I'm thinking of buying a tablet for reading comics...

Status
Not open for further replies.
1. Buy Marvel Unlimited subscription
2. Buy iPad or iPad Mini depending on desired screen size. (I'd recommend an Android tablet for price but aside from the Nexus 9 which is pretty disappointing, they aren't in a 4:3 aspect ratio which makes it bad for comics)
3. Buy Marvel Unlimited subscription, read Infinity War there and anything else that gets your interest.

This. I love my iPad Air and Marvel Unlimited is amazing.
 
I use whatever the first lightning cable retina ipad is called and Marvel Unlimited + Comixology. I can't do anything under a 10.1 tablet when it comes to reading comics, it's too small for me personally and 10.1 in itself is a little smaller then i wished. I want a 12" tablet >.<
 
Wow, goddamn nearly everyone in here is wrong.

Look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, its way better than using an iPad. Aspect ratio, SD card support, screen size, screen quality. I've used both for reading comics extensively and its no contest.

15327169035_3d7c881e96_b.jpg

SOOOO much this. Bought a Galaxy Tab S earlier this week and comics look stunning on it, much better then an ipad or what other people have suggested here. On top it comes with 3 months free of Marvel U, and has SD card support!

16:9 and 10.5 is also perfect, single pages are near comic book size and fill the whole screen, and splash pages are perfect for landscape mode.
 
Air 2 or bigger. I went from reading on a 5.5 to 7 to 9 inch, it's no contest. You still occasionally have to pinch to zoom to read stuff or see details on smaller screens.

Would never touch a Samsung tablet, I'm not sure what else there is Android or otherwise. Nexus 9? I'm assuming if an iPad is not something you want to shell out for then a Surface is out of the question too.
 
I use my Nexus 7 2013 for reading comics. It's not a powerful tablet but it's not slow or sluggish or anything.

As for Marvel recs I'm not sure, I've never read any marvel comics only heard which ones are good. Frank Miller Daredevil is the goto recommendation, but recently I think New Avengers, Avengers and Ms. Marvel are the most popular books.
 
I use my Nexus 7 2013 for reading comics. It's not a powerful tablet but it's not slow or sluggish or anything.

As for Marvel recs I'm not sure, I've never read any marvel comics only heard which ones are good. Frank Miller Daredevil is the goto recommendation, but recently I think New Avengers, Avengers and Ms. Marvel are the most popular books.

Another vote for the Nexus 7 2013. Great tablet overall as well. Got my wife one for christmas after I had mine for a year. 150 bucks.

Komic is also my app of choice.
 
Now imagine that with an extra 1.7" of screen real estate with the Tab/Note Pro 12.2 and you have absolute perfection. (The Tab S 10.5 is pretty sweet too, I'll admit.)
What's the difference between the Note/Tab? One is $549 one is $649 but they both seem to have the exact same specs on paper.

Tab
Note

Had no idea a 12" tablet was on the market but it looks like i am heading out to best buy tomorrow to get one.
 
People read comics on something as small as a ipad mini? Dear god people maybe it's because I wear glasses but it would be way too small to me.

this, all day...knowing there's 12" samsungs kills me, need that in my life

You've never read a Manga or an Archie Digest? Size is fine.

ehh i read lone wolf & cub in the small digests but that shit was by no means ideal, i'd certainly not buy an expensive electronic device to recreate that struggle
 
any impressions from Comics-GAF on the Galaxy Tab Pro? 12.2" screen sounds lovely, and while 32GB aint bad im bummed there's no USB port, guess id have to make that microSD work...
 
Really enjoy reading on my iPad Air 2. Moving almost entirely to digital pretty much kicked off for me when I could get a retina iPad. Haven't really looked back.
 
Can someone explain 4:3 resolution to me? what numbers should I be looking for?

Not a ton of non-Apple tablets have that aspect ratio, most have a 16:9 or 16:10.

16:9 is like 1920x1080 or 1600x900, 16:10 is like 1920x1200, or 1280x800 which is very common.

iPad Mini 2 for example is 2048x1536, which is 4:3. If you're ever in doubt, just do some quick math

Other things that you might want to look at though are bezel size, weight, actual screen size, etc.
 
