Working on my iPad: Should I use a Keyboard with my iPad?

Should I use a Keyboard with my iPad? is probably the most common question I got when people ask me things about the iPad, Which Keyboard do you use? is probable the second most common one.
The short answer is yes. I currently use a Logitech KB810; but the answer it is much more complicated than a yes or a no. I don’t use my keyboard daily, because I use the keyboard only when I can block four hours of writing. Otherwise I will use the onscreen keyboard of the iPad.
When I got the iPad it wasn’t like that, I could not type slow enough to make it worthwhile, so I always end up using the keyboard. With a little practice and some time (and a software called TapTyping[www.twitter.com/taptyping]), I learn how to type on the screen of the iPad almost as fast as I can on the keyboard, so if I am not going to be working for a really long period of time I can use the on screen one.
The reason I pick the keyboard on those occasions that I can write more than four hours is comfort and to be able to get more screen. When using the keyboard I can place my iPad on Portrait mode and see a whole page of text, that it is irrelevant when I know I can be interrupted every seven seconds, when my four year old and the six month old baby are around.
Should you use a Keyboard with your iPad? Depends. My advice is that you learn to use the onscreen keyboard. The more components you need to carry the less chance you have to pull your iPad on a moment notice and work for ten minutes.
I carry my iPad with me and I can get use of those weird ten minutes that I am waiting and pull the last article or book I am writing and do a little bit more while waiting, but if I need a keyboard to do that, I most likely will never do it. It was exactly the reason I never did in the laptop. The laptop was heavier, and not as quick and simple to use as the iPad is.
The long answer to the short question is NO. Learn to type on the screen, learn to type fast on the screen. Remember that the iPad is not a laptop, and you may need to reconsider some of your current experiences and workflows to really get the most out of it.

Join our email list to receive occasional messages! Your emails are never shared, sold or spammed by us.

Published by

Augusto Pinaud

Augusto Pinaud es Coach de Tecnología de Productividad Bilingüe, Especialista en Nozbe Teams. Augusto trabaja con dueños y gerentes de pequeñas empresas, ejecutivos y profesionales en productividad, tecnología y mejora de procesos utilizando una variedad de tecnologías de productividad.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.