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Can you guy type fast on the iPad?

L

LanEvo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 5, 2010
434
2
NorCal
Is it just me, or what? I seem to type very slow with it, like stil using either only one or two fingers. Nothing more, compared to a conventional keyboard.
 
Same, I can't stand typing more than 2 sentences on the iPad. It's definitely not a "dream to type on" as per the keynote from last year :p
 
That's what I was wondering, I am a college student, but I could not see myself using this to take notes. Unless I had like loads of practice, the professor would leave me light years in the past, if I was to take notes with this...
 
I can, using a full sized bluetooth keyboard. On a 9" screen there isn't going to be anyone who zips along at 160 words a minute. At least not until someone gets very used to using the advantages of the predictive text feature.
 
This just got me thinking, what if they made a speech to text app or iPad feature... That would be awesome to use...
 
U gotta practice more. Me and my friends type pretty well on our iPads.
 
I can type pretty well and don't even have to look at the keys. Not as fast as a standard keyboard, but not bad. Though I do prefer typing anything long on a hardware keyboard. Usually the problem is positioning the iPad. I have to lay it down to type on it, and I'm not generally using it in a position where that is a feasible option.
 
On the IPad, I type with seven fingers, four on my left hand, and three on my right hand. For some reason, as I got faster and faster on the iPad, somewhere along the way, I stopped using the pinky on my right hand, and just hit the various keys out there with my ring finger.

Never really noticed it until a few months ago. A friend pointed out that even though I was touch typing faster on my iPad than they were on their laptop - that my form was terrible, as I was using the wrong fingers. I don't do that on a regular keyboard, so, maybe it's just part of the process of adapting to a smaller on-screen keyboard.

Anyway, practice makes perfect. Just type a bit here and there, and before you know it, you'll be typing as fast on the iPad as on a regular keyboard.

Oh, and all of my MacRumor posts are done on my iPad. (and I tend to write lengthy posts...) I also write a lot of work related documents on the iPad keyboard while sitting outside enjoying Hawaii's scenery. I really enjoy working on the iPad.
 
I get roughly 80 - 85 words per minute and am one of the strange people that can type without looking on it.

That being said I'm in front of the computer 16 hours a day either at work or doing school work so my typing skills are quite good.
 
Stefx73 said:
There is one. The Dragon Dictation app
Click to expand...

But what if you are attending a lecture or presentation? Dragon is not exactly useful for something like that. OTOH, there are things like smartNote that let you record audio (the actual lecture, probably with a plug-in mic for decent quality) while also being able to jot down notes or doodles. From what I can tell, you should be able to get an intelligible one hour lecture into less that a 100Mb file, so a whole school day would not take up that much space, as long as you deal with the files fairly promptly.
 
LanEvo said:
Is it just me, or what? I seem to type very slow with it, like stil using either only one or two fingers. Nothing more, compared to a conventional keyboard.
Click to expand...

I tried it for the first time at a store today, and I popped up a word processing program. The first 30 seconds were horrible. After that, I could type at what I would say is about 60-70 words per minute. It wasn't the most fun experience in the world though... with tactile feedback I on my keyboard I type at double that. So productivity isn't exactly amazing on the iPad for typing :-/ It's the best for a touch-screen only interface though I presume.
 
It helps coming from an iPhone. I type 30-35 words a minute on my iPhone. With my iPad I can type 50-55 words a minute.

With the Bluetooth keyboard I'm on 80-85 words a minute.

So it's pretty decent :D
 
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For those who want to do a lot of typying a keyboard case like zaggmate is the better way to go. Also try handhelditems.com they have a reasonable price keyboard case for the ipad 1 for forty dollars. I bought one six months ago and it still works great. The battery on the case will last you for weeks without having to charge it. But as far as typing on the ipad pratice makes perfect.
 
One *could* argue that if you need to type a lot on the iPad you really should get a laptop instead. In many ways the iPad is an "output device" - it is used to display content not create it.
 
I can type on my ipad really fast, like on my computer...
At the beginning it was kind of weird typing on a touchscreen and not on a keyboard, but now it's easy ;)
 
mmo said:
One *could* argue that if you need to type a lot on the iPad you really should get a laptop instead. In many ways the iPad is an "output device" - it is used to display content not create it.
Click to expand...

Different strokes for different folks :)

I use my iPhone for short email replies and my iPad for the longer emails. Almost don't open my email on my MBA or iMac anymore :D

So I create a LOT of emails on my iPad. A WHOLE LOT !

I also write quite a bit of bloq posts and notes, so I don't use my iPad for consume only.
I would hate to have to drag my MBA around the places I go, just for taking notes, bloq posts and emails. My iPad does that very fine and at 50-55 words a minute I'm just fine with that !!

Of course I prefer MBA or iMac for more extensive writing - where I need 85-90 words a minute typing speed.....
 
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I can type ok on it. I'm a very fast typist, but I find that when I type on the iPad, I need to see the letters. I took typing classes in high school and have a pretty textbook typing technique, but on the iPad I use a weird combination of my left middle finger and right fourth finger. I don't know why.
 
Don Kosak said:
On the IPad, I type with seven fingers, four on my left hand, and three on my right hand. For some reason, as I got faster and faster on the iPad, somewhere along the way, I stopped using the pinky on my right hand, and just hit the various keys out there with my ring finger.
Click to expand...

I do pretty much the same thing except for some reason I don't use the pinky on my left hand either...With just the first three fingers on each hand I can type at a pretty good clip; not as fast as on a physical keyboard but it works.
 
I'm almost as fast in landscape mode as my computer. In portrait mode I am much slower. Here is a tip: don't look at the keys... it will be hard at first but when you get used to it, you will find it easier to type and you will also notice the autocorrect suggestions on the screen.
 
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