I had a random thought pop into my head the other day. What is the correlation of a tablets' popularity and it's default orientation? I'm starting to wonder if there is something there.
Take the more popular tablets: all the ipads, and the kindle fire (Original). These devices are designed to be used in portrait mode, ie the cameras and/or ports align with a top and bottom set up in portrait position.
I have set up orientation lock for a few people with iPads, always portrait mode.
Then take the less popular playbook, a landscape tablet which did nothing against the ipad. Then look at the buckets of android tablets, most are landscape oriented. None really made a dent in the tablet market until the Nexus 7, which is default portrait as well.
Take the dell streak, a massive touch screen phone which was designed to be used landscape. It failed, while the galaxy note and ever-growing android screen sizes like the S3 do phenomenally well. Was the streak ahead of its time, or is there a subtle perception that goes along with the orientation?
My take is that there is an unspoken and unacknowledged consumer preference to a portrait tablet. Maybe not in use, but in the very least, appearance.
Tim Bray makes the argument for portrait vs landscape as well. He also relates the aspect ratio to the ease of use as well. His opinion is USAGE based, while mine is PERCEPTION based, as any tablet can be used portrait or landscape, it's the default that is a factor.
The PB is a "landscape tablet"? I must be using it wrong a lot of the time.
It's designed to be primarily displayed in landscape mode. Hence the branding running horizontally when held in landscape. All the advertising material shows it in landscape mode as well. It doesn't mean you can't use it in portrait mode.
It's designed to be primarily displayed in landscape mode. Hence the branding running horizontally when held in landscape. All the advertising material shows it in landscape mode as well. It doesn't mean you can't use it in portrait mode.
I was being facetious. However, I do run a number of apps strictly in portrait, e.g., Facebook, Blaq, NY Times, Kindle (admittedly those last two are sideloaded Android apps, but still).
I'd be more inclined to believe it if all the tablets were the same size. However, the Playbook in landscape mode is as wide as the iPad in portrait mode. That means that one person who's used to using the iPad in portrait mode may find it more comfortable to use the PlayBook in landscape mode, whereas using it in portrait mode may feel too narrow and awkward. Conversely, using the iPad in horizontal mode may seem too wide and cumbersome.
Along with the fact that it's easy to just switch orientations if it's that big of a deal (breaker), I don't buy the argument. Simply put, the only runaway success in the tablet market is the iPad. Every other tablet, no matter what the orientation, don't do nearly as well. The ones that do have some success as you mentioned are all mostly phone-tablet hybrids that arguably belong in its own niche market.
