Analyst Thinks Apple May Be Working On a Widescreen iPad
But would the widescreen format work out on the company's upcoming iPad update? According to industry analyst Paul Mueller, Apple may be pursuing the idea with an upcoming prototype 16:9 iPad. Since the iPad is much more ideal for watching HD videos and movies, we wouldn't be surprised if the rumors were true.
Of course, just because the company intends to make a prototype doesn't necessarily mean it'll ever hit the market. The 16:9 aspect ratio is nice for watching widescreen videos, but may not be the most preferred aspect ratio for other iPad-esque tasks such as browsing, reading, or mobile gaming. But if there's one thing we can be sure of, it's that we'll hear plenty more iPad rumors all the way up until the reveal.
I don't really mind all the Apple-centric news but why so much less news on HTC's, Asus', Samsung's or anyone else's gadgets in the works. Every time Apple farts we get the opportunity to read about it so spread the love.
-Ex iSheep
Sent from my New iPad
Google nexus 7, watch out.
They will sue and take $100 billion dollars
I don't really mind all the Apple-centric news but why so much less news on HTC's, Asus', Samsung's or anyone else's gadgets in the works. Every time Apple farts we get the opportunity to read about it so spread the love.
-Ex iSheep
Really? If I was in your place I would be selling my spot in line. Just saying....
Justice would be served if Samsung hit them with a billion dollar lawsuit, won and got a worldwide sales ban because it would look identical to the Galaxy Tab.
I had to thumb this up, this is clearly hilarious sarcasm, deadpan humour at its finest
The thing that gets me is that while 16:9 or 16:10 are the "standard" current common aspect ratios, a lot of movies/videos are NOT that ratio. Personally I'd sooner crop/zoom a 16:9 movie to the 4:3 screen for when I do watch a movie of that aspect ratio than have a 16:9 hardware platform.
Then again, Apple is ever-concerned with the appearance-factor of their devices (and knowing that just by looking at something, you know it's the latest and greatest). This would be the obvious way to do that.
That being said, what I'd like from the tablet market is thinner bezels around the screen. For the love of god, I find it hard to believe you need 1" borders around a screen.
If you compare to the written area of a sheet of paper (i.e. subtract the margins), you'll find the 4:3 and 16:10 aspect ratios are both about the same at reproducing letter-sized paper. For A4 paper, legal-sized paper, 3:2 DSLR photos, and movies, 16:10 has less wasted screen space than 4:3.
4:3 is only wastes less space if you scan an entire sheet of paper (including margins), convert it to PDF, and display it on the screen. But then you're looking at a 9.7" version of a 13.9" page. So a closer reproduction would be on a 14" tablet. You're better off cropping out the margins when scanning paper, after which 4:3 wastes as much space as 16:10 for letter-sized paper.
Personally I work mostly with DSLR photos, and vastly prefer 16:10 over 4:3. Most artists probably prefer 16:10 as well since it's very close to the Golden Ratio (1.618).
OTOH 4:3 seems to work better when browsing web pages (at least after Apple upped the resolution - the low res screen of the iPad/iPad 2 sucked at 4:3). So if all you ever do on your tablet is browse the web, then I can see that being better.
Those are valid points--I was thinking more along the lines of ergonomic design for holding the device while you use it. Say you're sitting on a commuter train reading a book or browsing a web page, it's less awkward (IMHO) to hold a 4:3 device in portrait orientation in one hand and use it with your other hand than a 16:9 or 16:10 device.