Total NOOB with a simple question!

[acctingman]

Hello folks!

I'm completely NEW to this whole tablet reading experience. Let me tell you what it is I want to do and what my budget is.

95% of my use will be to read comic books. The other 5% will be books.

My budget is in the $300-400 range.

Another question...I have a TON of comics in cbz...or is it cbr.? file format that I use to read on my PC.

How can I get these files to read on a tablet. Is there some type of formatting I have to do? Does it depend on the tablet I'm using?

Thanks for any advice/comments you can offer!

[ilovejedd]

Plenty of comic apps available on both Android and iOS that can read cbr/rar, cbz/zip and even cb7/7z natively. No need to convert or anything. For Android, I like to use Perfect Viewer. For iOS, I'm very happy with ComicGlass.

As for device, the iPad 3 with retina is great as far as the display goes. The 4:3 aspect ratio lends itself well to American comics. Alas, the cheapest option ($499) won't be able to hold a lot of comics. Heck, even on the 64GB iPad, I constantly have to juggle content. On the Android front, the Transformer Infinity is my first pick.

Unfortunately, both these devices are a bit above your price range. The iPad 2 isn't a bad option but given the lack of memory expansion, an Android tablet with SD card slot would work much better, I think. Perhaps the Asus Transformer TF300?

[acctingman]

What are people's opinion on the Samsung Galaxy's?

Thank you ilovejedd for your info!

[HarryT]

The Samsung Galaxy range are excellent tablets - I have the 7" Galaxy Tab 2 myself.

But for reading comics, the 4:3 aspect ration of the iPad would be a lot better than the 16:9 aspect ratio of the Galaxy. You can easily get a 2nd-hand or refurbished iPad 2 for your budget, and I'd encourage you to do so.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by HarryT

But for reading comics, the 4:3 aspect ration of the iPad would be a lot better than the 16:9 aspect ratio of the Galaxy. You can easily get a 2nd-hand or refurbished iPad 2 for your budget, and I'd encourage you to do so.

Caveat, at his budget, he'll be looking at a 16GB model (e.g. refurb iPad 2 Wi-Fi 16GB ~$350 direct from Apple). Given the lack of storage expansion, managing content will be a pain. My first iPad was a 32GB model and I managed to fill it up the weekend it was delivered. A volume of comics takes anywhere from 20MB to 200MB of space (depending on resolution and quality) and can usually be read in just 15~30 minutes. 16GB just isn't enough space to hold a decent selection.

I have a co-worker with a 10" Galaxy which he seems to like quite a bit. Whichever one you might choose, I suggest a minimum of 1024x768 or 1280x800 resolution. The higher the resolution, the better.

[ApK]

Just sticking my nose in for a sec: Why the 4:3 recommendation for comics?
Aren't comic pages generally, you know...comic book-shaped?, which seems rather closer to 16:9 to my memory.
Even if it's not, while I appreciate getting best use of your screen real estate for your primary purpose, I still have no problem enjoying 4:3 TV shows on my 16:9 TV set. Wouldn't the price and expansion benefits of an Android tablet outweigh the cost of a little pillaring?

[acctingman]

Storage is a NON issue for me. I'll load up 20-30 comics....read them then take them off the tablet. They're on my PC so storage, for me isn't an issue.

I want a nice sized screen and good resolution. But yes, $400 is the most I really want to spend.

I'm going to hit my local Best Buy and take a look. I really want to put some good research into this.

Thanks all...keep the comments/advice coming. It's greatly appreciated!

[Cdesja5]

I have Comic Rack on my tablet (10. 1") and PC. They sync with each other and there is a good choice of settings on the tablet. Above is what a page looks like in portrait. The landscape orientation (in Comic Rack anyways) doesn't show the entire 2 pages...

[acctingman]

@Cdesja5

Thanks SO much for that screen shot there....I don't mind not having the 2 pages on the screen. Actually, I prefer the portrait image with 1 page.

Might look hard at the Galaxy Tablet.

Again, thanks!!!

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by ApK

Just sticking my nose in for a sec: Why the 4:3 recommendation for comics?
Aren't comic pages generally, you know...comic book-shaped?, which seems rather closer to 16:9 to my memory.

Somewhere in between. I think I measured some of mine and they were around 1.4~1.5 (4:3 is 1.33, 16:9 is 1.78).

Originally Posted by ApK

Even if it's not, while I appreciate getting best use of your screen real estate for your primary purpose, I still have no problem enjoying 4:3 TV shows on my 16:9 TV set. Wouldn't the price and expansion benefits of an Android tablet outweigh the cost of a little pillaring?

On this point, I totally agree. I'm planning on buying a Transformer Infinity once it gets released and will probably move all my manga reading to that instead of the iPad.

Originally Posted by acctingman

Storage is a NON issue for me. I'll load up 20-30 comics....read them then take them off the tablet. They're on my PC so storage, for me isn't an issue.

That's great if you're always at home and have easy access to content. Not so much when you're stuck somewhere with slow internet access (or none at all) and find yourself with nothing to read. Just something you might want to keep in mind.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

Even if it's not, while I appreciate getting best use of your screen real estate for your primary purpose, I still have no problem enjoying 4:3 TV shows on my 16:9 TV set. Wouldn't the price and expansion benefits of an Android tablet outweigh the cost of a little pillaring?

Depends what your primary usage is. I have both a 4:3 iPad and a 16:9 Galaxy Tab Android tablet. I find the 4:3 aspect ratio of the iPad much better for reading, but the 16:9 aspect ratio of the Tab much better for video.

Unfortunately there's no "one size fits all" solution; I'm certainly not the only person to have both, for that reason.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Depends what your primary usage is. I have both a 4:3 iPad and a 16:9 Galaxy Tab Android tablet. I find the 4:3 aspect ratio of the iPad much better for reading, but the 16:9 aspect ratio of the Tab much better for video.

Unfortunately there's no "one size fits all" solution; I'm certainly not the only person to have both, for that reason.

That's a little disappointing. The 16:9 aspect ratio for TVs was chosen as COMPROMISE between the sometimes >2:1 formats of some movies and the huge back catalog of 4:3 TV content.

Sound like that wasn't an acceptable compromise for some. Too bad you can't get a 4:3 reader and a 2:1 reader!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

That's a little disappointing. The 16:9 aspect ratio for TVs was chosen as COMPROMISE between the sometimes >2:1 formats of some movies and the huge back catalog of 4:3 TV content.

Sound like that wasn't an acceptable compromise for some. Too bad you can't get a 4:3 reader and a 2:1 reader!

Now, though, pretty much all TV programmes (in the UK, at least) are in 16:9 format, so obviously a 16:9 device is perfect for viewing them.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Now, though, pretty much all TV programmes (in the UK, at least) are in 16:9 format, so obviously a 16:9 device is perfect for viewing them.

Right, they make TV shows in that aspect now, because that's the aspect they decided on for TV!

If most of your video viewing is current TV, then you're golden, but how much is TV from the previous century, and CinemaScope movies?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

If most of your video viewing is current TV, then you're golden, but how much is TV from the previous century, and CinemaScope movies?

It's about 50:50 current BBC Programmes (mainly documentaries) downloaded from the BBC iPlayer (16:9), and old "Doctor Who" programmes that I've ripped myself from my DVD collection (4:3. In fact largely black and white 4:3 )