Magic trackpad and iPad?
This may be too soon to ask but does anyone know if the new magic trackpad will link to iPad?
imac, macbook, ipod nano & iphone & iPad!, Mac OS X (10.6.3)
It's called "the screen".
116 replies
i'm having a hard time figuring out why anyone would think this would be useful. "wow it's even better now that i can use a mouse" 😕
That goes right up there with the other blythe responses, such as "get an iMac" or "get a laptop."
Consider this. I have an iPad and a Windows laptop. That's it. I use the iPad nearly 98% of the time and it meets all of my needs. The laptop has hung around only as a means to update and backup the iPad, as well as for the occasional odd Windows-only, SD card, DVD/CD, etc. situations. With the coming advent of wireless updating and syncing via iCloud services, the laptop is going to be used even less. I take a minimalist approach to my equipment. I like simplicity, portability, cleanliness and elegance. My iPad goes everywhere I go and I use the on-screen keyboard with the Smart Cover for typing when I'm out and about. When I'm home and I need to get some serious input done (like working on my book or doing a report), I put the iPad in its stand (a silver one from Rocketfish that swivels, pivots/tilts and rotates the iPad for landscape orientation) and use my Apple wireless keyboard. Elegant and simple.
However, in this configuration, constantly reaching up to the screen to tap on it for control and input selection isn't very intuitive or ergonomic. Enabling Bluetooth support for the Magic Trackpad, at least for the gesturing, would be very useful. Enabling cursor/pointer control with that would be even better. I like having more than one way to interact/make input selections with my device. Using the Magic Trackpad at my desk with the keyboard, I can finally have the option of "getting serious" with my iPad when I choose. I would still tap on the screen for some things as I see fit. That flexibility, along with the iPad's form factor/portability, simplicity and battery life, makes it pretty much my go-to device for everything (with few exceptions as mentioned above). No need to have another device, such as a laptop or desktop PC, iMac, etc. sitting out and at the ready for the few things I'd require of it.
I'm not alone. I believe there are a LOT of people who have similar situations or think as I do that the Magic Trackpad with the iPad can be a beautiful thing. The flexibilitiy alone is a great selling point and shouldn't be overlooked by Apple. After all, the Magic Trackpad is nothing more than just another OPTIONAL input device, like the wireless keyboard or a stylus: we use them as a matter of preference according to our needs. Just like the old mouse-vs.-trackball-vs.-touchpad-vs.-eraserhead argument. Sometimes having a couple of different ways to interface is pretty nice. Between two identical laptops at the same price, I'd take the one that has, for example, an eraserhead pointer in the keyboard AND a touchpad. I see absolutely NOTHING wrong with adding support for the Magic Trackpad.
Now, if the MacBook Air had a detachable iPad screen and a user-selectable option to run iOS altogether (that is, as well as the option of using Mac OS altogether instead), that'd be nirvana for me. With the Magic Trackpad supported on the iPad, that's as close as I'll probably ever get.
Saying "get a laptop", "get an iMac", or "I don't see how this could be useful" is just like me telling someone who's complaining about carrying around the bulk of their laptop, its battery life, etc. to "get an iPad" or "get a tablet". It's pointless rhetoric because I know there's a SPECIFIC REASON why we each got our devices, often having to do with input ability. It's just that we'd also like to have our cake and eat it, too. What consumer doesn't? There's nothing wrong with that. Like my MacBook Air example above, we haven't yet hit the sweet spot in portable computing...yet. But we're awfully close with the iPad and giving it Magic Trackpad support for use at the desk would be a great step forward.
Just my eight cents' worth (I adjusted for inflation).
Under some circumstances I find it easier to put my iPad into it's dock and type on my wireless keyboard. But then I had to reach across my desktop in order to click on something or drag the window around. It is much more convenient to have the mouse in line with my keypad so that the reaching is not necessary. (I'm going to try the trackpad and see if it works in similar fashion. That would be the perfect solution)
There is a mouse software available if you Jailbreak the iPad. It adds the pointer to the pad, and you can do all the things with the mouse that you can do with your fingers. Why can't I use the product the way I want to? Why do you or anyone else get to tell me that I am doing it wrong if it works for me. Why can't Apple build a mouse pointer into the iOS that manifests if a mouse or trackpad is present? Then we are both happy, the cultists have their purity, and the rest of us have our flexibility.
I have Jailbroken my iPad because I am frustrated at the tone deafness of Apple. If Apple adds mouse support or trackpad support to the iPad, then I will restore my iPad to it's un-Jailbroken condition, but until that time, I'm pleased as punch.
This would be great, and don't understand the all controversy, who doesn't like doesn't have to use it. When the iPad is docked, using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse/trackpad would be an awesome addition especially for document and spreadsheet editing.
I like to have the iPad in landscape mode with the smart cover and it doesn't hold while using the touchscreen, maybe I'm clumsy but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.
This shouldn't be very difficult to implement, we all saw it working rudimentary on jail broken iPads.
Regards,
Ivo.
A 'defecated' device. Can it do a screen dump? Does it have a motion sensor? How do you wipe the memory? Does it fully replace paper?
Please,
make the Magic Trackpad work on iPad i.e. integrate it into the next OS! Would eb a great thing!
Greetings
Stephan
I disagree, i think that if it is programmed to activate the cursor feature when the trackpad is connected and deactivate when the trackpad is removed it would not conflict with way we interact with ipad. Actually it could come in really handy for those of us doing presentations or lectures when using a digital projector.
I agree that the track pad would be a very useful addition. Having paid over $800 for this device I would like it to work the way I want and not be prevented by an "idee fixe".
I need a lightweight device while I am travelling. I want to be able to read PDFs from my file system and from time to time type longish documents. The keyboard and trackpad can go in my checked baggage which keeps down the weight of my carry on bag. Air New Zealand has a carry on limit of 7kgs (about 15lbs) so weight saving is really important so a Macbook Air is a less useful solution.
Providing a keyboard connection but no mouse/trackpad is annoying. The jailbreak option shows that it is possible. No USB connection for file access is also a pain. This now has also been circumvented by wireless drives but at a very high cost.
Please Apple; make the trackpad function with the currently available iPads and on the next one make USB connectable or add an SD slot.
dmb16 wrote:
Please Apple; make the trackpad function with the currently available iPads and on the next one make USB connectable or add an SD slot.
You're not talking to Apple here.Submit your feedback directly to Apple using the appropriate link on the Feedback page:
i have my trackpad & the wireless keyboard synced with an iPad (1st gen.) running 4.3.3
i can only scroll, swipe. cursor does not work as of yet. its nice to swipe through pages on main screen and safari.
I just purchased a cruxcase 360 that solved this issue and protects my IPad if that is a solution
I keep hearing: "Shouldn't be very difficult to implement".
As a software developer it strikes me that, for an operating system entirely built from the ground up to be a mouse-free environment, going in at this stage attempting to bolt on mouse support would be an utter nightmare to implement.
The only reason trackpad support is available for products like Citrix is that the trackpad input is being passed through to an operating system that already expects mouse-type input.
After reading Steve Job's open article on the reasons iOS does not support Flash, my own feeling is that not only will we never see mouse/trackpad support for iOS devices but, eventually, mouse style input will be as obsolete as floppy disk drives (and soon hard disks, CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, etc).
And, in fact, I say "good riddance" to the mouse and its cousin the trackball... I have always hated them with a passion since they first appeared - hardcore keyboard user, you see ;-)
Magic trackpad and iPad?