So the keyboard is permanently fixed to the dock portion? Seems like it'd be hard to store when traveling. I would imagine a two-piece setup would be more convenient.
Even better, release a new BT keyboard in an iPad dock kit that could connect to the dock portion so that it could be charged in addition to the iPad, but also used separately for things other than the iPad.
Andy Ihnatko commented a couple days before the iPad release that this accessory was clearly not designed to be mobile. And that makes sense, an accessory doesn't have to do everything for everyone. There is nothing stopping anyone from making a portable keyboard+dock accessory. In fact, I expect we'll see plenty coming soon.
Even still, I don't see why there has to be one port on the iPad. What about conditions where you want to use it in landscape mode. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no port down the elongated side, is there?
"...an external dock port for connecting to your computer/power brick and a 1/8" line out."
So, the port on the iPad needs to be used to bridge it to the new external ports that are part of the Dock.
But as you say/hint as well, it sure would be nice to have the port on both long and short edge of the iPad to be able to "mount" it horisontal or vertical and still be able to hook up these external ports.
Yeah, I don't see the benefits of this over getting the bluetooth keyboard + the case. It would seem that those two things, together, can serve the same purpose and be much more versatile and mobile. Plus, I can use the bluetooth keyboard with other computers...
You know, looking at the iPad and it's accessories, I realise that the iPad could almost be a replacement computer for many users.
My parents pretty much use their Sunflower iMac for email, music and web surfing. The iPad and it's OS would be simple enough for them but it lacks some significant features that they'd need: ability to plug in a external CD drive and proper file management.
I'm sure this isn't the angle Apple are going for, but it's quite exciting to see how close they are. Instead of the iPad being a device dependent on a computer to a certain extent this could quite easily be a stand-alone computer.
Can you do everything you can do with the iPad keyboard dock with an Apple bluetooth keyboard? Or does the iPad keyboard dock offer some special functions (e.g. brightness control, volume, start search etc.) that are not available on an Apple bluetooth keyboard?
IIRC, in iPhone OS 4.0, there is supposed to be support for bluetooth keyboards. Would make more sense to get a BT Keyboard and a case with a stand. Would not only be more portable, but then you could use that keyboard with something other than the iPad.
A bluetooth keyboard is more multi purpose, but the Keyboard Dock seems to be more comfortable. You can just plug the iPad in and start typing (plus it gets charged). With a bluetooth keyboard you have to leave your app, go to settings etc. and activate bluetooth, go back to your app and then you can type. After you're finished you have to do the same in reverse, since you can't use the software keyboard if you just walk away. But I guess if you only sit down and use the hardware keyboard to type for hours it's no problem.
Imagine if they would have attached the keyboard to the iPad so you can conveniently have it with you all the time, and maybe even make it fold together so the whole package would retain portability?
More like a tablet PC imo. I would be interested in these things if they were just like the standard tablet PC, but thin, open and not just a scaled down desktop OS, but purpose built.
Or just a regular notebook. People are a little too infatuated with touchscreen as far as I'm concerned. It's got its uses but too often it seems like people just think 'Wow touch looks cool' and it gets thrown around for the sake of it.
I'll bash Apple and their products all day, but slamming them for a touch screen?? Touch screens are not a fad. The future is now. I'm sure you would be one of those that wouldn't touch a telephone when you could just yell out your window.
I agree, what the hell are people thinking with this? Unlike a netbook, the keyboard eats into your viewable resolution, plus you have to wipe your screen all the time. Netbooks have it right. Are people just bored out of their minds?
Did any tech review pages experience or report on the overheating and wi-fi issues of the iPad? Just asking as I have a feeling that they didn't. Wonder why.. Cough.
I guess none of the reviewers ever put their iPads in a hot place until it reached 115F - Strange that is. On another bizare note, I have never experienced any overheating issues on my iPhone 3GS either. Weird.
