Logitech has today announced the launch of its new Keyboard Folio cases for iPad and iPad mini. Built from refined fabrics — and available in a whole host of pretty colors — the Keyboard Folio is designed to provide your beloved tablet with all-round protection as well as a physical keyboard that’ll let you get things done on the go.
We’ve seen a lot of iPad-enhancing accessories over the last couple of years. Speaker cases like the Belkin Thunderstorm, bring-your-own-keyboard cases like the Incase Origami, and even iPad battery cases. But here’s a new one: DOCKr, an accessory that brings all these advantages together in one Skittle-colored package.
So, there you are, typing a long note on your iPhone or iPad, when you suddenly realize that you need–gasp–a special symbol or accented character. Perhaps you want to use the £ (British pound) symbol, or the é symbol when sending an email to a business associate or family member.
No, you don’t have to use the Emoji keyboard (unless you want a copyright (©) symbol), but there is a bit of a trick to it. Here’s how.
Holding an iPad, especially the larger-sized iPad one through four, can be an exercise in finger strength, especially when typing with your thumbs in landscape mode and holding the iPad with both hands. Luckily, back in iOS 5, Apple gave us all the ability to split the iPad keyboard and move it closer to the middle of the screen. This also comes in handy with the new iPad mini when in landscape mode.
Here’s how to make it happen.
Our Killian Bell tossed around words like “terrific” and “impressive” when he reviewed the Nuu MiniKey for the iPhone 4/S two years ago. Now, the little backlit Bluetooth keyboard-case has almost arrived (it drops March 15) for the iPhone 5, with a whole slew of improvements.
When we spotted Luvvitt’s backlit Ultrathin iPad mini keyboard cover last month at CES, Luvvitt CEO Eli Altaras told us we’d see a version for the iPad at some point. It’s just popped up on Luvvitt’s website, packing the same rainbow backlighting as the mini version, in the same ultra-light profile. And it’s got a beefed-up battery to boot.
You know what surprised me last week? That the iPad mini is almost as capable a work computer as my Retina iPad. The screen isn’t quite as readable, and you have to wait for Safari to reload pages and for apps to cold boot more often thanks to the lack of RAM, but as a machine to write on, it works amazingly well.
Which is why Logitech’s Ultrathin Keyboard for the Mini is a very welcome little accessory.
A number of Apple executives, including Vice President for Education John Couch, met with Turkish president Abdullah Gül today to discuss a deal that could see the iPad introduced to Turkish education. The Turkish government’s FAITH project was set up to put more than 15 million tablets into its schools at an estimated cost of around $4.5 billion.
The Option key is a powerful ally in the transition from new, beginner user of OS X to the power user that you want to be. There are a ton of hidden features in the Finder alone that are hidden behind the underrated and unassuming Option key.
Here are some of the more useful ones.
These snazzy keyboard decals from MyBanana are a relatively cheap and simple way to add a splash of color and protection to your Mac.
Priced at £17 ($27), and available in a number of styles — including Lego bricks and rainbows — the decals are made from a waterproof vinyl that’s designed to last, no matter how often your greasy fingers caress them throughout the day.
If you want to protect your Mac’s keys from everyday wear and tear, these decals could be ideal. But do they work?
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – With seven groovy, psychedelic colors to switch between for backlighting, Luvvitt’s new Ultra Thin Keyboard Cover would no doubt have been Timothy Leary’s keyboard of choice — had iPad Minis, iPads or technology in general been around in the ’60s.
If you’re a former BlackBerry user who’s just bought your first iPhone, and you’re struggling to adapt to its virtual on-screen keyboard, then check out the Spike SmartType from SoloMatrix. On show at this year’s CES in Las Vegas, and coming to iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5, the Spike is a new case that slaps a physical QWERTY keyboard right across your handset’s display. You can fold it away when it’s not in use, and you never need to worry about charging it.
A lot of people want both an iPhone and a physical QWERTY keyboard, but they don’t want the extra bulk. Similarly, some people want a physical control pad, but they don’t want to ensconce their device in a massive case to get one.
That’s the genius of the EX Hybrid Controller for iPhone 5. It’s a Bluetooth controller that magnetically attaches to a special shell on the back of your device: flip it one way and it’s a keyboard, flip it another and it’s a gamepad. And when you’re not using it? Another magnetic backplate snaps on top of it to keep it protected and tidy.
