What I want - 4:3 12" tablet

[zephyrprime]

Does anyone know if anyone makes a 4:3 12" tablet? I've always found the 4:3 tablet ratio of the ipad more useful than my current Nexus 10's 16:10 ratio. However, I was looking to get something a little bigger.

BTW, I already have a nook hd 7", a nexus 10, and a windows 8 12" tablet.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Well the Surface Pro 3 is a 3:2 ratio with 12 inch screen. That is somewhere between the 4:3 and 16:10. It's actually a very nice balance. Of course it's expensive.

There are some cheap Android tablets with 4:3 screen, even a fairly nice cheap one, the MiPad. But these are all 10 inches or smaller.

 

[poofyhairguy]

They used to make tablets like that in the pre-iPhone era:

http://www.amazon.com/Motion-LE1700-.../dp/B000ZKFRBM

Anything modern will be either smaller or 16:9.

 

[Bateluer]

You might find such a config here. http://www.merimobiles.com/brand/

Hard to find because the 4:3 aspect is just clumsy for pretty much everything.

 

[QueBert]

4:3's better for reading pdf's by a mile. Also I find it easier to hold a 4:3 tablet, but to be fair the only 4:3 I've held was an iPad so I have nothing else to compare it to.

 

[sgrinavi]

There's been a rumor floating around about a 12.9" "pro" iPad being released this year. Probably going to be pretty expensive though

 

[tsupersonic]

I hate the 4:3 form factor. Such a pain in the ass for media consumption, which is the majority of my tablet experience. Reading ebooks/PDFs? Nothing beats an e-ink display. Want a tablet that's easier to hold? Get a smaller tablet.

 

[skriefal]

E-ink is okay for reading novels or anything with lots of (and only) text, but not for reading magazines or anything with graphics/color. Smaller also is not the answer here. 16:9 also is poor for reading. How many printed books, magazines, etc, are you aware of that are in a 16:9 or 9:16 ratio?

16:9 is fine for viewing movies or television programs, but why would I want to do that on a tablet (or a laptop)? That's what a TV is for.

 

[Commodus]

I hate the 4:3 form factor. Such a pain in the ass for media consumption, which is the majority of my tablet experience. Reading ebooks/PDFs? Nothing beats an e-ink display. Want a tablet that's easier to hold? Get a smaller tablet.

Here's the thing: 4:3 makes portrait mode practical on most tablets for just about everything. Books, magazines, websites, games, social networking, you name it. Widescreen is hot for videos and games that need a landscape ratio, but it bites for web browsing and anything else that's meant to be vertical.

I also dispute the "just get an e-paper reader" argument. Besides the category being on the decline (Sony just got out of the business), it's nice to use a tablet for reading in some ways. You can read colour documents, look up historical background, and handle messages if they come in. And of course, you save cash if you were already bent on a tablet.

 

[zephyrprime]

I hate the 4:3 form factor. Such a pain in the ass for media consumption, which is the majority of my tablet experience. Reading ebooks/PDFs? Nothing beats an e-ink display. Want a tablet that's easier to hold? Get a smaller tablet.

It is good for video watching indeed but I hardly watch any video on my tablet. Viewing pdf's and surfing the web is 99% of what I do on my several tablets so for me, 4:3 is ideal.

 

[zephyrprime]

There's been a rumor floating around about a 12.9" "pro" iPad being released this year. Probably going to be pretty expensive though

That'll be interesting to see.

 

[tsupersonic]

E-ink is okay for reading novels or anything with lots of (and only) text, but not for reading magazines or anything with graphics/color. Smaller also is not the answer here. 16:9 also is poor for reading. How many printed books, magazines, etc, are you aware of that are in a 16:9 or 9:16 ratio?

16:9 is fine for viewing movies or television programs, but why would I want to do that on a tablet (or a laptop)? That's what a TV is for.