What's the difference between the Note/Tab? One is $549 one is $649 but they both seem to have the exact same specs on paper.

Tab
Note

Had no idea a 12" tablet was on the market but it looks like i am heading out to best buy tomorrow to get one.

Note comes with a digital stylus, Tab doesn't. That's the only difference. I own a Note, but I only bought it because I got a killer price on a refurbished model last fall. The stylus is super cool, but I hardly ever use it. Unless you are an artist or like taking handwritten notes, save yourself the $100 and get the Tab.
 
Can someone explain 4:3 resolution to me? what numbers should I be looking for?

as someone else pointed out.. Apple is really the only quality tablet on the market with 4:3. Most others are 16:9 or 16:10.

The difference is that the 4:3 vertical orientation holds a single comic page with minimal unused space, and in landscape orientation holds a two page layout with even less unused space. To boot, a non-mini iPad comes out to a little smaller than digest sized trades in landscape, and a little smaller than normal trade in portrait.

16:9 fits single page on portrait a little worse than ipad, but two page on landscape is WAY worse.

16:10 fits single page a bit better than iPad, but two page on landscape is a lot worse.

so.. single page viewing is basically a toss up, with 16:10 being a little better. Double page viewing is greatly in favor of 4:3. So 4:3 ends up being the overall better solution.. with 16:10 being good ONLY if you don't intend to read in 2 page mode... the problem being that comics are still at times drawn/created with 2 page spreads including some kind of cool such 2-pagers in this week's Star Wars for example. And WAY WAY more so the further back you go in comics.

16:9 is basically just flat out worse than 4:3 and 16:10 on all accounts.

edit - for reference

modern comics are ~6.75 x 10.25 which comes out to an aspect ratio of 1.51 for single page, and 1.31 for 2-page.
4:3 is 1.33. 12% unused space on 1-page. 1.5% unused space 2-page.
16:10 is 1.6. 6% unused space on 1-page. 22% unused space on 2-page.
16:9 is 1.78. 17% unused space on 1-page. 35% unused space 2-page.
 
4:3 is also great for reading regular letter sized documents. I do a ton of reading of PDF and Word docs on my iPad, and the 4:3 screen is the reason I originally went woth iPad and have stuck with them.
 
I bought a comic view ereader thing for my nexus 7. I prefer graphic novels. I just bought loads of hellblazer novels and a few others. I also still buy edge and retrogamer magazines instead of their digital counterparts.
 
Wow, **** nearly everyone in here is wrong.

Look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, its way better than using an iPad. Aspect ratio, SD card support, screen size, screen quality. I've used both for reading comics extensively and its no contest.

15327169035_3d7c881e96_b.jpg

I'll 2nd that. Galaxy S is OLED.
 
Just throwing this out there before you invest too much. Have you tried it on a friend's tablet? The reason I ask is I have a MU subscription and did not use it. I already had a Surface tablet which worked just fine. However, I did not like digital comics. I also don't like digital books. So I wanted to see if you have considered this.

My solution was awesome and free! I got a library card and I get graphic novels from my local libraries. They have an enormous selections and I like to have the physical book. Sure it can become heavy but not crazy unless you check out every Civil War book like I did. I had to use my account and my wife's to get them all but the way they are printed there was no choice. This is where digital can be a life saver.

So I hope you get your answer but I wanted to throw that out there.

Also I am a Marvel fanboy but I love me some Batman and a few other DC and independents. This is another reason for the library card.
 
Just try one of those cheap Linx 10.1 Win8 tablets, OP. Cheap enough to be used as a dedicated comic reader and you have the flexibility of having a full Windows OS, so you can have your pick of reading software. They have a MicroSD card slot too, so storage won't be an issue.
 
Just try one of those cheap Linx 10.1 Win8 tablets, OP. Cheap enough to be used as a dedicated comic reader and you have the flexibility of having a full Windows OS, so you can have your pick of reading software. They have a MicroSD card slot too, so storage won't be an issue.