The EX Hybrid Controller is on sale now for $49.90.
Source: iPhone 5 Mod
Logitech produces some of the best portable keyboards there are for the iPad, and it’s just announced another that will also work with your Mac, too. But not only is it compatible with both Mac and iOS devices, its awesome ‘Easy-Switch’ feature allows you to connect to up to three via Bluetooth at the same time and then quickly switch between them at the touch of a button.
Pocket brought us a terrific Mac app back in October, and just over a month on, it’s already back with a new update. This one introduces a nice stack of new features, including native Twitter and Facebook support for those running OS X Mountain Lion, new keyboard shortcuts, better Evernote sharing, and more.
Here’s a super-cool little idea. It’s a keyboard case for your iPad, only instead of packing a small, cramped iPad-sized keyboard it’s a case which’ll hold both the iPad and your Apple aluminum Bluetooth keyboard. Better still, it folds out to make a stand to keep your iPad propped up while you work.
It’s not very often I write on my iPad without a real Bluetooth keyboard. While I don’t mind the virtual, on-screen keyboard for responding to the odd email, anything more than that and I need real keys. For those of you who are in the same boat, check out Belkin’s new Portable Keyboard Case for iPad mini.
Power users know that the more you can keep your hands on the keyboard, the faster you can get things done on your Mac. That’s the reason keyboard shortcuts exist, like Command-C to copy text, or Shift-Command-3 to take a screenshot. It’s perfectly acceptable to move your mouse to select the command from a menu, of course, but the keyboard shortcuts are just faster.
Spotlight, like most other OS X apps, has several shortcuts that can help you get around much more quickly.
That’s pretty darn fast: Keyboard-maker Zagg has unveiled two new keyboard cases for the iPad Mini, just a day after Apple pulled the sheet off its new pint-sized iPad. There’s the Zaggkeys Mini 7, a pared-down seven-inch model that spans the width of the Mini, and the Zaggkeys Mini 9, a 9-inch version with a slightly more comprehensive suite of keys.
We’re always on the lookout for a good peripheral and if there’s one company that does peripherals, it’s Logitech. Their latest creation looks like something of interest for all us multi-device power users. Logitech’s new Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard K810 is as the name applies — an illuminated Bluetooth keyboard. What makes it so special? Its ability to quickly and easily switch between your Bluetooth devices.
One of the things that was fantastic about vintage PCs is the way your hands never had to leave the keyboard: everything was just a command away. The graphic user interface first introduced to the world with the Macintosh is obviously a big step forward when it comes to general accessibility, pointing an onscreen at an object to click on it can often be a step backwards when it comes to speed for die-hard power users.
If that sounds like you, Shortcat is a new, free app that you should download which aims to bring the command line to the GUI.
One of the improvements Apple made to Safari 6.0 was to take the search and address bars and roll them into one — just like a lot of popular web browsers do. The change hasn’t been made to the mobile Safari app,
But there is a good reason for that omission.
An interesting crop circle was reported at Cheesefoot Head, near Winchester in Hampshire, southern England, last week. An infinite loop, the formation has no beginning nor end. It has been likened to the Tibetan Buddha, symbolizing peace and motion simultaneously. It also reminds us of the command key symbol, an emblem of Mac keyboards over the last thirty years.
Launchpad tries to bring an iOS-style app interace to OS X. Whether you like it or not, it’s here to stay. Introduced in OS X Lion, Launchpad arranges the apps you have installed on your Mac in a grid array, much like the apps are arranged on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Of course, your Mac has a much bigger screen than these iOS devices (hopefully), so there’s even more of a need to filter out the apps you don’t want so that you can find the apps you do want to find.
In iOS, as you get more and more apps installed on your device, you’re gonna end up swiping to the right of the home screen at some point and typing the name of an app into the Search field there. Prior to Mountain Lion, there was no way to do this in OS X. Now, however, there is, and I sincerely hope they bring this concept back to enrich iOS itself.
I featured UX Write in one of my must-have apps roundups when it first hit the App Store, because it’s one of the best word processors available on iOS. It has now received its first update, and it’s a fairly major one, introducing support for external keyboards, autosave, dictation on supported devices, and more.
