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9 Shortcuts That Would Improve the iPad (with Keyboard) Experience

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At this point, my iPad has effectively replaced my laptop for everything other than photo management and documents.  The former isn’t going to change, but I realized that having a keyboard might notably improve my ability to work on longer docs and emails.  I’m currently trying out the Apple wireless keyboard (with handy protective sleeve from local vendor SFBags) though I’ll also give the new Logitech ultrathin keyboard a try (if/when it ever ships).

In my first day the difference was notable.  I’ve created Evernotes, long emails, and in general found the keyboard goes a long way.  Yay for that. Further, there are some handy keyboard shortcuts that make using it even more pleasant.  But I think this could go a long way from where it is.  Granted, there’s no debate that the overall experience around finger-based controls and gestures absolutely trumps using a keyboard, but that doesn’t mean a few power features couldn’t go a long way.  Here are some hopefully easy-to-implement shortcuts that I think would improve the existing experience:

1. Multi-task app switcher (⌘-tab)
Pushing this combo in OS X results in an application switcher.  You can use your mouse to pick an app, or arrows to navigate between them.  Same functionality could be present in the iPad – and once you are using a keyboard, it’s actually fairly inconvenient to tap on the screen to do this.

2. Menus (⌘-N, ⌘-R, ⌘-D, etc)
In an app-specific sense, enable shortcuts for “menu features.”  For example, in Mail, ⌘-N could start a New Message,  ⌘-R could reply, ⌘-D could delete, etc.  App developers could have certain liberty here (potentially) or there could just be a limited set of commands.  Either would be good for any “text-heavy” app where the keyboard is in use.

3. Home  (⌘-Esc or ⌘-Eject, etc)
Simple one – exit the current app back to the home screen.

4. Navigation (⌘-cursor keys)
Per (1) above, but extend it further: if the user is in the “Springboard” interface (aka the “home screen” where you pick an app), enable me to rapidly scroll through apps (or pages of apps) with the keyboard.

5. Switch windows (tab)
Inside any app (with support), the Tab key should switch between windows/frames/inputs.  This is already present in Mail, but only when composing messages.  Why not elsewhere?

6. App shortcuts (⌘-1, ⌘-2, or F1, F2, etc)
This is definitely a “power user” feature, but let me assign 10 apps I use a lot, and quickly launch them from the keyboard.  Alternately, these could be restricted to the 6 apps in the Dock (at the bottom of the home screen).

7. Search (⌘-space)
Much like other tips above, this is borrowing straight out of OS X.  Especially considering the amount search is intended for active use within iOS.

8. Settings (⌘-,)
On my Mac, pushing ⌘-, shows preferences for that application.  In iOS, there’s a global settings screen (not to mention the plethora of apps that have their own).  This shortcut could launch either.

9. Settings Toggles (⌘-F1, ⌘-F2, etc)
Could be predetermined or user-configurable, but how about direct access to toggling certain settings, such as airplane mode, WiFi on/off, etc.  I’d want a Bluetooth one too, but it’d probably only work in one way…

I know in the grand scheme of things this is a pretty minor issue.  The grand majority of iPad owners aren’t using keyboards, and probably never will.  But if someone had time to program Siri with enough depth to tell Zooey Deschanel that it’s not raining out, I can’t see this being too far out of scope…

The Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 – a review

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Back to basics for me on LD.  This one is just a straight-up, old fashioned gadget review.

This wireless laser Desktop 6000 v 3.0 mouse and keyboard have some pretty cool features, though the keyboard suffers from some serious performance drawbacks.  I’ll start with the mouse, and then my impressions, and then the keyboard, and my further impressions.

The mouse is well shaped, comfortable, and has some nifty features.  The front thumb button lets you magnify a small section of the screen, and the rear button lets you move back a page.  In the settings area you can re-designate some different functions for those buttons.  The USB wireless “dongle” fits into the bottom of the mouse; this dongle connects both thhe mouse and thhe keyboard.

The mouse has worked great so far.  the plastic and rubber surfacing is comfortable and pleasantly tactile.  The “magnify“ feature is OK, but the back button is awesome.  When I use my portable mouse I reach for it, and I’m  bummed that it’s not there.   This is not an incredible innovation – features like this have been around a long time.  But efficiency is a funny thing: once you get used to a simpler / faster / more efficient mechanism, it’s hard to give it up.  Overall, I am very happy with the mouse.

The keyboard has similar whiz-bang features and a wrist-friendly layout.  I’m used to using my old-school Dell keyboard, complete with coffee stains and non-ergonomic design.  This new black and smoke gray model, with it’s ergonomic curvatures, enlarged “critical keys” and rubberized hand rests seems like a huge step up.  There are some hot keys as well with useful shortcuts and lots of customization options.  My favorite key is actually the “documents key;” you can use it to open a specific folder (like “My Documents.”  🙂  Again, efficiency is a pleasant thing, and easy to get used to.

Here’s the issue: performance has been spotty.  When I first plugged in the dongle and tried to type I saw significant lag.  For a minute or two the keystrokes would be fine, then all of a sudden no type appeared.  Then ten seconds later, it all appeared in a rush. I try to delete or backup knowing that I mis-typed something, but no type is appearing (or disappearing.)  Then I have to just stop and wait for things to realign.   Sometimes it would type fine for a minute, and then lag for eight or ten characters, and then catch up again.  Also, sometimes the keyboard seems to lose itself.  By this I mean that though I haven’t moved the cursor or moused into a new application, suddenly the keyboard seems to stop typing, and I am forced to click on something else, and then click back into the “typing zone.”  Not OK.

I tried moving the dongle to a couple of different USB ports, tried the “reset / reconnect” button, and also tried installing the software that came with the setup (I like to check for plug-and-play compatibility before installing software).   After doing all of that, the performance improved significantly.  Having shut down and re-booted a half dozen times while running these peripherals seems to have helped as well.   At this point performance is largely acceptable, though not quite equivalent to my old PS/2 connected keyboard.  However the ergonomics, hotkeys,  and overall shiny-newness makes up for a lot.  As long as they type-pace keeps up with the speed of the keystrokes, I think I will stick with it.  But I’m not throwing out my old keyboard just yet.

This rig costs $99 retail – you can purchase it from Microsoft directly, or from any number of alternative online and traditional retailers.  Overall I think it’s a pretty good rig.  If I were forced to give it a numeric score from one to ten, I’d give it a 6.   If performance were as solid as my old wired keyboard, I’d give it a 9.  There’s another great review of this item over at IStartedSomething with some beautiful pictures if you want some more info on this setup.

This review is also posted at 1TO10REVIEWS.