16:9 tablets bad for reading textbooks

[Mockingbird]

I just got one of those used Unbranded 10.1 tablet from BestBuy for $100 and I have to say that reading textbook experience is awful.

 

The 16:9 tablet is just too narrow and long. Reading on the 16:9 Unbranded 10.1" is like reading on the 4:3 iPad Mini 7.9". The extra vertical space on the screen is useless.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Yep, the only thing wide screen tablets are good for is movies.

 

Everything else 4:3 is better. Which is why up to this point Apple has always been selling 4:3 tablets.

[Pam14160]

They work great if all your going to read is text like int an epub, mobi, etc.  Then just turn it up and it is better then reading the regular paper back or hard back books. They also work fine when viewing photos. . .

[tsupersonic]

My rule of thumb for tablets:

4:3 for productivity

16:9 for content consumption 

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

dont' you have surface pro 3?    or is 12" too big and heavy?

[Mockingbird]

I bought this tablet primary for reading textbooks and for that purpose, it fall very short of my expectations.

 

Yep, the only thing wide screen tablets are good for is movies.

 

Everything else 4:3 is better. Which is why up to this point Apple has always been selling 4:3 tablets.

 

Jobs was right on this one.

 

Seriously, why are all the 4:3 Windows tablets only made by no name Chinese companies?

 

Did other companies not think that people would prefer to use their tablets for anything other watching movies?

 

They work great if all your going to read is text like int an epub, mobi, etc.  Then just turn it up and it is better then reading the regular paper back or hard back books. They also work fine when viewing photos. . .

 

That doesn't work for textbooks with fixed pages.

 

dont' you have surface pro 3?    or is 12" too big and heavy?

 

I don't have one (yet).

[+Warwagon MVC]

I bought this tablet primary for reading textbooks and for that purpose, it fall very short of my expectations.

 

 

Jobs was right on this one.

 

Seriously, why are all the 4:3 Windows tablets only made by no name Chinese companies?

 

Did other companies not think that people would prefer to use their tablets for anything other watching movies?

 

 

That doesn't work for textbooks with fixed pages.

 

 

I don't have one (yet).

 

 

ya, I never understand watching movies on the tablet. I do much traveling so if I did Might, I would much rather watch on my 70 inch TV.

[Kai Y]

Not sure if you intend to return the tablet, but if you want to stick with it, try to crop your textbooks. You might find the pages less awful if you crop the left and right margins.

 

I use BRISS if I need to crop PDFs for reading. Not the most pretty/intuitive app, but it overlays the pages on top of each other so you can see which parts you can safely crop away.

 

But yup, 16:9 is not nice for reading, even 16:10 probably feels better. I'm not sure if 4:3 is ideal, but maybe that's because where I live we use A4 paper instead of Letter... which is closer to 3:2 than 4:3.

[HawkMan]

If you're going to read books and textbooks, you buy epaper e-book readers anyway. 

 

on the other hand, the screen on my 11 inch miix2, would be the same size as a regular open normal to slightly bigger sized pocket book, heck the text area would be about the same size as most hard covers when opened as well. so I could read e-books in 2 page mode just like  regular book. 

[Mockingbird]

I want to note that when I am looking at certain colors (i.e. sandpaper color), I can see a continuous stream of horizontal lines going from the bottom to the top.

I am not sure if the screen is defective or if it's just a cheap screen.

 

I have 12 days left to return the tablet.

 

Not sure if you intend to return the tablet, but if you want to stick with it, try to crop your textbooks. You might find the pages less awful if you crop the left and right margins.

 

I use BRISS if I need to crop PDFs for reading. Not the most pretty/intuitive app, but it overlays the pages on top of each other so you can see which parts you can safely crop away.

 

But yup, 16:9 is not nice for reading, even 16:10 probably feels better. I'm not sure if 4:3 is ideal, but maybe that's because where I live we use A4 paper instead of Letter... which is closer to 3:2 than 4:3.

 

I already zoomed until the text hits both sides of the screen and the text is still small.

 

I do agree that 3:2 is better for A4.

 

I have some ebook that's intended for A4 and some that's for Letter and I can definitely tell the difference.

 

If you're going to read books and textbooks, you buy epaper e-book readers anyway. 

