One month with a physical iPad keyboard

So, about a month ago, I purchased the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard for my iPad 3. My next job is going to have me doing a lot of writing, and spending a lot of time doing that writing in meetings. I realized that I was going to need something that could keep up while I was away from the desk and hold up for writing as well.

I had never really seen a need for a physical keyboard on the iPad. My last semester at UNT, I took all of my notes for all of my history classes using the virtual keyboard on the iPad. But thanks to my bass playing, I have big callouses on the majority of my fingers, which makes the virtual keyboard recognition questionable at times. Combine that with my heavy typing style, and I knew that the virtual keyboard wouldn't be sustainable over time.

So I asked on Twitter and did a bit of research, and the Ultrathin Keyboard popped up a lot, so I picked one up. And I'm so glad that I did.

It solved a problem I didn't realize I had. It made my iPad my go to device for writing in short blurbs (like blogs, for example.) It's great for pounding out responses to emails, or tweeting. Surprisingly, I tend to reach for the iPad more often than my MacBook at this point. It's great for those annoying little bistro tables at coffee shops and things, and it still works pretty well on a plane. I've never had any problems with battery life either. I charge it every few days, when I remember to.

That's not to say it's perfect. Far from it. The key spacing is a little hard to adjust to at first, and it definitely adds some heft to the iPad. It's still lighter than my 13" MacBook Air, but not by much. The magnet for the "Smart Cover" functionality is a little weak, so I disabled that feature.

However, overall, I don't think I'll ever be getting rid of it. It's great for exactly what I wanted it for: light writing, note taking, and just giving me that little nudge to stay focused on writing. I never thought I'd be a fan of that single-focus that iOS forces you into, but I've grown to really appreciate it. In the whole time that I wrote this blog post, I never switched out of this browser tab, mostly cause it would be a pain, but there's something to be said for that.

Final verdict? If you want something for the same tasks that I was looking for, I highly recommend it. But it's definitely not a full laptop replacement.