Still, that hasn't stopped the iPad-using world from looking for ways to cast aside laptops in favor of tablet computing. We're still not there yet – Apple's stubborn refusal to embrace Flash support is a considerable obstacle, for example – but the dream of an iPad-as-laptop-replacement can be achieved, as we'll lay out for you now in this little primer.
The Accessories You'll Need
The first real step you should take in laptop-ifying your iPad is gathering your necessary peripherals. A keyboard should be considered essential. There are multiple options available, including travel case mounts with built-in keyboards which essentially give your iPad the form factor of a netbook.
If you want to go the keyboard case route, the most popular options range between $50 and $100 for both first- and second-generation iPads. Alternatively, Apple offers two keyboard options that ditch the case but are worth looking at. There's an iPad keyboard dock ($69), which features tablet-specific function keys and the ability to charge as you type. There's also Apple's wireless Bluetooth keyboard ($69); in addition to offering the flexibility of Bluetooth support, which works with much more than just your iPad, this keyboard also gets points for being highly portable and having an impressive battery life. There's also no change of a future iPad release not supporting it, since Bluetooth isn't likely going to be removed as a feature.
The only I/O port on the iPad is its charge point, a proprietary Apple connector, so there's not a whole lot in the way of wired peripheral options. While it's not officially supported, users have discovered that the iPad Camera Connection Kit – a pair of dongles which connect to the charge port, adding either an SD card reader or a USB port to the tablet – is good for more than just connecting cameras. While these are unsupported by Apple, the USB dongle will recognize USB keyboards, headsets, microphones and even hubs, in case you want to wire up more than one device. The truly courageous who go the jailbreak route even have the option of connecting an external hard drive, though it's a complicated install process and it carries a few notable caveats.
Of course, the iPad is at base a wireless device, which means you have some peripheral options that don't involve connecting it to anything other than a Wi-Fi network. AirPrint was added with the iOS 4.2 update, bringing support for Hewlett-Packard's line of Wi-Fi-enabled ePrint printers to Apple devices. Setup is easy and the functionality is built right into iOS, meaning it requires no additional app purchases beyond the printer. Of course, there are also apps you can purchase that expand wireless printing capabilities to other Wi-Fi printers. Print n Share ($8.99) and Print Magic HD ($4.99) are two of the more popular options, both having four-star user ratings in the App Store.
The Apps You'll Need
Which apps you'll need to utilize your iPad as a laptop replacement will depend largely on the sort of work and play you intend to use it for. There are a few baselines that everyone should look to as starting points, however. Most importantly, you'll want a proper suite of office productivity tools: word processor, spreadsheet application and presentation creator. Apple has its own trio of iWork productivity apps of course: Pages (word processor), Numbers (spreadsheets) and Keynote (presentations), which are priced at $9.99 apiece, however, there are alternatives.
Documents To Go ($9.99) and its Premium counterpart ($16.99) are two particularly popular options, offering the functionality of all three of Apple's productivity apps at a lower price. The Premium edition adds the ability to create PowerPoint presentations (you can only view them in the lower-priced version) and sync with files stored online in places like Google Docs and Dropbox. Both versions support Wi-Fi syncing with a local PC using a third-party application available for free from the developer, DataViz. QuickOffice ($14.99) is another, equally popular iWork alternative, offering the same basic functionality as Docs2Go Premium at a slightly lower price.
Moving away from the laptop and onto a more portable platform, one which will at least occasionally have its data wiped clean for one reason or another, you'll also want to have some kind of backup in place to protect any work you might do on the iPad. The answer is simple here: Dropbox. It's a free app to start with and a free Dropbox account gives you 2 GB to play around with, which should be plenty if you're only worried about backing up documents. Monthly subscription plans are available for those who require more storage space, but the minimum $9.99 per month for 50 GB of storage is probably way too much for your average iPad.
You should also consider Air Sharing HD ($9.99), which lets you wirelessly connect with a desktop and access your iPad as if it is an external hard drive. This means simple drag-and-drop file sharing between desktop and tablet, but that's only a starting point. Air Sharing HD can interact with a wide range of file formats and perform certain operations the aren't otherwise possible (or require other apps) on the iPad, such as zipping/unzipping files (and browsing through archives), move/copy/paste/rename functions, downloads from URL links and more.
