[Z-man]

I agree that a tablet is less productive without a physical keyboard. While you cannot physically connect a keyboard to an iPad, you can connect one via bluetooth. This is what I got for my iPad:

It is a Logitech / Zagg keyboard/case. Has a decent 'chicklet' keyboard -- not a slow soft-touch type keyboard.
Clicky here for more info.

BTW: I suspect that the Surface keyboard is also a bt keyboard, and not one with a usb-interface.

I type upwards of 75 words a minute, and a virtual keyboard just can't keep up with me, nor can a soft-touch keyboard! That is exactly why I have a bluetooth keyboard/cover for my iPad. An iPad coupled with a keyboard now becomes a very useful tool and can replaced a laptop in many applications. For example:
- For taking notes in a meeting, I open up Evernote and take notes there. I can then email it, or pick it up on my lappy or cell phone via "the cloud."
- Schoolwork: I am in an online MBA program, and much of my work has been done on my iPad, including answering discussion questions.
- For creating documents, I have Apple's Pages App for my iPad, and I can email such documents in pages, PDF, or MS-Word format to anyone.

Originally Posted by jyl

Apple is going after voice control with Siri, but I'm not sure if Apple or MSFT are pushing voice input i.e. dictation. That works really well too. I dictate most of my texts now.

Voice input is available on the new iPad: it is integrated into the keyboard: there's a microphone button: I press it, speak, and hit return. In seconds, my spoken word is typed infront of me. It is extremenly accurate, but requires a wifi (or cell) connection. I suspect it there's a bigger server/processor in the "cloud" dedicated to voice recognition.

Finally, I've played with one of the new Nokia smartphones running mobile Windows, I guess we call it Windows RT now. I was pretty impressed - they seem to have figured out how to make a Windows that doesn't think you have a mouse or stylus and a 13" screen. That was the problem with previous tablet Windows, you were always tapping on tiny menu bars and squinting at objects scaled down from a 17" monitor, they just didn't get it. I'm suspecting, based on 5 minutes of playing, that they've got it now.

Yeah, but Windows RT is not very popular at all. For one, they partnered with Nokia, which is a half-step behind RIM/Blackberry in terms of becoming obsolete.

It is critical for MSFT to get Windows RT and Windows 8 right, because the power of their Windows-Office-Intel system is eroding. Office is increasingly looking like a dinosaur, kids today use Google Docs, OpenOffice works every bit as well as Office and is free, Apple is building its productivity suite. I bought my last copy of Office in 2004. Intel is chasing other operating systems just as MSFT is chasing other processors. In 2012, the argument that you should get a Windows tablet to run Office is wearing pretty thin. In 2016, the young folks won't care about it at all.

Well stated. Office needs to bring an easy interface into the cloud, so users can access their files from their lappy, tablet, phone, whatever. Something like a sharepoint feature would be slick and appropriate, espeically for businesses tied to MS Office.

The iPad can be made into a useful tool, with the right accessories, like a keyboard, and as mentioned above, when it is able to use the processing power of "the cloud." But most tablets these days have the same benefits/limitations.

-Z-man.