I have no doubt that Apple’s head honcho, Steve Jobs, uses his iPad au naturel.
But I’m not so sure the rest of the world is buying into his less-is-more philosophy. Even as the world has already become overburdened with iPod and iPhone cases, we seem to be entering an era of iPad keyboards.
Oddly, most of this new niche of iPad accoutrement seems to be designed to make everyone’s favourite slab of glass less like a tablet and more like a laptop.
Regard:
Adonit takes the minimalist approach with their folio-like Writer case
Qmadix is all-in on the laptop replacement look with their "Portfolio with Removable Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad 2"
Zagg pretty much opened up the floodgates of this market with their "Logitech Keyboard Case by ZAGG for iPad 2"
The Crux Loaded doesn't leave any doubt that laptop replacement is the goal. Their demo images even depicts an iPad running a full version of Photoshop.
So what’s your take? Are these manufacturers on to something — is the iPad a laptop wannabe?
Or is the iPad at its best a la Jobs: without any add-ons?
I think it is more of an attempt by the manufacturers to make the iPad into something consumers will recognize and want to use, because they don’t fully understand it themselves. The iPad is post-PC according to Apple and should function differently.
It’s kind of the opposite approach a lot of programmers are taking with their software. Mac developers (in particular) are creating software that looks and functions more like iPad/iPhone apps than traditional applications. Sparrow, Reeder, Twitter app, etc.