Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 Plus for comics

[xlx]

Little help please, guys. I’m very interested on this Mi Pad 4 Plus basically to read comics, but also to take advantage of Android in general (the possibility to use multiple accounts, the more powerful tools, etc). I’ve been using an iPad Air for a while and although it’s pretty nice its 9.7 inches dimensions aren’t really optimized for comics (the pages need to be redimensioned, and all).

My questions are: is the screen of the Mi Pad as nice as the iPad’s for comics? Would any of you who own a Mi Pad 4 Plus be kind enough to post a couple of pictures of real daily comics reading? What about the battery usage in a typical day of mostly comic reading? It’s been a while since last time I used an Android tablet. By then I used the excellent ComicRack, but it seems that it’s not being developed any more. Which are the best options available lately (apps that correctly read comicrack metadata, organize my comic library accordingly and also support Calibre OPDS access)?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[rowe]

Although https://tachiyomi.org is primarily for manga, it now has a few comic extensions and it's a great piece of management and reading software.

[ZodWallop]

I read all my comics on tablets. I don't have the tablet you're mentioning, but I feel qualified to give some advice anyway.

I'm assuming you are reading standard American sized comics. Manga and British comic pages are squarer than your average Marvel or DC comic. Also, I'm assuming you are sideloading .CBZ/CBR comics, since you mentioned ComicRack on Android.

The iPad has a squarer 4:3 screen ratio and the Mi Pad has a rectangular 16:10 ratio. Assuming you are talking about standard US comic pages, the iPad has bars on the sides of the page. On the Mi Pad, there will be bars on the top and bottom. Though the screens are comparable in size, comics will be slightly larger on the Mi Pad screen.

The best screen ratio for comics reading is 3:2. Comic pages there fit almost exactly to the screen, with no bars. The only 10" tablet I know with that ratio is a Surface Go. But I can tell you that comic apps on Windows aren't as good as those on Android. I do read comics on my 12.3" Surface Pro using an app called Cover and comics look fantastic on it. But I really wish some of the Android comic apps would be ported to Windows.

The Mi Pad has a screen resolution of 1920X1200. I have a Lenovo Tab2 that has that resolution and comics look very nice on it. On the other hand, I have a Verizon Ellipsis that has the same resolution and the Ellipsis doesn't look as nice as the Tab2. It's not just the screen resolution, it's the quality of the build. I don't know what the Mi Pad is like.

As for Android apps, ComicRack isn't being developed any longer, but it's still a good program. Of the Android comic apps, my favorite by far is Perfect Viewer. It has a million configuration options and it can be overwhelming at first. But once you have everthing set, it's great. It's also free and has no ads.

A few others I mess with from time to time are Challenger Comics, CDisplayEX, ComicCat and ComicRack. All are decent. But none beats Perfect Viewer.

Sorry for the long rambling post. I hope you find some of this useful.

[ZodWallop]

I've attached a photo where I opened the same comic on three different tablets. To make things clear, I changed the background to white so you can clearly see the bars used to fill in parts of the screen the comic page doesn't fill.

The first tablet is a 9.7" screen, 4:3 ratio, like the iPad has. You can see the thick white bars on the side.

The middle tablet is a 10.1" screen, 16:10, like the Mi Pad has. You can see the white bars at the top and bottom. As you can see, the comic is a bit larger.

For fun, I included my Surface.There are white bars on the sides, but they are thinner. The comic on that screen is about the same size the paper comic is.

[ilovejedd]

Note, the current mid-size iPad lineup is now 10.2" ($330), 10.5" ($500) and 11" ($800). I think actual comic size on 4:3 10.2" gets pretty close to 16:10 10.1". I believe 4:3 10.5" might actually be same size or bigger as 16:10 10.1".

That said, microSD cards are a much, much, much cheaper way to store oodles of comics and comic reading apps available on Android are pretty on par (or better) with ones available on iOS.

That said, I don't really care about comic metadata and I don't store my comics in Calibre. I just use good ol' folders for my manga.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Note, the current mid-size iPad lineup is now 10.2" ($330), 10.5" ($500) and 11" ($800). I think actual comic size on 4:3 10.2" gets pretty close to 16:10 10.1". I believe 4:3 10.5" might actually be same size or bigger as 16:10 10.1".

Right, but I was going off of the OPs mention of a 9.7" iPad.

...and comic reading apps available on Android are pretty on par (or better) with ones available on iOS.

I don't own any iDevices, but I've always wanted an iPad just to try the iOs comic apps. I'm just not curious enough to lay out the $$$.

I don't really care about comic metadata and I don't store my comics in Calibre. I just use good ol' folders for my manga.

I agree. My comics are just in folders on my hard drive.

[crane3]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Right, but I was going off of the OPs mention of a 9.7" iPad.



I don't own any iDevices, but I've always wanted an iPad just to try the iOs comic apps. I'm just not curious enough to lay out the $$$.



