Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad The iPad Pro... anyone else want it to work with a mouse?
- Thread starter Turnpike
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I had an Everun UMPC (back in the day). It had a resistive (shudder!) touch screen.
The cool thing was it had a "optical trackpad"... little square pad that you could use to control the cursor by rubbing with your thumb. It was awesome... precise control, quickly move the cursor where you want it. Didn't have to move your hand to move the cursor. It is the little silver square in the top right corner of the device below.
Sure wish somebody would reinvent the "old tech".
I much preferred that solution to the imprecise method that iOS employs. Plus, all the hardware buttons made this thing very handy/quick to use.
Why do people dismiss out of hand anybody's usage style that does not match their own? "I don't need that, therefore nobody needs that".
I would like some kind of pointing device that does not require me to try to locate precise by sliding my fat fingers across a screen to move a pointer to a spot that I cannot see because my finger is covering it.
The cool thing was it had a "optical trackpad"... little square pad that you could use to control the cursor by rubbing with your thumb. It was awesome... precise control, quickly move the cursor where you want it. Didn't have to move your hand to move the cursor. It is the little silver square in the top right corner of the device below.
Sure wish somebody would reinvent the "old tech".
I much preferred that solution to the imprecise method that iOS employs. Plus, all the hardware buttons made this thing very handy/quick to use.
Why do people dismiss out of hand anybody's usage style that does not match their own? "I don't need that, therefore nobody needs that".
I would like some kind of pointing device that does not require me to try to locate precise by sliding my fat fingers across a screen to move a pointer to a spot that I cannot see because my finger is covering it.
Last edited:
Answer: immaturity
I've been spending some time with my Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 using a Motorola BT keyboard w/trackpoint. I've come to appreciate the way that Android supports a mouse if it is present, and how Samsung supports multi-window. Very useful and confirms for me how useful it would be on an iPad.
I've given up hope that an update to iOS would provide multi-window and BT mouse support... that would increase the usefulness of my iPad4.
I would give up the mouse on the rumored iPad Pro if Apple gave us a proper file system to store our files in.
I fear we will both be dissapointed!
I fear we will both be dissapointed!
As long as it has a good interface I'm all for it. My idea was that 2-finger swipes will act just like normal swipes on the iPad, including control and notification centre and stuff like that, and 3-finger as normal multitasking gestures. Also a right-click would be pretty cool.
----------
And a case with the keyboard and trackpad that attaches magnetically, allows adjusting (like a laptop) and connects with NFC
----------
And a case with the keyboard and trackpad that attaches magnetically, allows adjusting (like a laptop) and connects with NFC
This is what I thought too, a mouse really isn't needed, a stylus would be nice for some apps, and should be sold as an accessory, I think.
They make those. Lol it's called a Macbook. Even the Pro's are pretty portable if you know how to carry it.
A mouse would be convenient, no doubt, but I am not convinced it matches the concept of a tablet.
A tablet would be more suitable for mobile outdoor usage, like walking around while inputting data (similar to how you use a clipboard). A mouse would be dead-weight here. It's simply not feasible to use a mouse while on the move.
If you are going to attach your tablet to a keyboard on a desk, then may as well use a laptop.
A tablet would be more suitable for mobile outdoor usage, like walking around while inputting data (similar to how you use a clipboard). A mouse would be dead-weight here. It's simply not feasible to use a mouse while on the move.
If you are going to attach your tablet to a keyboard on a desk, then may as well use a laptop.
If you look at the mouse from the most practical standpoint, it was only developed because there was no better way to quickly communicate with a computer at the time of its invention. Imagine if fully-functional touch screens came first, the mouse wouldn't likely exist today and all OS platforms will be designed entirely differently from the very beginning.
The mouse was definitely a turning point in the computer industry, but in my opinion, it diverted the industry into a specific direction that is far narrower than what could have been accomplished should current technology had been available back then.
All that being said, I unequivocally do not want the iPad to work with a mouse.
Not true at all. The mouse has lots of advantages over touch.
- More precise
- Not blocking the screen while using it
- More ergonomic when at a desk (screen ahead of you, eye-level)
- Can be used for X,Y controller (such as in 3D applications)
- Buttons allow for multiple functions on the same spot (right-click, center-click)
- Doesn't smudge all over the screen
Touch solves mobile input in place of trackpad and trackpoint.
You say you don't want the mouse to work in the iPad, but OP is talking about the iPad Pro. Presumably a "Pro" device should be able to do more than be a big iPod. In any case, having it as an option doesn't force you to use it.
I'd like it in particular for highlighting text when writing. That's one of those things that's really inconvenient on the current iOS platform.
The Ipad Pro will only be a bigger version of the current full sized Ipad Air 2(or 3), but it MUST have split sceen(multi window) to have 2 apps Running by side on at the same time.
Hopefully the 9.7 inch Ipad will have split sceen as well that would be great!