

iPad raises questions about laptop display options  - thomas
http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/ipad-raises-questions-laptop-display-options-20100413/

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shalmanese
I really don't get this article. The iPad can go 4:3 because Apple can
guarantee 1 million orders and so their manufacturer is willing to set up a
separate line to produce just 4:3 panels. Nobody else can do this because
there isn't a million customers who regard widescreen as a critical point of
differentiation on a laptop when the same specced 16:9 can be had $10 cheaper.

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nollidge
Exactly. The author backs up his assertion that "the supply is clearly there"
with a single example, as if that's enough.

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tvon
I figured the iPad wasn't widescreen because it doesn't work well vertically.

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fh
4:3 is also the aspect ratio of almost all digital photographs, and I'm sure
that was a consideration.

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benologist
The missing/sacrificed vertical resolution could be solved if more laptops
would offer better, higher resolutions than 1280x800 / 1366x768 on laptops as
large as 15.6". High resolution 12/13/14/15 inch laptops are ridiculously
niche.

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zsouthboy
butbutbut people will complain that everything is too small!

I am not one of those people. And I wish OSes would get off their asses and do
resolution independent rendering so we could move on.

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GFischer
I love 4:3 screens, but they are very hard to get as the article states.

I thought we were few, but it seems there are enough 4:3 lovers out there :)
(Apple included?)

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orangecat
Ditto. 3:2 is ok, 16:10 is pushing it, and 16:9 is getting into the absurd.
Especially since most windowing UIs have fixed-size vertical elements, so
eliminating 10% of the vertical pixels actually loses more than 10% of the
usable space.

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Zak
I understand the move to 16x10, but why the change from there to 16x9? That
doesn't seem to do anything but lose more vertical space.

I also don't understand why there doesn't seem to be enough demand to continue
offering 4x3 models. Maybe not in every size range, but it seems like there
should be enough demand in a couple popular sizes.

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chadgeidel
I've heard (no article link) that the panel makers are pushing to standardize
on 16:9 formats. They don't want to have two manufacturing processes for tvs
and computer display screens.

It seems like a weak argument though, because there are more computer screen
resolutions than there are "HD" resolutions.

edit: grammar.

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bmalicoat
I thought this article would be about other laptops lacking IPS and having a
terrible viewing angle. For something that promotes more social usage like the
iPad, the viewing angle being huge is critical. Most laptops in my experience
are hard to view and share at the same time.