I did run into the overheating issue once. I was at a cafe on Thursday sitting outside in the sun (I live in Arizona) and got the overheating message while surfing online after about an hour: http://twitpic.com/1ebgqv
I was using my iPad in the black apple soft case, which seems to really heat up fast outside because of its color. Interestingly enough, the iPad wasn't really that warm to touch at all, I wouldn't consider what I felt on the aluminum back hot enough to be called overheating. Granted, it could be much much hotter on the SoC/RAM/batteries inside, but I'm used to feeling much hotter temps before something overheats. Apple seems to have set the temperature threshold pretty low for whatever reason.
Weirdly enough, it doesn't really shut down so much as you're thrown a lock-screen like display that you can't unlock. It'll come up whenever you press the power button, so the device is still technically on, but just in standby.
The message caught me off guard since I had been walking around in the sun the day prior, trying to make it overheat.
This might be related, but I encountered a WiFI disconnect and trouble connecting to any APs near me just a few seconds before the overheat message came up. Very strange.
Wow this is awesome. It has a tilted dock connector that allows you to keep your screen at the exact angle that Apple decided everyone should . It has a keyboard attached to the dock so that the distance between the keyboard and the screen is in the Apple preordained position. It even forgoes bluetooth so you don't have to worry about losing your keyboard. I'm glad Apple decides this for everyone so that they aren't confused and stuff. It could be really confusing having to use a wireless keyboard; I mean seriously how does it connect, there are no wires? Only Apple could simplify a product so much, and still manage to make a profit. Kudos to them.
And Apple absolutely requires you to buy only their accessories rather than choosing any of a wide selection of compatible third-party bluetooth keyboards and docks!
Oh wait, that's not true at all. I guess I'm a sarcastic jerk like the previous poster.
Leave it to Apple to come up with a way to charge people extra for the privilege of using a keyboard with their computing device. I don't know what I find more upsetting, Apple's blatant contempt towards and extortion of its user-base, or the fact that the user-base willingly accepts such treatment, and will probably welcome the keyboard dock with cries of "It lets you use a keyboard with the iPad. Well worth the $69!".
Well, in all honesty, you can get much more expensive keyboards for PC... so I don't have problem with the price for this particular keyboard. Additionally, I'd expect cheaper alternatives to come out.
At the end of the day, iPad does function without keyboard, it is designed to function without keyboard and for what it is designed, I don't see keyboard as absolute necessity.
The difference is there's a wide range of keyboards with varying prices. $69+ dollars, you're getting a keyboard with more bells and whistles than that iPad one. More than likely, the keyboard is going to be backlit, have some multimedia keys, maybe a volume control knob, can recognized more then 3-4 keys being pressed at once, and so on. That or just buy a cheap $5 keyboard.
But that kind of misses the point. I shouldn't need to buy a whole new keyboard, at any price, to use a keyboard with the iPad. I should be able to just plug one of my existing USB keyboards directly into the device.
"Interestingly enough, the iPad wasn't really that warm to touch at all, I wouldn't consider what I felt on the aluminum back hot enough to be called overheating"
Pretty much confirms what I've been thinking - they should have added a couple heatpipes between the SoC and the backplate. :P
But I've also read a few times that the temperature cutoff is set around 115 degrees F (46 C) which seems crazily low. I was certainly surprised, because nothing seemed hot at the moment.
I use my iPad about 90% or more of the time in landscape mode. For example, I have multiple email accounts (no, a future unified email display will not work for me... I want my accounts to be very much separate) and portrait mode is too constraining (too many touches) to navigate back and forth. In landscape, that information is displayed. ANYway... can you put the iPad into these docks in landscape mode? If so, how easy is it to switch it between portrait and landscape orientations as you see fit? I could easily see a situation where I'd like to switch back and forth between them (ABC's streamer, for example... you have to do the navigation selection in portrait but then you'd most likely want to watch the content in landscape).
yeah, and it would probably have USB ports too LOLOLOL... oh.
Seriously, this is one market I wish others wouldn't rush to try and get. Make a more powerful netbook and this thing just looks even more like someone dropped their Touch in a puddle of mutagen ooze. Since when is having a full OS a bad thing anyway? Losing the ability to do anything other than pay $10 for iphone apps is good? Have fun gaming too, ipad! I'm sure there will be tons of great games all made with a super limited touch interface that will only replace the ubiquitous console the 30 hours a year you're on an airplane.