 

on the other hand, the screen on my 11 inch miix2, would be the same size as a regular open normal to slightly bigger sized pocket book, heck the text area would be about the same size as most hard covers when opened as well. so I could read e-books in 2 page mode just like  regular book. 

 

The problem is that there aren't too many 10+ inch E-ink color tablets around.

 

A 7-inch black and white E-ink tablet may be acceptable for reading A Tale of Two Cities, but it's not acceptable for reading a Physics textbook.

[Ian S.]

ya, I never understand watching movies on the tablet. I do much traveling so if I did Might, I would much rather watch on my 70 inch TV.

You should try watching Netflix during lunch break ... on a Surface Pro 3  

[Michael Scrip]

I also think 16:9 is not ideal for reading.  

 

And then there are all these 13" convertibles that pretend to be a laptop and tablet in one.

 

Here's a comparison between the LCD sizes for iPads and a 13" 16:9 convertible:

 

 

I can't imagine using something that big as a "tablet"

 

It'd be like holding a small lunch tray in your lap!

[Mockingbird]

It looks like the Lenovo Miix 3 does have 4:3 aspect ratio.

 

Windows tablets need to start moving away from 16:9.

[link6155]

Who remembers the series 7 slate?

really awkward in portrait mode.

[Melfster]

For me I can't stand reading on any tablets for long time.  I don't know how people can read a lengthy paper on a tablet.  E-ink is much better but not very good when it comes to PDF or interactive media.

[PGHammer]

For me I can't stand reading on any tablets for long time.  I don't know how people can read a lengthy paper on a tablet.  E-ink is much better but not very good when it comes to PDF or interactive media.

That is why most tablets (and especially Android tablets) rotate - e-books retain the same format as their paper predecessors, which is the same format that phones generally use, as opposed to widescreen format.

 

It's not 4:3, but 9:16 (for books and e-books, and the Kindle paperwhite and original Kindle, and along with most phones). - 4:3 is common for desktops and early portable PCs.

 

9:16 is longer than wide (AKA portrait mode) - uncommon for video.

[Melfster]

For me its not about the dimensions of the tablet its backlight shining into your eyes of lcd, ips, screens.  E-ink doesn't have this problem.

[PGHammer]

For me its not about the dimensions of the tablet its backlight shining into your eyes of lcd, ips, screens.  E-ink doesn't have this problem.

E-reader apps (such as Amazon Kindle) compensate for that (the Kindle readers - for Windows, Android, iOS, even FIreOS - all use the same e-reader format - MOBI; the format itself can be converted - both to and from - the utterly-free Caliber library utility (for Windows or Linux) is, in fact, my favorite utility FOR such conversions.  While I don't have a Kindle, I read plenty of native MOBI-format e-texts, and I have nary a problem using a Kindle e-reader with any of them.  Perhaps the REAL question is Kindle e-reader vs. a KIndle Paperwhite?

[HawkMan]

E-reader apps (such as Amazon Kindle) compensate for that (the Kindle readers - for Windows, Android, iOS, even FIreOS - all use the same e-reader format - MOBI; the format itself can be converted - both to and from - the utterly-free Caliber library utility (for Windows or Linux) is, in fact, my favorite utility FOR such conversions.  While I don't have a Kindle, I read plenty of native MOBI-format e-texts, and I have nary a problem using a Kindle e-reader with any of them.  Perhaps the REAL question is Kindle e-reader vs. a KIndle Paperwhite?

hmm all e-reader don't use the same format. it's been a while since I used my old sony reader. but there was one open standard format that everyone supported. Then There was amazon, they bought up another company and their format. and used it. They even denied anyone who supported their format from also using the other open format. so lots of e-readers had two firmwares. one Amazon/kindle compatible and one for the european standard that libraries and e-book stores used. 

I guess Amazon may have changed and dropped their ridiculous demands to support their format and nothing else now, I haven't really paid attention. and well you're in the US so you probably aren't even aware of the different formats as the other one was mostly big here in europe. 

The major open format was epub by the way, and is also majorly supported by Adobe who also provides the DRM for it for those store/lenders who use DRM. 

[Dashel]

2 page mode is fine, but 3:2 is preferable.