Yeah, most of the material I want to read is pure text. E-ink is the best for that, and much easier on the eyes. Magazines (or content with color/images) is where a tablet comes in handy, absolutely agree. I guess I am in the minority when I much prefer 16:10 for reading websites (hold it landscape), magazines, and enjoying video content.

Don't be so close minded. Everyone has different needs - I'm on the go a lot and I value having a tablet on flights, hotels, etc. When I am on the go, I typically have my phone, a laptop (Macbook Pro or Surface Pro 2), and a tablet. The tablet is the perfect portable device for watching a show/movie without the hassle of watching on a small screen/destroying the phone's battery life, and also don't want to start up the laptop because it's too big. If I'm home, I'll default to the TV, but sometimes I like to catch the occasional TV show/movie in bed.

Either way, no one is wrong. If you like 4:3, great. If you like 16:9/16:10, great. You have options regardless of aspect ratio preferences. I own an iPad Air and a Nexus 7 2013, so I have plenty of experience with both ends of the spectrum. I much prefer the 16:10 aspect ratio on the Nexus 7 over the 4:3 iPad Air.

 

[Ravynmagi]

For me, e-ink is only for books. PDFs need a bigger display, more powerful processor, and sometimes color, so I definitely need a tablet for that.

I like 4:3 and 16:10. I'd have a hard time saying which I like more because they both have their good points. Which is probably why I am absolutely in love with the 3:2 ratio I saw on the Surface Pro 3. Because with that ratio, I feel like I get a good balance of both worlds. It's kinda wide screen, so videos still look okay. And it's wide enough in portrait mode to use.

I really hope some quality Android manufacture is out there working on a 3:2 aspect ratio tablet.

 

[skriefal]

Don't be so close minded. Everyone has different needs - I'm on the go a lot and I value having a tablet on flights, hotels, etc. When I am on the go, I typically have my phone, a laptop (Macbook Pro or Surface Pro 2), and a tablet. The tablet is the perfect portable device for watching a show/movie without the hassle of watching on a small screen/destroying the phone's battery life, and also don't want to start up the laptop because it's too big.

It's not a matter of close-mindedness. It's a matter of lack of choice (or nearly so).

Agreed re: e-ink being easier on the eyes. Now if only it could handle high-resolution color!

 

[Crono]

This is why we need to move to scrolls eventually. Resizable screens.

I have a preference for 16:10 and 4:3 aspect ratios for monitors and tablets, but the Surface Pro 3's 3:2 ratio would probably work well for me, too. I had a Surface RT and the 16:9 ratio was not good for portrait at all, especially not for a 10.6" display (for 7-8" tablets it's acceptable). 16:9 gives an advantage really only for 16:9 content like movies or some games optimized for resolutions with that ratio.

For 12" and above, you'd probably want to include convertible laptops and not just pure tablets, as there isn't a lot of choice even without the 4:3 aspect ratio requirement. It's unfortunate, but most manufacturers have been designing screens for years with widescreen movies in mind.

 

[Mopetar]

4:3's better for reading pdf's by a mile.

Also better for browsing as most websites are still designed around a 4:3 layout as a holdover from when most screens were 4:3.

I have a preference for 16:10 and 4:3 aspect ratios for monitors and tablets, but the Surface Pro 3's 3:2 ratio would probably work well for me, too.

I'm a fan of pairing 4:3 displays with a 16:10 central display. A lot of productivity applications (be it Photoshop, Eclipse, Premiere, etc.) make good use of the extra space and the 4:3 monitors are great for having a web browser, mail client, etc. open on the side.

The Surface Pro 3's screen intrigues me. It's closer to 16:10 than it is to 4:3 and I'd almost like to see them use that aspect ration with a phone.

 

[Crono]

I'm a fan of pairing 4:3 displays with a 16:10 central display. A lot of productivity applications (be it Photoshop, Eclipse, Premiere, etc.) make good use of the extra space and the 4:3 monitors are great for having a web browser, mail client, etc. open on the side.

Yeah, that's what I do at home and work. At work the 16:10 display is vertically oriented for displaying scanned documents.