First real-use impressions of my iPad Air
I’ve been using my new iPad Air for a two weeks. Since, I bought a Spigen protecting case and stand. This saves me a separate stand.
Thus far, the experience has been excellent. I enjoy switching between a keyboard and a tablet set up. I read the news, browse the web and scroll through Twitter in tablet mode. I write using my Bluetooth keyboard. I have to admit that Microsoft was onto something when they first came up with the transformer-laptop-tablet, or however they called it.
Wherever I can, I install the iPad application: e.g., I installed the Medium app, rather than accessing it via the browser. iPad native applications provide regularly a superior experience over a browser-based version. There are exceptions though. For example, the Google Sheets application is limited in functionality and inferior to the the browser-based version. I could not figure out how to format a cell in the app and had to resort to the browser.
There have been a few cases where I missed a large monitor. My work setup includes a large monitor, mechanical keyboard and vertical mouse. I haven’t tried if my iPad can connect to an external monitor.
I haven’t felt I needed a trackpad. The touch screen is right there in front of me. Since I have an external Bluetooth trackpad, I will try it out when I at home. However, it is not something I plan to drag along on the move. My roaming kit is a simple sleeve with an iPad, the keyboard and my AirPods. I do miss the audio jack, as my more comfortable headphones are not Bluetooth-enabled.
The iPad Air surely is a step up from the older iPads I used. Those felt a smaller cousin to a laptop. Thus far, I have not felt that way with the iPad Air, for the read-write-check type of daily tasks.