Since buying the Apple iPad back in May 2010 I desired to use it for everything. I wanted it to be a laptop replacement primarily because it’s smaller, runs smoother, has a nice touchscreen and has a battery that lasts right through a working day. I quickly found that this wasn’t the case though and it quickly became a tool for consuming information, responding to emails and managing tasks. Although it gets used everyday for those tasks already mentioned as well as reading news and FaceTime with family, it never was really used for blogging.
After about 18 months I decided to buy a bluetooth keyboard and see how it worked as a device for entering information rather than just consuming information. Attaching a keyboard has completely changed, or should I say added to the way I use the iPad. Not only can I now consume information, I can now create information with it. I’m not saying that the onscreen keyboard isn’t good… it actually works very well, but to be honest, it gets tiresome when writing a few hundred or few thousand words.
Some might argue that I should just stick to a MacBook Air or another slim laptop. The main difference with the iPad is that it’s easy to throw in a bag and use for several hours a day with no need to use it near a power source. Although using the Bluetooth keyboard does kill the iPad battery quicker, I still get a decent day of usage out of it as well as an evening of browsing or work if needed. What is important to mention here is that this setup works for me. I enjoy working this way. If you don’t agree, that is completely fine of course!
What else makes the iPad a little easier to work on is that there are less distractions. I find that working on a large 27 inch iMac screen or my smaller 19 inch Windows desktop that there’s a lot of clutter that distracts me. With the iPad, I open up Blogsy (for example) and everything else runs behind that so that I can focus on the task at hand.
Choose the Best Apps for What You Need to Accomplish
Using the iPad as a blogging tool isn’t as easy as installing an app such as Blogsy and buying a bluetooth keyboard though. The other challenge arrives when trying to work with media on the iPad. Although my blog posts are not crammed packed full of images, I do have at least an image that needs to be uploaded, edited in some cases and then embedded in to the blog post. Blogsy allows most of this to happen, if the picture is in an accessible photo album such as stored locally or online in a Flickr, Picassa or other account. But there are times when I need to crop, adjust and make changes to images. For this, extra apps are needed. Just like when installing Gimp or Photoshop on a Mac, the iPad also needs to have apps installed to work with images. The main packages I use are Artifact, Photoforge2, Snapseed and Touch Draw. Each of these works quite well and lets me save images locally or in an online account.
Occasionally I might capture photos on my iPhone, quickly edit in Snapseed and then transfer the picture to the iPad. This might be done via email or I might just leave Photostream to sort it for me.
Choosing the Right Keyboard
If you need to do a lot of typing on your iPad then you need to choose a keyboard that works well for you. After reading several reviews I opted to go for the ZaggFolio for iPad 2. The reason for it is that I liked the case and the protection it provides for the iPad. I also liked the keyboard and had read some good reviews about it. There are other keyboards and combinations of keyboards and cases out there. Before buying, make sure you look at options and perhaps visit a local store which might have several on display for you to test.
I wont go in to a full review of the ZaggFolio as it is out of the scope of this post, but in the next few days I’ll be posting a review to give my thoughts on what is good about it and what can be improved. Also, if you already have an iPad 2 and will be upgrading in the next few months to an iPad 3 (if Apple announces that soon) then you might want to hold off getting a keyboard case as the new model might not be compatible.
Final Thoughts
Over the last few months I have come to realise that the iPad can be used for so much more. It does require apps to be downloaded to achieve specific tasks. It also helps to have a decent physical keyboard with it. The benefits of using an iPad for me are enough to let me leave my laptop at home from now on. Since owning the keyboard, I haven’t taken my laptop on trips with me. The iPad can work well although I realise that for some it just isn’t enough. For you, an option could be an ultrabook, Android tablet or regular laptop. For me, it works just as needed though.