[advid]

...we've got three android pads in our family and they're very handy..but..I do wish tablet manufacturers made a choice of aspect ratios...the Apple ipad's 4:3 screen seems far better for 'everyday browsing and reading...
I'm sure there would be a market for such devices...at least the customer could choose a particular model for his own reasons...

[c4rv]

But then 16:9 is better for viewing media which is generally in widescreen format.

[advid]

Originally Posted by c4rv

But then 16:9 is better for viewing media which is generally in widescreen format.

....agree...but if you don't watch widescreen videos and such then for general browsing / reading I would think a 4:3 would perhaps be better?

[Stuart_h]

Originally Posted by advid

....agree...but if you don't watch widescreen videos and such then for general browsing / reading I would think a 4:3 would perhaps be better?

but if you dont read then 16:9 is better.

its all horses for courses ..... obviously you can turn an android tablet round 90 degrees which makes it even better for browsing and reading as you dont have to scroll down as often

Most laptops and monitors and TVs are 16:9 so even the web is moving that way. To me (and its just my opinion) 4:3 looks a tad dated.

[c4rv]

Originally Posted by Stuart_h

but if you dont read then 16:9 is better.

its all horses for courses ..... obviously you can turn an android tablet round 90 degrees which makes it even better for browsing and reading as you dont have to scroll down as often

Most laptops and monitors and TVs are 16:9 so even the web is moving that way. To me (and its just my opinion) 4:3 looks a tad dated.

Our web design team at work tests for both ratio's these days. Most web sites need to work in either correctly.

[Mr. Cool]

Arnova 9 G3 has 4:3.

So do a limited range of others.

I prefer 16:9

[Rodney McKay]

Originally Posted by c4rv

But then 16:9 is better for viewing media which is generally in widescreen format.

You can view a video well enough on a 4:3 screen, I find Android tablets AND laptops that all have a widescreen rather annoying personally.

[Rodney McKay]

Originally Posted by Stuart_h

but if you dont read then 16:9 is better.

its all horses for courses ..... obviously you can turn an android tablet round 90 degrees which makes it even better for browsing and reading as you dont have to scroll down as often

Most laptops and monitors and TVs are 16:9 so even the web is moving that way. To me (and its just my opinion) 4:3 looks a tad dated.

I have a 10" Galaxy Tab and when using it as an ereader for PDF manuals etc, in the portrait mode the screen is too narrow and long, you only have to look at the screen rations of proper ereaders like the Kindle.

I think Apple got it right with the iPad in that area.

[rosetech]

Originally Posted by advid

...we've got three android pads in our family and they're very handy..but..I do wish tablet manufacturers made a choice of aspect ratios...the Apple ipad's 4:3 screen seems far better for 'everyday browsing and reading...
I'm sure there would be a market for such devices...at least the customer could choose a particular model for his own reasons...

Time has moved on, Apple have stuck with 4:3 and good luck to them. As long as you format your document correctly it displays fine. Horses for courses, but for me 16:9 meets my needs.

[chopoff]

I prefer 16:9, for video watching it is an obvious choice.

But I also prefer it for browsing.

[rosetech]

Originally Posted by Rodney McKay

I have a 10" Galaxy Tab and when using it as an ereader for PDF manuals etc, in the portrait mode the screen is too narrow and long, you only have to look at the screen rations of proper ereaders like the Kindle.

I think Apple got it right with the iPad in that area.

The fact that Pdfs dont display properly is down to the pdf software. I gave up on pdf a long time ago. Ebooks formatted correctly display properly which is why ereaders rock. Irrespective of aspect ratio.

[Matt D]

I love my iPad, but tbh I would prefer 16:9 as it would be better for watching videos.

I think 16:9 would be great for browsing, too. I recently switched from a smallish 4:3 LCD monitor for my PC to a 22" 16:10 LCD monitor, and it's so much better, not just because of the size but also the AR.

[Batwing]

Originally Posted by rosetech

Time has moved on, Apple have stuck with 4:3 and good luck to them. As long as you format your document correctly it displays fine. Horses for courses, but for me 16:9 meets my needs.

No, because with a narrow 16:9 screen you have much less of a viewable area above the keyboard to see what you are typing into.

Apple definitely got the aspect ratio right for a tablet. 16:9 is perfect for laptop or desktop but not a tablet for onscreen keyboard use.

[Batwing]

Originally Posted by Matt D

I love my iPad, but tbh I would prefer 16:9 as it would be better for watching videos.

I think 16:9 would be great for browsing, too. I recently switched from a smallish 4:3 LCD monitor for my PC to a 22" 16:10 LCD monitor, and it's so much better, not just because of the size but also the AR.

Only better in the sense that your picture would be bigger but they would both still be showing the same picture.

[Batwing]

Originally Posted by rosetech

Time has moved on, Apple have stuck with 4:3 and good luck to them. As long as you format your document correctly it displays fine. Horses for courses, but for me 16:9 meets my needs.

They are formatted correctly since they are in their original format, which is why they look better on the iPad since 4:3 is much closer to the original aspect ratio.

