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iPad keyboard is disappointing

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iPadkeyboardSo the iPad on-screen keyboard is just a big QWERTY that stretches across the screen. Yes, it looks big enough to easily access, but terribly unimaginative.

Might work for the squarish, possibly 4:3 design though. Didn’t really consider it might not be widescreen. And Jobs seems to be doing a good job touching typing on it. Could be good, but still boring.

16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. GoodThings2Life

    01/27/2010 at 12:22 pm

    WTF @ non-widescreen!?

    Wow, that looks horribly blocky on the keyboard.

  2. Warner Crocker

    01/27/2010 at 12:23 pm

    Apparently according to one feed Jobs was typing with the Tablet in his lap using two hands. We’ll have to see.

  3. Xavier Lanier

    01/27/2010 at 12:27 pm

    I don’t like the keyboard at all….

  4. Mickey Segal

    01/27/2010 at 12:59 pm

    It looks like the iPhone keyboard, where you have to switch to a different keyboard to use numbers or other non-letter characters.

    The appeal of the iPad seems more in the hardware than the software.

  5. chris hickie

    01/27/2010 at 1:00 pm

    does it vibrate on touching a key?

  6. tabletenvy

    01/27/2010 at 1:05 pm

    Pretty disappointing.

    Lack of inking and cludgy onscreen keyboard = dealbreaker.

    Can’t really expect anyone using this for something resembling “work.” I guess this was never the idea.

  7. Scott

    01/27/2010 at 1:28 pm

    Nutz.

    Would it have killed Jobs to follow Bill (and others) just once and include a stylus and something like onenote for iWork? This is so “One-Button” mouse vs. “Two-Button” mouse.

    On the other hand, what a great idea for an app (ink)!

  8. Gavin Miller

    01/27/2010 at 1:48 pm

    You will be able to ink on this! Evernote App and use a capacitive Pogo stylus.

  9. Gavin Miller

    01/27/2010 at 1:50 pm

    I meant to say you could be able to ink on this! Hopefully Evernote will step up and upgrade the App!

  10. lockdown

    01/27/2010 at 2:28 pm

    You can’t “ink” with a Pogo stylus any better than you can “ink” with a finger.

  11. lockdown

    01/27/2010 at 2:31 pm

    From the specs page:

    # 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
    # 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)

    So there, Sumo, according to Apple, 4:3 *is* widescreen.

    WTF?

  12. chi14

    01/27/2010 at 2:50 pm

    NO WEBCAM?? wtFFFFFFFFF

  13. Gavin Miller

    01/27/2010 at 2:55 pm

    @lockdown

    That’s as may be, but with the right software it may be an acceptable experience.

  14. Irked Inker

    01/27/2010 at 4:40 pm

    @Gavin

    Ah, an “acceptable experience” – that’s definitely what people are looking for in the >$500 price category. ;-)

    All I can say is that I’m sure the “inking” experience on the iPad will work out about as well as it has the iPhone. You know a lot of people doing a lot of inking on their iPhones? I sure don’t. If you’re so inclined, you can also use a Pogo stylus to “ink” on a laptop touchpad: https://www.engadget.com/2008/12/23/pogo-sketch-stylus-turns-your-touchpad-into-a-tablet/ – truly the pinnacle of acceptable experience.

    Also, be sure to buy an extra stylus or two – they’re much easier to lose when you can’t stow ’em in the device.

    (sorry for the snark – not your fault that Apple decided that the pen isn’t a priority).

  15. Peter

    01/27/2010 at 4:43 pm

    It’s not only the Ipad keyboard that it’s disappointing, it’s the whole thing: You’ve got an oversized Ipod touch with no camera, no USB, no web flash, where most of the apps originally made for the Iphone screem look boxy and pixellated when blow-up to the larger screen, and no Leopard OS…

    ….I smell HP tablets sells on the rise

  16. Antimatter

    01/27/2010 at 5:41 pm

    I agree with Irked Inker. Remember, this presentation opened with a picture of Moses, and was called things like Jesus Slate. Now we have to look forward to a hacked together “acceptable” experience?

    For years we’ve had to deal with an operating system where ink is a second class citizen. Now we have a device where ink isn’t even acknowledged, next to Windows 7, where it’s a built in, fully featured data type. I don’t think “acceptable” is the word.

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