Android resource notlong / long identifiers not working

The 'notlong' identifier is for devices that are similar in aspect ratio to baseline devices (see http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support.html). While the docs are scarce on what baseline devices are, typical resolution of Android devices 1.5~1.6. So what you are seeing is correct.

While there is a 'long' identifier for devices that are longer than baseline ratios, it looks like you can't force resources for devices that are shorter (e.g. 800x600).

According to the source code. (framework/base/core/java/android/content/res/Configuration.java)

        // Is this a long screen?
        if (((longSizeDp*3)/5) >= (shortSizeDp-1)) {
            // Anything wider than WVGA (5:3) is considering to be long.
            screenLayoutLong = true;
        } else {
            screenLayoutLong = false;
        }

So if the aspect ratio is wider than 3:5(or 1.667), it will be treated as long screen.