And whats with these stupid accessories anyway? The fact that they even make accessories like this is totally disingenuous. Just live with the fact that you opted out of the netbook. Eventually you will see people with this setup up and the inevitable mighty mouse; it will just look like your ipad has netbook envy. Or maybe desktop envy? i'm not sure, but it won't be portable or touch anymore, it will be the crappiest "computer" ever. Maybe Apple's grand scheme is to phase out the OS entirely so it can just simplify your life with apps; wouldn't that just be so agreeable and convenient?
It would be really convenient if the stand had a hinge, and you could fold the keyboard up against the iPad when not in use. Wouldn't that be innovative and magical?
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
43 Comments
Back to Article
neoflux - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
So the keyboard is permanently fixed to the dock portion? Seems like it'd be hard to store when traveling. I would imagine a two-piece setup would be more convenient.Even better, release a new BT keyboard in an iPad dock kit that could connect to the dock portion so that it could be charged in addition to the iPad, but also used separately for things other than the iPad.
solipsism - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
Andy Ihnatko commented a couple days before the iPad release that this accessory was clearly not designed to be mobile. And that makes sense, an accessory doesn't have to do everything for everyone. There is nothing stopping anyone from making a portable keyboard+dock accessory. In fact, I expect we'll see plenty coming soon.vol7ron - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
Even still, I don't see why there has to be one port on the iPad. What about conditions where you want to use it in landscape mode. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no port down the elongated side, is there?riha - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
Well this is the reason:"...an external dock port for connecting to your computer/power brick and a 1/8" line out."
So, the port on the iPad needs to be used to bridge it to the new external ports that are part of the Dock.
But as you say/hint as well, it sure would be nice to have the port on both long and short edge of the iPad to be able to "mount" it horisontal or vertical and still be able to hook up these external ports.
Undune - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
Yeah, I don't see the benefits of this over getting the bluetooth keyboard + the case. It would seem that those two things, together, can serve the same purpose and be much more versatile and mobile. Plus, I can use the bluetooth keyboard with other computers...harveypooka - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
You know, looking at the iPad and it's accessories, I realise that the iPad could almost be a replacement computer for many users.My parents pretty much use their Sunflower iMac for email, music and web surfing. The iPad and it's OS would be simple enough for them but it lacks some significant features that they'd need: ability to plug in a external CD drive and proper file management.
I'm sure this isn't the angle Apple are going for, but it's quite exciting to see how close they are. Instead of the iPad being a device dependent on a computer to a certain extent this could quite easily be a stand-alone computer.
Mike1111 - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
Can you do everything you can do with the iPad keyboard dock with an Apple bluetooth keyboard? Or does the iPad keyboard dock offer some special functions (e.g. brightness control, volume, start search etc.) that are not available on an Apple bluetooth keyboard?Griswold - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
From what I remember from the first look the day apple showed the ipad, it does have ipad specific buttons.Mike1111 - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
Well, there seems to be no difference in hardware keys. So if there are iPad Keyboard Dock exclusive functions then they are just in software...ksherman - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
IIRC, in iPhone OS 4.0, there is supposed to be support for bluetooth keyboards. Would make more sense to get a BT Keyboard and a case with a stand. Would not only be more portable, but then you could use that keyboard with something other than the iPad.Mike1111 - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
A bluetooth keyboard is more multi purpose, but the Keyboard Dock seems to be more comfortable. You can just plug the iPad in and start typing (plus it gets charged). With a bluetooth keyboard you have to leave your app, go to settings etc. and activate bluetooth, go back to your app and then you can type. After you're finished you have to do the same in reverse, since you can't use the software keyboard if you just walk away. But I guess if you only sit down and use the hardware keyboard to type for hours it's no problem.FORSAGE - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
Imagine if they would have attached the keyboard to the iPad so you can conveniently have it with you all the time, and maybe even make it fold together so the whole package would retain portability?brshoemak - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
You mean why don't they make it a netbook?tfranzese - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
