No matter how many lightweight laptops are released, you should stop counting how many thousands of twisting transformer hybrid PC's reach the market, and put aside the attractive battery life of the MacBook Air, any traveller looking to work while flying has one major concern... space. The seat pitch and tiny tables back in economy class rarely leave room for a screen to be raised to a useful angle without the keyboard slicing into your stomach.
For me that's why a tablet device is such a useful tool for the traveller. It makes best use of the available space, the screen is easily balanced at a good viewing angle, and you rarely run the risk of injury from a sharp edge cutting in to you. As a device to consume content, travelling is one of the true strengths of the tablet.
But creating content is where it gets interesting. And by interesting I mean typing.
For short pieces of text, diary management, and email triage, the on-screen keyboards are more than sufficient, but when it comes to doing some serious writing there's nothing quite like a physical and responsive keyboard. Finding the best keyboard for your tablet is a smart investment.
For me, there is only one choice. I looked at many keyboard/case combinations, but nothing gave me the same tactile feel as my keyboard back on my office desk. There wasn't enough spring in the keys, the dimensions were slightly out, or it never created the best viewing angle with the tablet, which in this case is an iPad mini. So they were all put aside for another option.
Showing up as a bluetooth device on the iPad, the keyboard is a separate unit, which means I can place the iPad mini to give me the best view, and the keyboard can be placed directly in front of me for the best ergonomics to type length blog posts, articles, and presentations.
More importantly, it provides the same tactile feedback as the keyboard on my MacBook Pro, and is the same physical size. Using the keyboard, I feel at home, and I find that my typing flows easily, with little thought or effort, and it also works on my Android tablets and smartphones, so there is flexibility as well as practicality.
It's not the cheapest of solutions (with a UK list price of £57), but given the productivity benefits while I am using it on the road, it paid for itself rather quickly. It might not be the most elegant solution to carry, but it's the best of breed in terms of letting me work while travelling.
