We all know that the iPad is great at being a personal device, but without the keyboard dock supplied by Apple as an additional accessory, just how easy is it to type on the virtual qwerty keyboard? <\/p>\n
I have to admit, the iPad’s keyboard does take a little getting used to. If you’ve seen the iPad TV spot<\/a>, you’ll notice that when it comes to showing the on-screen keyboard aspect of the device (0:22)<\/em>, Apple doesn’t even show the model typing .. but instead shows a brief moment implying the model is about the type. There’s a reason for this. Although the keyboard on the iPad doesn’t “suck”, its definitely an experience which takes a little time to get used to. <\/p>\n The first thing you’ll notice is the tactile feel of a keyboard isn’t there .. meaning you have little to no chance of your brain registering you’ve tapped the right key, unless you’re eagle-eyed and looking at which key is dimming as you’re typing. The other little annoyance is the fact the the iPad’s keyboard doesn’t have those nice ‘Pop-Up’ letter strokes. For me, these really define the iPhone and sort of act like a visual indicator I have touched the right key. With the iPad, you only know if you’ve touched the wrong key, after typing it. This is especially true when typing for a long period of time.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n To test this out to the max I decided to write up this post using WordPress for iPad<\/a>. The first thing to note is that the iPad’s keyboard is about the same size as a regular physical keyboard when in landscape. In portrait mode however, it’s a lot smaller and therefore a lot more difficult to type on.<\/p>\n The landscape layout allows for you to use two hands to type comfortably, while holding the device on your lap with raised knees and your left hand in a sort of ‘L’ shape, made up of your index finger and thumb, for support. In portrait mode though the way you hold the device has to change. Naturally, I switched to holding the device with just my left hand, using my right hand to type with my index finger.<\/p>\n So how does it fair for extended use with Apple’s iWork productivity suite (sold separately)<\/em>? Well, quite well actually. In fact, when using Pages for iPad<\/a>, I found the portrait keyboard to be more comfortable due to it being smaller and allowing me to see a lot more of the screen’s real estate, while creating my documents.<\/p>\n Now, while both of these positions obviously have their pros and cons, I personally found it easier and more natural to type while in landscape mode. In Scott Forstall’s now famous words: “It just feels<\/strong> right”<\/em>.<\/p>\n The question is: How will you type on yours?<\/em><\/p>\n
![<\/a><\/p>\nTo test this out to the max I decided to write up this post using WordPress for iPad<\/a>. The first thing to note is that the iPad’s keyboard is about the same size as a regular physical keyboard when in landscape. In portrait mode however, it’s a lot smaller and therefore a lot more difficult to type on.<\/p>\nThe landscape layout allows for you to use two hands to type comfortably, while holding the device on your lap with raised knees and your left hand in a sort of ‘L’ shape, made up of your index finger and thumb, for support. In portrait mode though the way you hold the device has to change. Naturally, I switched to holding the device with just my left hand, using my right hand to type with my index finger.<\/p>\nSo how does it fair for extended use with Apple’s iWork productivity suite (sold separately)<\/em>? Well, quite well actually. In fact, when using Pages for iPad<\/a>, I found the portrait keyboard to be more comfortable due to it being smaller and allowing me to see a lot more of the screen’s real estate, while creating my documents.<\/p>\nNow, while both of these positions obviously have their pros and cons, I personally found it easier and more natural to type while in landscape mode. In Scott Forstall’s now famous words: “It just feels<\/strong> right”<\/em>.<\/p>\nThe question is: How will you type on yours?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>\n](\"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/wordpress1.jpg\"){kind=link}