My new mobile working environment
After my post last week I have been trying to do things on a “lite” basis.
Over the weekend I bought myself an Apple iPad Mini 64GB WiFI+Cellular tablet. I also got a little case for it, and I bought another Bluetooth keyboard. (I also signed-up for a £15.99/month 4G 30-day connection from EE.)
That, I reasoned, should be enough to get things done.
Here at BlackBerry Jam Europe, I’ve managed to make-do with the iPad Mini and the keyboard. It was slightly awkward on my lap — but actually, what was more important was having the full size keyboard on the lap.
I was astonished at how quickly I was able to type — and, broadly speaking, how productive I’ve been able to be.
I’m bashing this post out via the native WordPress app on the Mini. Genius.
In terms of email, it’s just fantastic to be able to bang out long or expansive answers. I am unfortunately not at the stage in my career where I can just reply “ok” to an email. Or “approved” — or, “see me”.
The slight arse? Having to reach for the touchscreen because you can’t easily navigate through the email pile on the keyboard. Fair enough. You can’t alt-tab to another app either. Again, fair enough.
This is *not* a laptop. I’m not after a full desktop experience. I just want to get stuff done without having to be chained to the desktop world.
I’ll keep you updated on the pitfalls.
Right now I am *loving* the ability to carry my small man-bag laptoppy bag and inside it’s just got the Mini, the keyboard and a few cables. Oh, and a notepad for fall-back. Previously it contained the rather bulky MacBook Air. And if you added the charger, that added considerable bulk and weight. The MacBook Pro required a bigger full-size laptop bag.
So I am enjoying the light experience and so far, not seeing my productivity dramatically reduced. If anything I’m feeling like my productivity is enhanced.
In terms of power, I’ve got the 6,000mA ‘daddy’ of a battery pack from Mophie. That will charge a full size iPad and an iPhone simultaneously. I reckon that should work nicely with both devices.
We’ll see.
If you’ve any suggestions for improving the setup, let me know.