Ok I'll take a look at some of those thanks. I currently have a surface rt which is slowing down on me even when I'm just using it to read comics.

I really need to upgrade to something that will last a bit longer.
 
Wow, goddamn nearly everyone in here is wrong.

Look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, its way better than using an iPad. Aspect ratio, SD card support, screen size, screen quality. I've used both for reading comics extensively and its no contest.

15327169035_3d7c881e96_b.jpg

I have a Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and agree with Fusebox that it is perfect for comics and graphic novels. That's the whole reason I decided on this particular tablet. I was trying to read graphic novels on a 5 inch smartphone and got tired of it. If I just wanted something to read e-books on, an 8 inch tablet would be fine but not for graphic novels. The Galaxy Tab S 10.5's QHD OLED is a thing of beauty.

I get most of my graphic novels from the Google Play store. I also have started reading manga since it is include with my Crunchyroll membership.
 
Wow, goddamn nearly everyone in here is wrong.

Look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, its way better than using an iPad. Aspect ratio, SD card support, screen size, screen quality. I've used both for reading comics extensively and its no contest.

15327169035_3d7c881e96_b.jpg

Goddamn that's beautiful. Saving up for a tablet but this is on my list of possibilities now.
 
Wow, goddamn nearly everyone in here is wrong.

Look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, its way better than using an iPad. Aspect ratio, SD card support, screen size, screen quality. I've used both for reading comics extensively and its no contest.

15327169035_3d7c881e96_b.jpg

wanted to ask again: how's the galaxy pro stack up to this, for comic viewing? wish it had SD support but 12.2" sounds so lovely
 
So I'm planning on buying one tomorrow, going to a store and try them out.

So final questions, do these mentioned apps work in Europe? Is Comics a monthly fee or do you pay per issue?
 
So I'm planning on buying one tomorrow, going to a store and try them out.

So final questions, do these mentioned apps work in Europe? Is Comics a monthly fee or do you pay per issue?

Marvel unlimited is available in europe im using it right now in in the uk, how about a free code for a month subscription to see if you like it.

type in as your voucher code the word

StarWars

Marvel unlimited is like the netflix of comics you pay 9.99 a month, auto renewal but you can turn it off, and you can read as much as you want in a monh, great for new starters.

you can only download 12 issues at a time to your device to read offline with this app, say for example you want to take your tablet to work, the maximum amount of issues you can take with you offline is 12 at a time.

once youve deleted one or more you can download another straight away but remember only 12 slots, for offline, (you can do this as many times as you want in a month) or your can leave your wifi on and just carry on reading as much as you want, it has 15,000 comics dating back to the 70's all the way up to 6 months ago, you see it takes 6 months for a comic to get on there. As said above 500 star wars comics have just been added too

If you want to buy comics to keep forever you can use comixology which covers d.c and marvel. With this app it is not a subscription you just pay per issue you want to own like you would in a shop, the do have discounts sometimes.
 
Marvel unlimited is available in europe im using it right now in in the uk, how about a free code for a month subscription to see if you like it.

nice. when i checked the out years ago, their back selection was great, but they were terribly behind on current stuff. where is the service now, in terms of say stuff that dropped this week?
 
Wow, goddamn nearly everyone in here is wrong.

Look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, its way better than using an iPad. Aspect ratio, SD card support, screen size, screen quality. I've used both for reading comics extensively and its no contest.

15327169035_3d7c881e96_b.jpg

This, Tab S 10.5 is fantastic. I probably wouldn't splurge just for comics but if you needed a tablet anyway you can't ask for anything better than this.
 
wanted to ask again: how's the galaxy pro stack up to this, for comic viewing? wish it had SD support but 12.2" sounds so lovely

Don't understand. Both the Tab S and the Tab Pro have SD support.

I think both would be great. I have the Tab S 10.5 but also looked at the Note Pro 12.2. I decided on the Tab S because it seemed easier to handle to me but that is personal preference.