I agree. My comics are just in folders on my hard drive.

I have an ipad 6th gen w/128 gig as a "retention" for $120 from my isp; not worth it. Found that 3rd party lightning usb cables had to have decrypted chips to work as apple is getting back into putting identifying chips on their equipment in order to work.

The ios comic/manga apps suck. Also apple censors mangas like "Food Wars" for no apparent reason but probably wanted a big kickback. Evidently, ios apps must comply with the limitations of access of the censored(?) manga & most likely comics.

Heck, even the ios ereader apps pale very much compared to android ereader apps; & still many 'reviewers' claim that ios is the best for reading ebooks. Then the touted "file sharing" with ios 13 is a lie as there is no file sharing on the ipad.

The only good thing about is that Calibre Companion is available but it is being made more useless by new developers.

[pazos]

Originally Posted by crane3

I have an ipad 6th gen w/128 gig as a "retention" for $120 from my isp; not worth it. Found that 3rd party lightning usb cables had to have decrypted chips to work as apple is getting back into putting identifying chips on their equipment in order to work.

The ios comic/manga apps suck. Also apple censors mangas like "Food Wars" for no apparent reason but probably wanted a big kickback. Evidently, ios apps must comply with the limitations of access of the censored(?) manga & most likely comics.

Heck, even the ios ereader apps pale very much compared to android ereader apps; & still many 'reviewers' claim that ios is the best for reading ebooks. Then the touted "file sharing" with ios 13 is a lie as there is no file sharing on the ipad.

The only good thing about is that Calibre Companion is available but it is being made more useless by new developers.

File Sharing is available on iOS 13 but app makers need to integrate it on their apps. Is not better than the new storage access framework on android so most of apps won't integrate it in the short run.

IMO the best comic reader for iOS is YACReader. It has its own desktop app which you manage a bit like Calibre and which offers easy sync between libraries.

An app like tachiyomi for iOS will never happen or, at least, will never be available on the app store (like Kodi).

The problem with unathorized cables can be fixed with jailbreak + mikoto.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by crane3

The ios comic/manga apps suck. Also apple censors mangas like "Food Wars" for no apparent reason but probably wanted a big kickback. Evidently, ios apps must comply with the limitations of access of the censored(?) manga & most likely comics.

It's licensed by Viz Media in the US and depending on how aggressive the rights holder is, they may have specifically requested that specific property be blocked on manga apps sharing/downloading unlicensed scanlations.

Apple reviews and may block apps, Google Play is pretty much free for all.

Food Wars is available for purchase legally via official sources: Amazon, Kobo, Nook, Google Play, etc.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Apple reviews and may block apps, Google Play is pretty much free for all.

That's a gross oversimplification. Google Play's QC still lags behind Apple, but it's been improving constantly and is far from a "free-for-all".

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by crane3

The ios comic/manga apps suck. Also apple censors mangas like "Food Wars" for no apparent reason but probably wanted a big kickback. Evidently, ios apps must comply with the limitations of access of the censored(?) manga & most likely comics.

I don't use those streaming 'read manga/comics online' apps. They always seem shady to me.

I tend to purchase my comics from ComiXology or for British comics, the 2000AD Shop.

The apps I use tend to assume you have a bunch of CBZ/CBR/PDF files in a folder on the tablet. I'm not familiar with iOS apps, but with Android, there's Perfect Viewer, Challenger Comics, ComicRack and CDisplay EX. For Windows, there's really only one good one: Cover.

I know there are iOS apps that work like this. I have heard of YACReader and some others. I've just never used them.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

That's a gross oversimplification. Google Play's QC still lags behind Apple, but it's been improving constantly and is far from a "free-for-all".

I thought the default policy for Google Play apps was to allow pretty much anything (as long as it's not malicious). No manual review process prior to being added to the Google Play store like there is with Apple. Has that changed?

I have Playstation and NES/SNES emulators on my Nexus 7, something I believe Apple expressly forbids on the App Store.

Reckon manga aggregator apps for fan translations fall in a bit of a grey area. However, if the US licensee/rights holder requests to take down specific licensed content, the app creator will have to abide else the app will likely be taken off the App Store.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

I thought the default policy for Google Play apps was to allow pretty much anything (as long as it's not malicious). No manual review process prior to being added to the Google Play store like there is with Apple. Has that changed?

On one tech site I read regularly, articles detailing developers complaining about their non-malware apps being yanked from Google Play for reasons every bit as arcane and arbitrary as Apple's are commonplace.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

On one tech site I read regularly, articles detailing developers complaining about their non-malware apps being yanked from Google Play for reasons every bit as arcane and arbitrary as Apple's are commonplace.

Well yeah but afaik, the policy is allow first then just yank it if someone complains.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Well yeah but afaik, the policy is allow first then just yank it if someone complains.

Not always. These are apps yanked by Google, without input from external sources. In several cases, quite popular apps, with no reason given for the decision.