Saturday, July 28, 2012

One more vote for bigger tablets

Finally I found another call for bigger tablets, and for exactly the reasons I have written about it myself: they are needed for magazines, comics, art books, technical books...
I can live with the idea that e-books will replace mass-market paperbacks and other tomes that are mostly about words, not visuals. But I love art books–and with art books, bigger is better. Among of my favorites: The Sunday Press’s Little Nemo volumes, which reprint vintage newspaper comics at full size. They’re about the height of a small child, and there’d be no way to recreate them on an iPad, let alone a Galaxy Tab or PlayBook. I don’t want to see the art of the art book die when dead-tree printing goes away. [Emphasis mine]

I also have the hardcover collection of Little Nemo, (full page sample) and it's a colossal book, like two feet high. And the art is made for that format. Admittedly that's an unusual example, but it is far from unusual for illustrated books of many kinds to not fit well on the iPad's screen.
Yes, the weigh issue needs to be solved, but you anyway will want stands for larger tablets, and they will be needed sooner or later. Especially since print is bound to get even more expensive as ebooks take over.


8 comments:

Stephen A said...

Just check out Alan Moore's Promethia for another

For stuff on this scale a highres picoprojector with touch interaction would be better

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Yes, I remember there was often some very complex double-spreads in that series, with walks through other dimensions and such!

Stephen A said...

26" tablet Wide enough for the fantastic dreamlike 2 page spreads that compose the bulk of the new Batwoman comic

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

26 inches should do it!!
But will it fit in my murse?

(Rez is a bit low for reading though.)

Wow, Williams III is in top form.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Thank you, S. ... that Batwoman series is cool! Spooky, violent, creepy, oddly humorous...

I can't believe everybody has kept this a secret from me. I really thought the Capullo Batman was the only cool adult thing going on in comics now.

Stephen A said...

Check out Fatale (Chandler meets Lovecraft) and Mind the Gap as well. Saga grows on you but is borderline...

Stephen A said...

As for your murse upgrade!

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Thanks, my man.