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iPad use case: Pro blogger
Over the past few weeks, we've heard many people say, "The iPad is cool, but what would I do with it?" This new series aims to answer that question. We'll examine one user case per post, from couch surfer to mobile professional, and describe just how that person uses his or her iPad. As a professional blogger, there are 5 things I need to do my job: A comfortable, reliable keyboard A text editor RSS feeds Web access A reference tool for compiling research The iPad lets me get nearly all of that accomplished. Let's start with what works. The keyboard The iPad's software keyboard is more usable that I expected. It's forced me to develop a hybrid typing method that's part hunt-and-peck and part touch typing. Years ago, I learned to keep my fingers in the home position, lightly touching the keys. On the iPad, "lightly touching" means "pressing," so now I hover just above the keys. The landscape keyboard is just a bit smaller than a standard keyboard, so I can't keep my hands in the true home position. However, knowing each key's location without having to look is tremendously helpful. With a bit of practice, my muscle memory has adapted to the smaller keyboard. The real key, as with the iPhone, is to be fearless and type. The iPad will correct the vast majority of your mistakes. That being said, I don't want to write more than a few hundred words with it. Even with the above accommodations, I still make more errors than I do with a physical keyboard. Therefore, Apple's Bluetooth keyboard is essential. It's a breeze to set up, fits squarely in a bag and is barely wider than the iPad itself. With the iPad docked and the keyboard in place, I'm ready to write.
Relax, the iPad isn't going to kill the iPhone
Regardless of what some people may worry about, the iPad is not going to kill the iPhone. Why's that? To keep the answer really, really simple, it's because the iPad does not fit in people's pockets. Can the answer get any simpler than that? I'm on record as not being a huge fan of the iPhone as a phone. Ergonomics aside, I'm deeply grateful to all those TUAW readers who pointed me to a bluetooth earpiece solution. Sure I look like a dork with that thing in my ear (not much difference, mind you, from my normal look) but with my 8-dollar unit (thank you Tuesday Morning clearance aisle), I can talk pretty comfortably for long periods of time without holding the iPhone to my cheek. When chatting, that iPhone normally stays either in my pocket or in the front holder in my stroller while in use. With the iPad, it would be pretty darn hard getting it to fit in either location. If I were to use the iPad as my main cell phone, it would have to be dragged along in a backpack no matter where I went. And, frankly, I like grabbing my keys, my wallet, and my phone and heading out the door without a backpack, a purse, or a man purse satchel. Let me give you another real life example of where the iPhone outshines the iPad. I love tracking my walks using TrailGuru. There's no way, I'd do the same with either a netbook or an iPad. It's just the wrong solution for that kind of need. They're simply too big. Fact.
