keyboards

(Updated April 26, 2012, with two new keyboard cases.)

The one differentiating feature separating the iPad from portable computers such as Netbooks for many people, other than the operating system, is a keyboard. Yes, the iPad has its own onscreen virtual keyboard, but some will be tempted to explore alternatives to get "serious" writing done.

Keyboards for iPads have drawbacks: they add bulk to your bag, and the Bluetooth connection will add some drain to an iPad's battery life. You'll also have to consider whether you prefer a standalone keyboard, or a case that has a keyboard built in. Some cases have compressed keyboards, and others manage to fit a full-size one. You'll also have to learn to live without a trackpad.

For your comparison-shopping help, here are the keyboard cases I've reviewed. … Read more

Google is one of the biggest proponents of using keyboard shortcuts with Web services. Gmail keyboard shortcuts are very popular, and you can even control Google Music with keyboard shortcuts too. It's no surprise then, that Google Drive also supports keyboard shortcuts.

As you learn how to get started with Google Drive, try some of these keyboard shortcuts to help you navigate Google Drive a little faster:

Selection j : navigate to and highlight next item k : navigate to and highlight previous item x : toggle selection of highlighted item Shift + a : select all Shift + n : select none

Jumping g then … Read more

During Apple's second quarter earnings call yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook dismissed the idea of Apple releasing a MacBook-iPad hybrid device, saying such convergence was a "compromise" to the end user.

"You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator," Cook said, "but those things are probably not going be pleasing to the user." … Read more

A lot of people like the concept of being able to use a keyboard with their iPads but one of the problems with cases that integrate a built-in Bluetooth keyboard is they tend to be bulky.

As you can guess from the name of Logitech's new $99.99 Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for the third-generation iPad and iPad 2, the company is touting the product's new, trimmer design.

No word on the exact weight but we should get a review sample in shortly and will put it on the scale. In the meantime, here's what Logitech has to … Read more

Updated April 18, 2013 with two new accessories.

Whether you have the larger iPad or the iPad Mini, Apple's tablets -- while versatile -- can't do everything. That's where peripherals come in. Connecting a camera, streaming audio or video to a TV or stereo, or writing with a real keyboard are just a few extremely useful things that accessories enable. Or, maybe you just want to keep it standing neatly on your desk.

Here are some of the most useful iPad accessories I've found. Some work for both the iPad Mini and the larger iPad; some work with just one. You probably won't need all of them, but you're almost guaranteed to get serious use out of more than one.

Any I left out? Share below.… Read more

SwiftKey 3 Beta, the newest version of the incredibly popular Android replacement keyboard, is now available to SwiftKey's VIP Community members. And from what I've seen so far, it is something for the public to be excited about.

If you're not familiar with SwiftKey, it is a Google Play Editors' Choice app, and it won the coveted Most Innovative App award at this year's Global Mobile Awards in Barcelona, Spain. What sets it apart from other replacement keyboards is its ability to understand not just patterns in your typing, but also how words work together. This … Read more

OS X Lion comes with a number of new and altered features, some of which, like Mission Control and full-screen options, can be avoided if you don't find them useful. However, Apple has also included a couple of alterations that cannot be quickly avoided and that new users might find a bit frustrating.

The first of these is the default scroll direction on Apple's multitouch trackpads. In prior versions of OS X the scroll direction mirrored that of scroll wheels on mice, which when rolled toward the user cause the page to scroll down. The trackpad likewise would … Read more

Here at Crave, we've seen some mighty impressive interior decorating from geeks over the years: offices inspired by "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," apartments and home theaters that are dead ringers for a "Star Trek" set. Well, if the "Thermosaurus" radiator is for real, it could make for some pretty hot "Jurassic Park"-themed abodes.

Design firm Art. Lebedev Studio posted renderings of the gadget on April 1 -- yes, that date gives us pause -- saying the device is a "heat exchanger" that "installs like your regular central-heating radiator" and "is highly efficient and energy-savvy, thanks to its complex structure that includes a skull, spine, ribs, legs, and tail bones." The studio also posted a nice page of sketches and other ephemera that supposedly went into the design of the Thermosaurus.… Read more

"It's not a keyboard, it's a movement," Jon Reynolds, the CEO of SwiftKey was telling me, as part of his pitch for SwiftKey 3, the latest version of the product.

No, it's a keyboard, I thought. It's a very nice alternative keyboard for Android that's even better than the built-in autocorrecting keyboard in Android or the one on the iPhone. But it's still a keyboard. And it costs $3.99. To replace a product that's baked into every single phone. Surely it's not much of a business.

"We have … Read more