Rants, raves and thoughts by Bob Hodgen

There are a few issues I’ve had when using the bluetooth keyboard with the iPad.

The top row function keys behave differently on the iPad they have unique functions. On the bluetooth keyboard they don’t work as labeled. Not a major issue, but not “Apple.”

Batteries. I’m always running out of AA batteries and the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard uses 3 of them. An odd number to use when battery packs all come in even numbers.

If I”m in the next room, but within bluetooth range, the onscreen keyboard is still disabled in favor of the Bluetooth Keyboard 20 feet away. I have to turn bluetooth off in the settings or go into the other room to turn off the bluetooth keyboard.

So, I decided to get the iPad Keyboard Dock. It’s powered by the iPad through the 30 pin plug and interestingly, doesn’t have to be connected to a power source to work.

The Keyboard Dock seems very sturdy. The keyboard frame is aluminum, like Apple’s recent keyboards. The attached dock is made of white plastic. It’s a one piece unit and holds the iPad in a vertical portrait orientation. The iPad seems a lot less tippy than with the charging stand alone, the width of the keyboard provides extra stability. The iPad Keyboard Dock is bulky and would not fit well into a laptop case for travel.

There’s a 30 pin plug and an audio jack on the back of the Keyboard Dock. A charging cable is not included.

The new iPad function keys work well and their layout seems well thought out. I can control my music on the keyboard from within another app. The volume controls don’t work work when playing through the audio out jack. It’s made to connect to amplified speakers and not headphones. The headphone jack is still accessible. Oddly, there’s a blank key in the middle of the row of function keys that has no function.

Overall, it’s a great way to write on the iPad while at your desk, but I don’t think I’ll be packing it for a trip.

I’m using the iPhone a lot less since getting an iPad. The iPhone screen seems so small now, it’s just ok for a quick text or to check an email. Safari seems a lot smaller than it used to on the iPhone. The keyboard seems to have shrunk too.

I’m using my MacBook Air a lot less as well.

It’s all the damn iPad’s fault. By existing in that space between an iPhone and a MacBook, the iPad has hit a sweet spot for me.

I’m doing about 90% of my web and email on the iPad now. The iPhone is for when I’m out of the house and somewhere without WiFi. The MacBook Air is for heavy lifting like photo editing and file conversion, it doesn’t leave my desk.

I don’t see the iPad replacing either the iPhone or MacBook. It lives in that newly discovered and only partially explored territory in-between.

Tablet computing as imagined in 1968.

It’s been three days now since my iPhone was delivered. How do I feel about it now the newness has worn off?

Not to worry, it’s still awesome. I’ve been using it a lot more than my MacBook Air. Pretty much all I’ve been doing with the Air is sync the iPad. More about this later.

The lack of flash is not an issue. About the only thing you can’t do is Hulu. YouTube works great both in Safari and in the YouTube app. I don’t miss any of the annoying flash ads on web pages.

I don’t think it’s about features or specs, look at the iPhone’s success. There were phones with better specs than the iPhone but what’s important is how well the damn thing works. Does the operating system get in the way, or not. A lot of the “feature” laden crap that’s on computers just isn’t that well thought out. They’re driven by marketing and pile layers of junk on the user experience.

I’m still impressed with the build quality and overall physical feel. No scratches on the case or screen yet, but I’m paranoid about dropping it. I think it’s mass would be working against it in an impact with tile or concrete. Just like a laptop, a case of some kind is a must.

The battery life is impressive. It’s 5:30 pm, I’ve been using the iPad all day and the battery is still at 65%. My iPhone or MacBook Air would be long dead by now with that much use. I think that the ten hour battery life claim is accurate.

Unlike my laptop, the iPad doesn’t get hot–or even warm in use. I don’t know what kind of magic the processor is pulling off, but I’m amazed that it performs so well and generates so little heat. There is no fan inside the iPad, the case must be it’s heat sink.

I’m excited by the kind of future that the iPad represents. I can see new versions, perhaps an iPad Pro. A new stand alone model that won’t require synching to another computer. Maybe larger screen iPads are coming. Perhaps even the phasing out of the traditional laptop. Apple isn’t afraid to let go of the past. They killed the floppy and are phasing out the CD ROM.

Real people, not pundits or geeks, want stuff that works well, has good design and doesn’t get in the way of getting stuff done.

The UPS man finally delivered my iPad around 2:00 pm yesterday.

In a word the iPad is awesome! It so much more than just a big iPhone or iPod touch. The screen is bright and crisp. The user interface is more snappy than on the iPhone, it seems to do things much faster.

It feels solid and very well made. There is no flex and it seems like the case back is machined from a solid block of aluminum like the MacBook pros.  It is surprisingly heavy and dense.

Some of the new hi def iPad apps are fantastic. Especially XPlane, Scrabble, and the free Weather Bug for the iPad.  Go get Weather Bug right now!

Battery life is amazing. Reviewers are getting up to 12 hours of usable life from a charge!   Mine is going down less than 10% an hour.

There have been reports of charging issues with some people getting a “not charging” message on the iPad. I haven’t seen this with my MacBook Air or Robert’s MacBook Pro.

A friend with an older Mac Mini can’t get his to charge over USB but it does sync ok. There are reports all over the Internet that the iPad will sync but not charge from a windows PC.

All iPads charge just fine from the included 10 watt power adapter.  A computer’s USB port has only 500 ma of current, so charging the ipad’s 25 watt/hour battery would take a couple of days! The newer Macs supply one amp to their USB ports and can give a slow charge. Bottom line is to use the power adapter for charging!

Update:    Dan Frakes at Macworld has more good information on the charging issue here.

quote:

In short, there’s nothing wrong with your iPad; it’s just hungry for power. In this respect, the iPad is a lot like many USB hard drives and Apple’s external optical drive for the MacBook Air: it needs more juice than the typical USB port provides.

Also Apple has a support document that talks about USB here.

quote:

The USB ports on Apple computers provide 5 V (Volts) and 500 mA (Milliamps) to each port, regardless of whether the port is USB 1.1 or USB 2.0. This is in compliance with USB specifications. On some newer Intel-based Macs, such as the MacBook (13-inch, Late 2007), when a device requiring more than 5V and 500mA is connected, the port with that device connected to it becomes a high-powered port capable of offering up to 1200 mA at 12 V. That port will continue to operate as a high-powered port until the device is removed.