iPad and keyboard as writing tool

[ksmith]

Toby Buckell posts about something I've been wondering lately--whether a top of the line iPad with a keyboard is a solid enough writing device to replace a full-blown laptop. Both my laptops are teetering on the brink--they both still work fine (::knocking wood real hard::) but the 4+ yo MacBook may not be supported by Mountain Lion, the Mac OS set to be released this summer, and the iBook is 8+ yo, is still using Tiger, and has a m-board that may or may not be ready to give up the ghost.

Literature and Latte, the Scrivener folks, are working on an iPad version. When that comes out, the driving force behind getting a MacBook Air loses a little steam. The top of the line iPad would be about half the cost of the MOR Air that I've been considering, and the idea of traveling with something the size/weight of an iPad as opposed to a laptop is just so damned attractive.

Comments

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I do not have a desktop. I was able to upgrade the MacBook with the latest version of MacWord, and should be able to upgrade the OS as far as Lion as well. If I can run Lion, I can access iCloud for syncing purposes.

I know I will need to upgrade to something at some point in the next 6 months to a year, and I take Toby's point about having a writing machine that isn't as internet-flexible. I use Freedom, but I still have a hard time shutting off all the distractions and focusing.