What you are suggesting is changing the aspect ratio of the original document which would be no more desirable than changing the aspect ratio of a movie to fit an entire 4:3 screen.

[c4rv]

Originally Posted by Batwing

No, because with a narrow 16:9 screen you have much less of a viewable area above the keyboard to see what you are typing into.

Apple definitely got the aspect ratio right for a tablet. 16:9 is perfect for laptop or desktop but not a tablet for onscreen keyboard use.

How often are you using the keyboard, all the example mentioned, reading, viewing web pages, watching videos, even game playing. None of those have heavy keyboard usage.

TBH, if you are using a keyboard frequently then get yourself a transformer.

[Batwing]

Originally Posted by Matt D

I love my iPad, but tbh I would prefer 16:9 as it would be better for watching videos.

I think 16:9 would be great for browsing, too. I recently switched from a smallish 4:3 LCD monitor for my PC to a 22" 16:10 LCD monitor, and it's so much better, not just because of the size but also the AR.

You are comparing apples to oranges. A desktop display has no keyboard.

[Batwing]

Originally Posted by c4rv

How often are you using the keyboard, all the example mentioned, reading, viewing web pages, watching videos, even game playing. None of those have heavy keyboard usage.

I use the keyboard every single day. I am using it right now.

Originally Posted by c4rv

TBH, if you are using a keyboard frequently then get yourself a transformer.

Why? I can type just as fast on my iPad as on a regular keyboard. I also have no trouble seeing what I am writing into for the reason I already mentioned.

A transformer makes no sense. Why would anyone want to turn a tablet into a laptop. In that case get yourself a laptop.

[c4rv]

Originally Posted by Batwing

I use the keyboard every single day. I am using it right now.

You are seeing as many characters as you would with either ratio. 16:9, more characters per line, 4:3 more lines.

I spend most of last week accessing the forum from a 10" 16:9 tablet with 1024x600 display. Managed to cope just fine.

[Batwing]

Originally Posted by c4rv

You are seeing as many characters as you would with either ratio. 16:9, more characters per line, 4:3 more lines.

I spend most of last week accessing the forum from a 10" 16:9 tablet with 1024x600 display. Managed to cope just fine.

That's not how it always works when typing into forums. Besides, more lines visible is obviously desirable otherwise we wouldn't have things called word wrap and paragraphs.

That you coped fine is all well and good but it doesn't change what I said since those are not subjective views.

And why are you now boasting of so much time typing into your 16:9 tablet after telling me to get a Transformer if I planned on doing a lot of typing on a tablet?

[c4rv]

Originally Posted by Batwing

That's not how it always works when typing into forums. Besides, more lines visible is obviously desirable otherwise we wouldn't have things called word wrap and paragraphs.

That you coped fine is all well and good but it doesn't change what I said since those are not subjective views.

And why are you now boasting of so much time typing into your 16:9 tablet after telling me to get a Transformer if I planned on doing a lot of typing on a tablet?

I wasn't boasting, just saying its doable. The typing was a one off as I didn't take my netbook with me on the trip but in hindsight wish I had. Normally I use the netbook if I need to do lots of typing on the.

[rosetech]

Originally Posted by Batwing

No, because with a narrow 16:9 screen you have much less of a viewable area above the keyboard to see what you are typing into.

Apple definitely got the aspect ratio right for a tablet. 16:9 is perfect for laptop or desktop but not a tablet for onscreen keyboard use.

The difference is height is negligible - your insistence on this is remarkable. You dont lose anything having 16:9, you only lose by having 4:3

[rosetech]

Originally Posted by Batwing

No, because with a narrow 16:9 screen you have much less of a viewable area above the keyboard to see what you are typing into.

Apple definitely got the aspect ratio right for a tablet. 16:9 is perfect for laptop or desktop but not a tablet for onscreen keyboard use.

On android the keyboard takes just less than half the screen. IOS just less than half the screen where is this massive difference?

The keyboard size has nothing to do with aspect ratio. If your keyboard is too big, then change it.

[rosetech]

Originally Posted by Batwing

They are formatted correctly since they are in their original format, which is why they look better on the iPad since 4:3 is much closer to the original aspect ratio.

What you are suggesting is changing the aspect ratio of the original document which would be no more desirable than changing the aspect ratio of a movie to fit an entire 4:3 screen.

Actually I am not suggesting that you are

16:9 doesnt truncate an image unless you try to match the same display area, which imho would be a silly thing to do e.g watching 16:9 films etc on 4:3 looks awfully squashed. Conversely displaying a 4:3 image on 16:9 has little effect unless you try to match the area displayed - (Android displays roughly the same amount of screen space with the onscreen keyboard as an iPad).

[Matt D]

Originally Posted by Batwing

Only better in the sense that your picture would be bigger but they would both still be showing the same picture.

When it comes to watching a video, bigger is better.

16:9 video displayed on a 10" 16:9 screen is better than 16:9 video displayed letterboxed on a 10" 4:3 screen.

Just the same as watching widescreen video on a widescreen TV is preferable to watching it letterboxed (or, god forbid, in pan & scan) on a 4:3 TV of a similar size.