ipad for Writers? Maybe not yet.

To ipad or not ipad, is that the question?

The ipad is outstanding, of course. It is an amazing piece of visionary technology. It’s great for entertainment and fun, fun, fun, but as a writer should you dump your laptop and go to the smaller flashier screen? I have been working on the ipad for some time, and I have to say, I don’t think it’s time to give up my laptop. For writers the ipad falls short in a few major ways.

Productivity
First is of course the keyboard. Even with the best keyboard on the market for the ipad I don’t feel like I have the same productivity as I do on my laptop. The ipad is great for many things, but production is simply not one of them. It can be done. It can be done, but it takes more effort, and isn’t as comfortable.

Small Work Area
Second, a smaller screen makes it harder to do all of what you need to do in your work. I like seeing all of my work at once. I like big type, and the ipad just doesn’t do it for me here.

Third Dangerous distractions.
Distractions are the death of good works. Many masterpieces stay unfinished due to dazzled writers. There is no other device on the market (not even the iphone) that will call you to play games or watch movies or just simply fool around like the ipad. Even tablets don’t have this much seduction. As a writer distraction KILLS my work. I don’t put or play games on my laptop because I don’t want the distraction. It’s all I’ll do! So when I’m faced with the idea of abandoning entertainment on the ipad and just going with productivity tools I find the idea unfathomable! Give up entertainment on the ipad? Are you crazy? No thanks give me a laptop for work, and an ipad for play.

How is the ipad better for writing?

It’s not good for productivity, but for reading it’s much better. The ipad 3 is super easy on the eyes for reading books and reading manuscripts. The ipad is also much easier to carry. If you are going to the beach the ipad might be the way to go, but in most situations I say give my laptop for writing!

We know the time is coming when we will all be faced with tablets for productivity. It will happen. Offices have already started buying ipads, and in the future I think it will work out fine. It’s coming, it’s coming, but I just don’t think, for writers, it is here yet.

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Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) is the founder of EveryWriter and a 25-year veteran of the publishing industry. With degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology, and Education, Richard has dedicated two decades to teaching writing and literature while championing emerging voices through EveryWriter's platform. His work focuses on making literary analysis accessible to readers at all levels while preserving the rich heritage of American literature. Connect with Richard on Twitter Bluesky Facebook or explore opportunities to share your own work on ourSubmissions page. For monthly insights on writing and publishing, subscribe to our Newsletter.

To ipad or not ipad, is that the question?

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