Any Chance of a 4:3 Android Tablet?

[JxK]

Personally, I feel that for near every activity a 4:3 aspect ratio simply makes more sense for tablets. It is more comfortable to hold, and provides for a significant increase in screen real estate - this would be especially noticeable with smaller 7" tablets. The android standard 16:9 is great for widescreen movies/videos, but for other activities tends to fall short...unless one chooses to use the tablet exclusively in landscape.

Thoughts?

[CrowdAds]

[steinburger1109]

I feel like 4:3 is less elegant looking, more difficult to transport, and impractical with regards to apps and such. Everything is designed to accommodate the 16:9 aspect ratio and anything so drastically different as 4:3 would simply be a hassle.

[nathan]

If you look around there's a bunch of El-cheapo Android tablets with 4:3 ratio but I don't think I've herd of a high /reasonable quality with that screen ratio. I could be wrong. LG made a 4:3 4.6" very awkwardly wide phablet so they might make a larger 4:3 tablet.

I think it would just be better going for an 8 inch or 9 inch 16:9 tablet than a 7" 4:3 tablet. It would have approximately the same width of an 7" 4:3 tablet, and still be reasonably lighter than an ipad.

[Olley]

If you can find an HP Touchpad, there are sites that can help you get android running on it.

[TexasRockbox]

Have a look at the new Coby 9742. It's 1024x768, 9.7" IPS screen. iPad screen protector fits perfectly. Has great sound. However, it's single 1GHz core, a bit laggy and doesn't include Android Market/Google Play, no GPS. Does have ICS 4.0.3, 1GB RAM, camera (no flash), HDMI output and a standard 5V power jack. It's not too bad.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by JxK

Personally, I feel that for near every activity a 4:3 aspect ratio simply makes more sense for tablets. It is more comfortable to hold, and provides for a significant increase in screen real estate - this would be especially noticeable with smaller 7" tablets. The android standard 16:9 is great for widescreen movies/videos, but for other activities tends to fall short...unless one chooses to use the tablet exclusively in landscape.

Thoughts?

Here you go....
http://www.woot.com/





Nothing I would buy, but it is 4:3....lol.

[The DarkSide]

Sadly, that thing is a POS.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Sadly, that thing is a POS.

That's why I said

Nothing I would buy

[The DarkSide]

I WAS agreeing with you,...

[TexasRockbox]

The aforementioned Coby 9742 smells less bad... and is 4:3.

[Big Sky]

I have been looking and wanting a tablet with a 4:3 screen. I read a lot of manuals and pdf's. The look better in a 4:3 Screen in relationship to screen size. I have a 10" and two 7" tablets. The 7 would be barley readable but doable in a 4:3 screen while a 8" is idea. Portable enough to stick in a tool bag or Portfolio. 10" are very readable but too big and a tad heavy for me.

I have looked at Archos tablets but, from what I hear they too are P.O.S.'s

I will probabily be waiting for hell to frezze over before I see a decent 4:3 tablet.

[Leroy Bad]

There are a few options available.

Very popular right now is the Le Pan II
http://www.amazon.com/Le-Pan-II-9-7-.../dp/B0067XX3AI

But I own a Onda Vi40 Elite

And I agree 4:3 is a good ratio especially on a 9.7" screen. I think people like widescreen because of movies....which I think is silly to watch on a tablet. I play some games, browse the net and read some e-books and e-magazines and I think its a perfect size.

[aarons510]

The 16:9 ratio allows more room for soft controls, especially a soft keyboard, in portrait mode. For those of us who use a tablet for email, this is an important consideration. Which is not to say that they shouldn't also be available in 4:3 for those who want them. Different strokes, etc..

However, the problem might be that most apps are written for 16:9 screens, thus greatly decreasing the size of the potential minority market for 4:3 ones.

[TexasRockbox]

Lenovo just released a S2109.

http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/tablet/ideapad/s2109/

At Office Depot. ICS, dual core, 9.7 IPS, 8GB, Bluetooth, GPS, HDMI out, USB, microsdhc -- $349USD

At Frys there is an IdeaUSA CT802: ICS, single core 9.7 IPS, 16GB, no Bluetooth, no GPS, HDMI out, USB and USB host, microsdhc, Google Play store and, get this -- *pre rooted* -- $229USD

Neither is going to rule the world but both have 4:3 screen 1024x768.

[arromdee]

I got the Idea USA. It's my first tablet. It does have GPS but the manufacturer's site didn't list it (on the other hand, the manufacturer's site did list Bluetooth and it doesn't have that).

My main problem with this tablet for the purposes I'm using it for (videos, comics, books, I don't play tablet-based video games) is that I can't play videos more than about 480p (and some of those skip frames). I suspect this is more because it's single core than because of anything else. Also, for some reason the speaker is located on the back of the tablet even though anyone watching a movie on it will be in the front.

[arromdee]

Actually, it turns out the player can play higher resolution videos just fine if you use the built-in player. However, the manufacturer hasn't released enough details of the chipset yet for any third parties to make fast video players.