At first, Android only supported small, medium, and large screen size categories. Also, with the introduction of the tablet-optimized Android version, the Android 3.0 Gingerbread, in early 2011, a new category, the very large screen size category, appeared. This new category of Android version is for Android tablets with 10 inch screen size. So, there are two branches of Android versions, the Android versions for small, medium, and large screen sizes and the Android version for very large screen size. We usually call them the smartphone-optimized Android version and tablet-optimized Android version.
Well, it seems that there was no place for Android devices with awkward screen sizes such as the original Samsung Galaxy Tab, Dell Streak, and Archos Home Tablet. They have awkward screen sizes that are not included in one of the categories of Android versions.They can’t get into the Android Honeycombfamily and can’t be optimized with Android 2.2 Froyo or 2.3 Gingerbread either. However, they choose the smartphone-optimized Android version instead of tablet-optimized Android version. It is very unfortunate for them, since they are not cheap Android devices.
Fortunately, it seems that Google is aware this, since Google solves the problem with the releasing of the new Android 3.2. The Android 3.2 uses a new layout that makes it dynamic and can fit into various screen sizes instead of fit into a certain screen size. This new layout is based on a device’s “dp” of “Density Independent Pixels” units. Well, as the name suggests, dp is independent and can be converted into various sizes. The conversion of dp unit to screen pixels is simple: px = dp * (dpi/160). So, on a screen with 240 dpi, 1 dp equals 1.5 physical pixels.
So, with this new layout the awkward screen sizes of Android devices, especially the 7 inch screen size, finally find their place in the Android 3.2.
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