I am a bit of a gadget freak ... and I am always on the lookout for things that I think might prove useful. Over the weekend I paid a visit to a branch of Maplins (the electronics retailer not the holiday camp!) and bought myself a new gadget for my iPad2 ... a Bluetooth keypad.
As far as I am concerned, one of the main drawbacks of the iPad2 is its touch screen keypad; it just does not lend itself to prolonged use. It is great for surfing the 'net ... but not if you want to type up blog entries or do any word processing. The Bluetooth keyboard means that I can touch-type (well, two-finger type) my blog entries as if I were using my PC. Not only that, but I can also use the word processing application I bought for the iPad2. This means that I can work on new sets of wargames rules wherever and whenever I want to whilst I am away from home ... and not have to carry around a much heavier laptop.
The keyboard is laid out exactly like a normal keyboard and has proper keys (i.e. its does not have a 'dead fish' feel like some of the other iPad compatible keyboards that are on sale). Not only that, but it was relatively cheap (just under £20.00) and its internal battery can be recharged via a USB connector ... just like the iPad.
This is a neat bit of kit ... and I would recommend it to any other iPad user who has to do quite a lot of typing.
As far as I am concerned, one of the main drawbacks of the iPad2 is its touch screen keypad; it just does not lend itself to prolonged use. It is great for surfing the 'net ... but not if you want to type up blog entries or do any word processing. The Bluetooth keyboard means that I can touch-type (well, two-finger type) my blog entries as if I were using my PC. Not only that, but I can also use the word processing application I bought for the iPad2. This means that I can work on new sets of wargames rules wherever and whenever I want to whilst I am away from home ... and not have to carry around a much heavier laptop.
The keyboard is laid out exactly like a normal keyboard and has proper keys (i.e. its does not have a 'dead fish' feel like some of the other iPad compatible keyboards that are on sale). Not only that, but it was relatively cheap (just under £20.00) and its internal battery can be recharged via a USB connector ... just like the iPad.
This is a neat bit of kit ... and I would recommend it to any other iPad user who has to do quite a lot of typing.
Is the iPad application better than Google Documents, which is free?
ReplyDeleteDale,
ReplyDeleteTo be perfectly honest, I don't know. I bought the PAGES iPad application from Apple because it worked with .doc format files.
All the best,
Bob