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iPad iPad Air and comfort

P

PalacePlayers

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 5, 2011
106
3
So I bought an iPad Air mainly for couch/bed surfing and music. I have previously owned an iPad 2, 3 and mini. Both 2 and 3 I found uncomfortable to use, while the mini was perfect. However, the screen is just so bad I bought the Air hoping it would be the perfect mix of comfort and a good screen.

I must say I'm slightly dissapointed. I still cannot find a comfortable way to hold the Air for longer than 15 minutes. If i hold the device with both my hands you can after just a few minutes se a red mark in the palm of my hands where the iPad has been lying. The muscles in my palms are tender from holding the Air.

But I keep hearing from you guys that are somgappy woth it. How do you hold this thing? The only way for me to use it is to let it rest on my belly/legs, but then you might just as well use an iPad 4..

This is by all means meant to be a constructive thread!
 
wxman2003 said:
I use the smart cover and prop it up in my lap. Works great.
Click to expand...

Same here. Which, as the OP says, isn't much different from how one would use the iPad 3/4. For me, the advantage of the Air over iPad 3/4 is that it feels so much lighter when I carry it in my bag. My shoulders feel great after a day of carrying the Air in my bag, but with the iPad 3, I'd feel sore by the end of the day.

If OP liked the mini, why not get the retina mini? I hear the retina mini screen is a great improvement over the original mini, and it has the same form factor as the original.
 
This is my issue with the Air too. I love it quite a bit and it's certainly slimmed down significantly, but for extended periods of reading it's still quite big. The weight is still the only thing that's steering me towards the mini.
 
I hold it with two hands in landscape mode. I use the split keyboard if I want to type, keeping both hands on the device. I don't experience any pain doing this for hours on end. I have no case or cover on the device while doing this. I use a Smart Cover , but I rip it off when I want to use the device, and reattach when I put it back down.
 
I find my self using the mini with two hands even though it is lighter because of the reduced bezel.
 
Well comfort level using it and weight are different to some extent. One can get use to the weight of an iPad akin to a dumbbell in a gym one thought was heavy in the beginning but isn't now, but comfort level isn't as easy.

As far as a red mark in the palm of your hands, that probably can be alleviate by using lightweight gloves with the fingers cut out.

I have to use two hands if I want to hold the iPad. I don't feel I need to very much though as it is on my lap or propped up with a smart cover.
 
I had the original mini and upgraded to the Air. I do miss the size of the mini, and when holding it in 2 hands, I could hold it forever. Reading and using it with 1 hand was a breeze. I know what you mean with the air, but the bigger screen is what I want out of iOS. The iPad 1,2,3,4 were all kind of bulky compared to the Air and the mini. Holding them with 1 hand was uncomfortable. The Air is lighter, and still has all of that power.

I actually like throwing it in my lap sometimes. When I read, I hold it low like I typically hold my books.
 
I can relate to op so I am exploring some options.

For lap use I find a pillow comfortable but the angle is wrong, so I am looking into an iPad pillow. I recall seeing it advertised.

For hand holding, there is a thing that you can get that attach to the back it the iPad that you can slip your fingers around. I think that may make holding comfortable.

I think the weight reduction helps, but there is only so much current tech can do. It's time for improvisation.
 
I hold it with one hand typically on the bottom corner. I added a silicone back case so it's more grippy.
 
I'm typning this on my laying on my back -which I normally do. I'm holding my iPad one by the corner, on the diagonal, typing with my right hand. I normally just am on my side as this kills my back. Then I prop it on the bed on an angle and hold it with one hand... It works or me.

Some of the pillows are nice, but everytime I go to look/get one I realize I just never would use them!
 
Night Spring said:
Same here. Which, as the OP says, isn't much different from how one would use the iPad 3/4. For me, the advantage of the Air over iPad 3/4 is that it feels so much lighter when I carry it in my bag. My shoulders feel great after a day of carrying the Air in my bag, but with the iPad 3, I'd feel sore by the end of the day.

If OP liked the mini, why not get the retina mini? I hear the retina mini screen is a great improvement over the original mini, and it has the same form factor as the original.
Click to expand...

Ok let's not exaggerate here. iPad 3/4 weight less than 2lbs
 
I think the key is to not use your own muscles to support the entire weight of the iPad. Find something to prop it up and it gets a lot more comfortable. Or buy a mini - but text is outrageously small on the mini
 
meistervu said:
I can relate to op so I am exploring some options.

For lap use I find a pillow comfortable but the angle is wrong, so I am looking into an iPad pillow. I recall seeing it advertised.

For hand holding, there is a thing that you can get that attach to the back it the iPad that you can slip your fingers around. I think that may make holding comfortable.

I think the weight reduction helps, but there is only so much current tech can do. It's time for improvisation.
Click to expand...

Check out Levenger for some fancy iPad pillows. They also have stands. Google their outlet if you want to save some $$$.

No I don't work for them.

http://www.levenger.com/Search/SearchResult.aspx
 
PalacePlayers said:
So I bought an iPad Air mainly for couch/bed surfing and music. I have previously owned an iPad 2, 3 and mini. Both 2 and 3 I found uncomfortable to use, while the mini was perfect. However, the screen is just so bad I bought the Air hoping it would be the perfect mix of comfort and a good screen.

I must say I'm slightly dissapointed. I still cannot find a comfortable way to hold the Air for longer than 15 minutes. If i hold the device with both my hands you can after just a few minutes se a red mark in the palm of my hands where the iPad has been lying. The muscles in my palms are tender from holding the Air.

But I keep hearing from you guys that are somgappy woth it. How do you hold this thing? The only way for me to use it is to let it rest on my belly/legs, but then you might just as well use an iPad 4..

This is by all means meant to be a constructive thread!
Click to expand...

I find the Air significantly easier to hold than any previous full sized ipad, and while it's still heavier than the Mini, you have to realize that it's also now about the same weight as a typical magazine. If you are really unhappy with it, I'm not sure why you wouldn't exchange it for another mini?

I don't have any trouble holding it with one hand, far easier than my ipad 4. Yet I get tired because it's such a good device that the reality is I'm holding it for hours at a time. Anything is going to get uncomfortable to hold after that long!
 
The weight is not an issue when holding the iPad Air with two hands. The problem is that the chamfered edges make it quite uncomfortable after a while unless the iPad is on one's lap and I wasn't planning on wearing cushioned gloves. :)
 
It's awesome in portrait mode holding it with two hands. You can't thumb type with it that way.
 
Thanks for all the replys, I've finally found a way to comfortably hold the Air with boths hands. Basically what I do is use one hand as the "grip" hand and the other as support hand. Thes upport hands is passsive and just supports the wight. Before, i used both hands as grip hands, and the reason that was uncomfortable was that you basically push the edges into the palm of the other hand.

The reason why I don't want to buy a mini even though it's more comfortable to use is the color/gamut. Not to make this another gamut thread, but if could choose between gamut or retina resolution, I think I would go for gamut.. But after my recent discovery it seems like I can keep my Air!
 
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