More like a tablet PC imo. I would be interested in these things if they were just like the standard tablet PC, but thin, open and not just a scaled down desktop OS, but purpose built.MadMan007 - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
Or just a regular notebook. People are a little too infatuated with touchscreen as far as I'm concerned. It's got its uses but too often it seems like people just think 'Wow touch looks cool' and it gets thrown around for the sake of it.bigboxes - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
I'll bash Apple and their products all day, but slamming them for a touch screen?? Touch screens are not a fad. The future is now. I'm sure you would be one of those that wouldn't touch a telephone when you could just yell out your window.afkrotch - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
Ya, touchscreens are the future. I love having to constantly wipe oil off the screen that I need to view.BansheeX - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
I agree, what the hell are people thinking with this? Unlike a netbook, the keyboard eats into your viewable resolution, plus you have to wipe your screen all the time. Netbooks have it right. Are people just bored out of their minds?damianrobertjones - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
Did any tech review pages experience or report on the overheating and wi-fi issues of the iPad? Just asking as I have a feeling that they didn't. Wonder why.. Cough.kmmatney - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
I guess none of the reviewers ever put their iPads in a hot place until it reached 115F - Strange that is. On another bizare note, I have never experienced any overheating issues on my iPhone 3GS either. Weird.Anand Lal Shimpi - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
Brian Klug had issues after the review went live, I believe only once. I haven't had any issues but it's been fairly mild in NC lately.One former editor did have problems with his unit in Texas due to heat.
Take care,
Anand
Brian Klug - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
I did run into the overheating issue once. I was at a cafe on Thursday sitting outside in the sun (I live in Arizona) and got the overheating message while surfing online after about an hour: http://twitpic.com/1ebgqvI was using my iPad in the black apple soft case, which seems to really heat up fast outside because of its color. Interestingly enough, the iPad wasn't really that warm to touch at all, I wouldn't consider what I felt on the aluminum back hot enough to be called overheating. Granted, it could be much much hotter on the SoC/RAM/batteries inside, but I'm used to feeling much hotter temps before something overheats. Apple seems to have set the temperature threshold pretty low for whatever reason.
Weirdly enough, it doesn't really shut down so much as you're thrown a lock-screen like display that you can't unlock. It'll come up whenever you press the power button, so the device is still technically on, but just in standby.
The message caught me off guard since I had been walking around in the sun the day prior, trying to make it overheat.
This might be related, but I encountered a WiFI disconnect and trouble connecting to any APs near me just a few seconds before the overheat message came up. Very strange.
-Brian Klug
deeceefar2 - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
Wow this is awesome. It has a tilted dock connector that allows you to keep your screen at the exact angle that Apple decided everyone should . It has a keyboard attached to the dock so that the distance between the keyboard and the screen is in the Apple preordained position. It even forgoes bluetooth so you don't have to worry about losing your keyboard. I'm glad Apple decides this for everyone so that they aren't confused and stuff. It could be really confusing having to use a wireless keyboard; I mean seriously how does it connect, there are no wires? Only Apple could simplify a product so much, and still manage to make a profit. Kudos to them./fallsoverdead
immovableobject - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
And Apple absolutely requires you to buy only their accessories rather than choosing any of a wide selection of compatible third-party bluetooth keyboards and docks!Oh wait, that's not true at all. I guess I'm a sarcastic jerk like the previous poster.
solipsism - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
Does this keyboard dock work with iPhone OS v4.0 on the iPhone? v4.0 does work with BT keyboards, but I haven't been able to test with this accessory.Some1ne - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
Leave it to Apple to come up with a way to charge people extra for the privilege of using a keyboard with their computing device. I don't know what I find more upsetting, Apple's blatant contempt towards and extortion of its user-base, or the fact that the user-base willingly accepts such treatment, and will probably welcome the keyboard dock with cries of "It lets you use a keyboard with the iPad. Well worth the $69!".nikon133 - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
Well, in all honesty, you can get much more expensive keyboards for PC... so I don't have problem with the price for this particular keyboard. Additionally, I'd expect cheaper alternatives to come out.At the end of the day, iPad does function without keyboard, it is designed to function without keyboard and for what it is designed, I don't see keyboard as absolute necessity.
