Zagg keyboard for the iPad2

I finally got my Zagg keyboard for my iPad 2 and am very pleased with it. From a pros perspective, it connected with no trouble at all and types very well. I have another blue tooth keyboard for my droid X and while it works well, the set up was a little painful. I like the fit over my iPad, as it completely covers the device much like a turtle shell, so while in the case / keyboard, it is completely protected. From a con perspective, I wish the device could nest in the case face up when you are not using the keyboard, and the rise of the case means adjusting your hand position a bit to avoid having it rub the sides of your hands while you type. The keys are also a bit smaller than a normal keyboard, again, requiring a slight adjustment to typing style. On balance, I think it is a great device, making the iPad even more useful. I have only had it a couple of days now so the real test will be a couple of months from now when we see how much use it has gotten. At this point, the keyboard case has replaced my original iPad smart cover as the default cover and I am typing this review using the keyboard.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Customize your side switch

The little side switch, just next to the volume control, can be customized by you, to act as a rotation lock or mute. Now, it seems like an illusion of choice to me since all you have to do to mute is hold the volume rocker for a second or two and you have muted your iPad.

The rotation lock is a GREAT feature. Yes, I just went Tony the tiger and yelled great. I was quite pleased to discover that enabling that little feature made a variety of tasks much more comfortable, including watching movies and reading in bed. When I would shift position and the ever helpful iPad would go and rotate on me, I had to flip it flat again and let it readjust. With the rotation lock on, no worries, it holds a stable position regardless of your hand shifting.

An additional valuable bonus I found is when you are trying to view pictures / documents that are rotated incorrectly. Typically, the scenario would be that if I don’t want to turn my head sideways, I have to open my “rotate pictures” app, edit the photo and save it. With the rotation lock, I just lock it, flip it, read it and move on.

Short tip, but very important tip. Productivity enhancements are a favorite of mine, and I trust yours.

Editing and selecting text on the iPad 2

When I started really using my iPad to edit text, the single biggest frustration I had was in editing text that I had typed incorrectly and could not get to easily without arrow keys I was used to. I ended up deleting a lot of double words to replace the n character I had hit instead of a space.

It sounds a little lame for a complaint I suppose, but if you are there dealing with it – I am sure your frustration level rose just like mine. Luckily I figured out pretty quick that there is a simple way to manage this – actually 2 methods that generally work well.

1. pinch and zoom – that was what I found when I searched on the topic. It works IF the app you are in supports it and the context is right. This is not the best way to do it though IMO
2. Point to the insertion point you need and hold your finger down. If you long press, you will see a magnifying glass come up with a selector where your “cursor” is. This method allows you to get very precise insertion of your cursor and edit any text very easily.

Once you have selected the text, you are presented with a blue bar that lets you expand either direction or simply start typing.

If you choose to expand the selection, you can then click on the expanded selection to copy, paste, etc…

Simple, easy and effective. No arrow key needed. I wish I knew that when I first got the thing!

Take a screen shot with the iPad 2

As I am preparing a series of posts on the iPad I figured a quick one on how to do a screen shot would be a help for some.

To make a screen shot, you need to use the sleep / wake button at the top right corner of the iPad and the home button at the bottom center as shown below.

You will press the sleep / wake button and then home button at the bottom center.

When you do this key combo, you will hear an audible click and the screen shot will be captured to your camera role. Once it is there, you can do whatever you want with it, including copy it over to your desktop as needed by plugging in the iPad and mounting it as a drive.

A first screen shot I recommend is one that uses your notepad, or similar app to create a “return if found” screen shot that you then set as your lock screen wall paper. Put your name, phone number and email on the screen and ensure that it shows up clearly in the screen shot.

That gives anyone who may pick up your device the opportunity to identify the owner and get it back to you quickly. (assuming of course, good intent!). This leads to an additional comment to consider, which is the “find my iPad” option you should enable to allow remote location and wipe if needed, but more on that later.