Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Logitech makes the perfect ipad keyboard

- JIM ROSSMAN Jim Rossman writes for The Dallas Morning News.

The iPad is a content consumptio­n device. It was designed to load up with movies and music and books to let the user consume all those things effortless­ly.

It was not meant to be a content creation device — at least not at first.

I know plenty of people, including myself, who wondered whether the iPad could be a viable replacemen­t for a laptop.

For Web surfing and reading email, I find the iPad to be ideal, but the on-screen keyboard is less than ideal for writing more than just a quick email response.

I’m a writer, and to write I need a real keyboard. Luckily, Apple made the iPad compatible with Bluetooth keyboards.

Logitech has been making keyboards for years, and it’s made several models for the iPad. I’ve been using the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad, which works for the iPad 2 and the new iPad but not the original iPad.

The Ultrathin sells for $99.99. When the keyboard is magnetical­ly attached to the iPad, it resembles a small laptop.

The keyboard is a bit smaller than those on a Macbook Pro, but I found I could type at about 75 percent, even with my big fingers.

The keyboard runs on an internal battery that can last a few months on a charge.

There is a home key on the left side of the top row that functions the same as the home button on the iPad. Arrow keys on the bottom row make quick work of moving around the lines of your text.

There are also keys to help you select text for copying and pasting, as well as keys to control media playback and volume.

I can’t think of much more I could want in an iPad keyboard. There’s even a key to put the iPad to sleep.

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