afkrotch - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
The difference is there's a wide range of keyboards with varying prices. $69+ dollars, you're getting a keyboard with more bells and whistles than that iPad one. More than likely, the keyboard is going to be backlit, have some multimedia keys, maybe a volume control knob, can recognized more then 3-4 keys being pressed at once, and so on. That or just buy a cheap $5 keyboard.PC, you get options. Apple, you get screwed.
Some1ne - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
But that kind of misses the point. I shouldn't need to buy a whole new keyboard, at any price, to use a keyboard with the iPad. I should be able to just plug one of my existing USB keyboards directly into the device.marc1000 - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
Anand, can you use the ipad on your lap with this keyboard??? thanks,MonkeyPaw - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
What happens when you plug an iPhone or iTouch into it?Griswold - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
"Interestingly enough, the iPad wasn't really that warm to touch at all, I wouldn't consider what I felt on the aluminum back hot enough to be called overheating"Pretty much confirms what I've been thinking - they should have added a couple heatpipes between the SoC and the backplate. :P
Brian Klug - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
It's probably the truth, honestly.But I've also read a few times that the temperature cutoff is set around 115 degrees F (46 C) which seems crazily low. I was certainly surprised, because nothing seemed hot at the moment.
-Brian
Peroxyde - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
Let me guess, next week, the new accessory device will be a mouse, right?B3an - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
No it will be a USB adapter, or an adapter for an adapter, all at the low price of $99.Or maybe a screen cover to help reduce glare, for $69.
vol7ron - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
2nd Paragraph: "They keyboard"Brian Klug - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
Fixed!-Brian
fitten - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
I use my iPad about 90% or more of the time in landscape mode. For example, I have multiple email accounts (no, a future unified email display will not work for me... I want my accounts to be very much separate) and portrait mode is too constraining (too many touches) to navigate back and forth. In landscape, that information is displayed. ANYway... can you put the iPad into these docks in landscape mode? If so, how easy is it to switch it between portrait and landscape orientations as you see fit? I could easily see a situation where I'd like to switch back and forth between them (ABC's streamer, for example... you have to do the navigation selection in portrait but then you'd most likely want to watch the content in landscape).B3an - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
You actually bought an iPad??From reading your comment, you know what would perfectly fit your needs... it's something that has a keyboard and landscape screen all in one.
...it's called a Laptop. They also have these amazing things called USB ports and a real OS.
The0ne - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
I'm sorry for being rude but I seriously can't stop laughing. What next a $100 webcam?rpmurray - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
How about a $500 slate running full WIn 7? God, I'm laughing so hard my sides hurt.totenkopf - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
yeah, and it would probably have USB ports too LOLOLOL... oh.Seriously, this is one market I wish others wouldn't rush to try and get. Make a more powerful netbook and this thing just looks even more like someone dropped their Touch in a puddle of mutagen ooze. Since when is having a full OS a bad thing anyway? Losing the ability to do anything other than pay $10 for iphone apps is good? Have fun gaming too, ipad! I'm sure there will be tons of great games all made with a super limited touch interface that will only replace the ubiquitous console the 30 hours a year you're on an airplane.
And whats with these stupid accessories anyway? The fact that they even make accessories like this is totally disingenuous. Just live with the fact that you opted out of the netbook. Eventually you will see people with this setup up and the inevitable mighty mouse; it will just look like your ipad has netbook envy. Or maybe desktop envy? i'm not sure, but it won't be portable or touch anymore, it will be the crappiest "computer" ever. Maybe Apple's grand scheme is to phase out the OS entirely so it can just simplify your life with apps; wouldn't that just be so agreeable and convenient?
-super critical jerk
AmishElvis - Monday, April 12, 2010 - link
It would be really convenient if the stand had a hinge, and you could fold the keyboard up against the iPad when not in use. Wouldn't that be innovative and magical?