They have the same resolution, so the only difference would be that the 10.5 would be a little sharper due to pixel density. And the Tab S has an OLED display versus the Tab Pro's LCD display.

Someone else mentioned that there is a weight difference between the two. The Tab S is 16.4oz where the Tab Pro is listed as 26.45oz.
 
Don't understand. Both the Tab S and the Tab Pro have SD support.

I think both would be great. I have the Tab S 10.5 but also looked at the Note Pro 12.2. I decided on the Tab S because it seemed easier to handle to me but that is personal preference.

They have the same resolution, so the only difference would be that the 10.5 would be a little sharper due to pixel density.

Someone else mentioned that there is a weight difference between the two. The Tab S is 16.4oz where the Tab Pro is listed as 26.45oz.

The Pro 12.2 is definitely a beast. I love mine, but if a smaller form factor and lighter weight are important factors, it may not be the best choice.
 

shiiiiiiiit that's tempting. wonder how legit their refurbs are?

I use a Note Pro 12.2 for comic reading, and it's great. It does have microSD support, btw.

Don't understand. Both the Tab S and the Tab Pro have SD support.

I think both would be great. I have the Tab S 10.5 but also looked at the Note Pro 12.2. I decided on the Tab S because it seemed easier to handle to me but that is personal preference.

They have the same resolution, so the only difference would be that the 10.5 would be a little sharper due to pixel density. And the Tab S has an OLED display versus the Tab Pro's LCD display.

Someone else mentioned that there is a weight difference between the two. The Tab S is 16.4oz where the Tab Pro is listed as 26.45oz.

thanks for these, especially the latter! wish i could see the OLED vs LCD up close, need to get down to a store...and yeah i misspoke; meant to say USB support.
 
thanks for these, especially the latter! wish i could see the OLED vs LCD up close, need to get down to a store...and yeah i misspoke; meant to say USB support.

Be careful with that! I ended up spending a lot of money because I wasn't willing to settle with another tablet's display after seeing the Tab S. (of course, that was right after the Tab S was released) I considered it, but thought the whole time I was using another tablet I'd regret not getting the better display.
 
I have a Nexus 7 2013 and i use ComicRack but I am thinking about a Surface 3 for this very purpose.

I've got the Nexus 7 as well and use it primarily for reading comics, and although its starting to freeze more often than not now, I'm fine with the visual aspect.
 
Be careful with that! I ended up spending a lot of money because I wasn't willing to settle with another tablet's display after seeing the Tab S. (of course, that was right after the Tab S was released) I considered it, but thought the whole time I was using another tablet I'd regret not getting the better display.

haha see...that pic of the OLED looks gorgeous though. i'm trying to justify losing an inch and a half of real estate (i like reading at night/have some vision issues) but my ex's was like 8 or 9, so for sharper picture quality i'm really thinking of making that 10.5 work. it's mostly gonna be philosophy books & comics but man does the latter look great in that pic...

keep debating how i feel about refurbs though, that link is such a deal
 
haha see...that pic of the OLED looks gorgeous though. i'm trying to justify losing an inch and a half of real estate (i like reading at night/have some vision issues) but my ex's was like 8 or 9, so for sharper picture quality i'm really thinking of making that 10.5 work. it's mostly gonna be philosophy books & comics but man does the latter look great in that pic...

keep debating how i feel about refurbs though, that link is such a deal

I think the referb is for the 16GB internal storage variant of the Tab S. I went off the deep end and got the 32GB version. They support an external microSD card but since my 16GB smartphone's internal storage is all used, I didn't want that problem with the tablet so I spent more for the 32GB version. At the time that required that I get the bronze version even though I really would have preferred the white one.

Edit: But I'm actually using around 9 GB internal storage with what I have installed on it. So, don't get me wrong, the 16GB is workable.
 
yeah, im thinking i'll have to make that 16GB do, and buy the beefiest micro SD i can swing to make up for it. 32GB would obviously be more ideal (and personally id rather a darker color, my hands/cats are gonna dirty that thing right up) but again, hard to beat that price.

any experience with BB refurbs? lookin into the details/guarantee right now
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom