C	Most 8" Android tablets are 4:3, at least as of last winter (when I last went looking for a tab). I think widescreen's (which, of course, is better for almost everything other than reading) getting more popular at that size these days, though.

12-16-2013, 08:29 AM	#5
avid01 Addict Posts: 300 Karma: 2000410 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kindle 4	I need a better 8"3:4 than the HP Slate 8 Pro. Not really "Pro". What else is upcoming or available?

12-20-2013, 06:41 PM	#11
Barty doofus Posts: 2,519 Karma: 13036221 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	Now that I've had some time with a nexus 7, I can confirm my dislike of 16:9. It's only good for watching video, which I don't do much of. For everything else, it's either too squat or too narrow. The n7, like many Android tablets, use soft keys in lieu of physical buttons, so there's even less vertical space in landscape. The keyboard is squashed in landscape and squished in portrait. In comparison, keys on the iPad keyboard look reasonably square like real keyboard keys. (also, horrible design putting the soft buttons right below the space bar!)

02-01-2014, 08:25 AM	#12
nomistakes Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2014 Device: Samsung Galaxy note 8	The superiority of the 4:3 aspect ratio is not in doubt as well as the fact that there's a lack of a decent Android device with that feature. For me, a part for the screen , the ipad is completely usless. It's a big iphone with a very closed os limitated on many aspects. All my job (tonnes of pdf and office) and my calibre database are continuosly updated and syncronized on my dropbox and both are easly accessible on my Galaxy note 8 (thanks to "dropsync pro" and "calibre cloud"). All the changes and annotations I make on the pdf opened on my android are automatically sent back over the cloud to all my other devices (a notebook and a pc). Tha same for calibre. With "calibre cloud" I can access my db (made of hundreads of pdf, sorted by tags, author, subject, etc), from my android in the same way I do on my calibre on my pc and each modification or annotation is directly shared over the cloud. None of what I have described above is possible with an ipad. Ibook sucks with pdf. It offers just a one way syncronization (from pc to ipad) that excludes the possibilty to send back the annotation and changes made from the ipad There's no way of accessing the calibre db from a local folder stored on the ipad ( cos apple doesn't want it to be accessible). The same for the dropbox folder. The only valid solution to open the document without wi-fi or 3g is the dumb "star button" and there's no way to send back all the modification made on the file, in the same way dropsync pro does in android. How is it possible that Apple doen't realize that its device are completely useless for a professional use and for people who don't want to be forced to work with apple application? I wrote this long post cos I'm still waiting for a very solid and powerfull 4:3 android, but it seems that android tablets are thought only as an entertainment devices

02-01-2014, 08:32 AM	#13
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Use the right tool for the right job. You're absolutely right in saying that iBooks is hopeless for PDFs. The answer is to use a decent PDF app, like "Goodreader", which is better than any PDF app I've come across for Android. An awful lot of "professionals" (myself included) find the iPad to be an extremely productive platform to get real work done on.

02-07-2014, 01:11 AM	#15
nomistakes Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2014 Device: Samsung Galaxy note 8	@harryt. Sorry! I didn't want to diminish or offend ipad professional users. I have done further research about goodreader that confirmed what you wrote and that convinced me of buying a mini retina ipad. It remains tha fact that I won't be able to access my calibre database in tha same way I do with android. I'm aware that even with "paper for ipad" I could obtain the same aim (since its similarity with calibre and the possibility to sync it over tha cloud by using dropbox) but that's another story since I'm not a mac owner. Thanks again