Another universal need for office productivity is having the ability to take comprehensive notes. Evernote is a very popular free app, allowing you to create text, photo and audio notes, sync your work with other computers or web destinations and keep everything neatly organized. If you're willing to spend a little money, SoundNote ($4.99) is definitely worth the investment. In addition to the basic note-taking, the app also including a drawing tool for making quick sketches inside your notes as well as an audio recording feature that syncs up what you've written with timestamps in the sound file.
There are a variety of free and paid instant messaging apps, such as AIM, IM+, BeejiveIM and Meebo. Same goes for Twitter; TweetDeck is by far the best free option, with a layout that is well-suited to the iPad display, though some prefer Twitterrific. Twittelator gets high marks as the best of the paid apps, with a great layout and enhanced social media integration features. Rounding out the basics, you'll also probably want to nab some kind of photo editing app. Photogene ($2.99) is an excellent option, as is FX Photo Studio HD ($1.99). If you prefer to go the free route, PhotoPad by ZAGG is the most popular option.
Ironically, the bloggers of the world have the toughest time if they want to abandon laptops for an iPad. There are only two viable apps for actual blogging, and really just one if you rely on any CMS that isn't WordPress. The WordPress app is free but, as you've probably guessed, it only works with that platform. BlogPress ($4.99) has more flexibility, playing well with a variety of platforms, but both apps tend to be light on features unless you've got administrative access on the blog side to set up the proper support. Even then… the functionality tends to be a little funky, with semi-frequent crashes and cases where basic page elements, such as Categories, cannot be accessed properly. Blogging from your iPad is possible, but not advisable.
To Jailbreak or Not To Jailbreak?
As you'll learn below, jailbreaking offers a great many more options for enhancing the iPad's range of functions. Apple won't be able to help you if something goes wrong, but performing one won't break your warranty and a System Restore via iTunes will bring your tablet back to its factory settings, should you have to bring it in for service. Failure to do so may result in Apple's refusal to service your device and/or disapproving glaring from the "Geniuses."
If a jailbreak is something you want to consider, you'll want some level of technical knowhow and, more importantly, comfort before getting started. The actual process is simple enough, but there are other factors to consider. For example, jailbreaks are typically operating one or two versions behind Apple's official system updates, so if you're running the latest iOS version or like to stay constantly updated, this may not be for you. More than that, when a jailbreak for the latest iOS update is released, you'll need to first restore your iPad to its factory settings, then apply the Apple update, then jailbreak it again. This probably also means you'll be doing two separate backups, for your jailbreak apps and your regular apps.
Jailbroken Apps
You're looking at a lot of potential laptop power on your little Apple tablet here, even without a jailbreak. So why do it at all? More flexibility, of course. Apple has been pretty friendly about officially and unofficially supporting a variety of USB and Bluetooth keyboards, but there's no such love at all for mice. iOS is a touch-based interface and there's no code written into its dark depths that allows it to understand how a mouse might be integrated.
To get a mouse up and running with your iPad, a jailbreak is required, along with an app called BTstack Mouse (free) and a Bluetooth mouse; sorry, no wired or wireless USB mice, for obvious reasons. Setup is pretty simple, though there's a catch: if you're also using a Bluetooth keyboard, you'll need to download a separate jailbreak app, BTstack Keyboard ($5) in order to make the iPad recognize both devices.
You'll also almost certainly want to pick up iFile ($4), a file manager which offers total access to your iPad's hard drive in a setup that resembles Windows Explorer. This is a necessary app for some of the more setup-intensive jailbreak activities. Just be careful; don't go messing with files you don't understand or change any settings with very clearly marked "screw with this at your peril" warnings.
If you've got iFile, you'll also probably want to go ahead and set up OpenSSH, which allows you to access the iPad's file system from a desktop. It's a lot like Air Sharing HD, only more flexible… provided you know what you're doing. Again, unless you're okay with following tutorials, don't pursue this route if you don't know what you're doing.
There are two more jailbreak apps to consider that might make your life a little easier. CyDelete (free) allows you to quickly and easily remove jailbreak apps in the same way that you would an App Store download. Without CyDelete, removing a jailbreak app involves opening Cydia (the jailbreak equivalent of the App Store) and diving through a series of menus. Also consider LockInfo ($7.99), an app that allows you to customize the iPad's lock screen with widgets like e-mail notifications and calendar updates.
Credits: IGN.com
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