If you’re thinking seriously about extended your capabilities for “producing content”, that is to say “writing” on your iPad there are a number of combination cases that include keyboards of varying quality and ergonomics. One other use case for me is a dedicated ssh terminal (using the excellent Prompt app from Panic) where I tend to hammer away on the keyboard.
I’ve been happily using the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard with the iPad for a while now. It’s an excellent keyboard with the added advantages that it’s also the exact same dimensions as the keyboards in the entire notebook line. This means that all of touch typing habits and muscle memory is transportable. The other advantage of the external keyboard is that you get to use the entire iPad screen instead of losing a significant chunk to the onscreen keyboard.
I’m using the original Apple iPad case which although it’s starting to show some wear and tear is still a very good compromise for positioning and protection. But it’s fairly unstable in the vertical position or the upright portrait position. Which leaves the slightly angled portrait view which is excellent for working on a lap, but ends up being too far away when you put the keyboard down in front of it.
Then’s there’s the issue of transporting the keyboard around. Without a case, it has a tendency to wake up in while in my computer bag.
Now there is the (IMHO) perfect solution with the InCase Origami Workstation. Up until recently it wasn’t easily available in France. I’m guessing that they had only limited stock available here so it got pulled from the local Apple online store. But I just saw someone mention that they’d purchased it recently so I went back to check and there it was!
It’s really just a case for the bluetooth keyboard, but with a folding cover that turns into a pyramid by reusing the velcro tabs to each other instead of the base. You can vary the angle by about 15° by adjusting the overlap of the velcro tabs.
The internal metal chassis that holds the keyboard serves as a block for the bottom of the iPad. There’s nothing model specific about the design, so you can use it equally well the original model iPad or the iPad 2. Equally important to me is that since there’s no model specific physical attributes, it accepts the iPad in vertical or horizontal positions, even when it’s in a case. This means I don’t need to take it out of its case when I want to use it.
It’s not a solution for working on your lap as it really does require to be posed on a solid surface for maximum stability. But when used in this fashion it’s sufficiently stable that you can put the home button on the top and push it firmly without feeling like it’s going to fall over.
The only minor inconvenience is that since the bluetooth keyboard is full sized, it’s a little longer than the iPad itself so it’s not as aesthetically pleasing as something like the ZaggMate, but the comfort of the full sized keyboard far outweighs this aspect for me.