Must Have Accessories for iPad as Laptop

In an effort to add to the toolbox of toddler distractions while on a 4 hour plane flight 6-8 times a year, my wife allowed a new screen into the house. I just bought a new iPad Air. 

Truth be told, we haven't upgraded a personal computer in nearly 9 years, our 10 year old laptop suckssss, work has bought my phone for the last 4 years, and my desktop has become more of a holder for multiple HDDs full of pictures that anything else.  

I imagine that besides in-flight entertainment, the iPad will become our main computer device. 

I ordered one of those soft foam rubbery kid cases with built in screen protectors immediately as that will be essential to making it last. 

What else do I need to make this thing more laptop like? HDMI connector? Folding keyboard? Printer adapter?

Also, any suggestions on apps for young kids or ways of downloading videos to watch without internet? I've got Amazon Prime. 

iPads can transmit video and printer signals wirelessly, so no adapters are needed for smart TVs and wireless printers. My wife finds a bluetooth keyboard useful, but I'm content to type via the on-screen keyboard.

We have a bunch of tablets in my household that we use for watching video, monitoring email, browsing social media, playing games, and reading. I have no experience trying to do 'work' on these devices but I have watched people use audio and video editing tools really effectively.

Amazon Prime app lets you download prime videos. 

You'll want a backup battery (I think Anker is a good brand). I get by with the free ones that you get now and then, but I'm always by myself with just two phones that I need to worry abotu charging. Add to that a 3 outlet plug adapter - not for USB, but for actual plugs. Imagine this scenario that just happened to me: 4 people trying to charge their phones; 4 different single-usb outlets, and 2 power outlets. Plugged my 3-outlet adapter in, and all of a sudden everyone was charging (business trip).

Keyboard, yeah, but I wouldn't worry about it for this flight.  

I would go get an Apple TV and never worry about an HDMI cable ever again, at least as far as this thing is concerned. 

Most printers in teh past 10 years have a wireless mode. My in-laws, my parents, my work all have one that I can print from my phone. SO I wouldn't worry about a corded adapter for that unless it is really cheap. 

One other thing that I did that helped out a lot: I bring a small nano-wifi router with me when I'm travelling to a hotel room for an extended period of time. Hook that up into the ethernet (or use it as a hotspot, you can hook it straight up to any wifi network). Then I don't have to worry about getting my laptop, 2 phones, and kindle hooked into the wifi - they just get on mine automatically. But I travel enough for work to make that a worthy $25 investment. 

I don't have wireless printer or smart tv. 

Software-wise an iOS device is kind of a joke, largely due to the fact that all apps have to come through the official Apple App Store, and due to this lock-in mechanism and the fact that hosting an app in the App Store costs money, most any software worth anything in the App Store also costs money. And of course Apple devices don't tend to play well with non-Apple devices. An Android device is a good bit more useful, rooting that Android device would make it much more useful again, and some kind of desktop operating system would be even a bit more useful than that. There are tablet computers with x86-based CPUs that are basically laptops with optional keyboards, you may want to consider one of those.

I think everyone else has covered the hardware but you could do a lot better in terms of software.

You don't need a smart TV, the AppleTV is the smart part. Agreed that it's the way to go, they're well integrated with the iPad.

I like the mini router idea. I've actually got one, maybe I'll start doing that to deal with crap hotel WiFi. 

The flip side to the barrier to entry on Apple devices is that they're a hell of a lot easier to set up and keep working and more secure. Yes, real software costs a small amount of money but it's well worth it.

Gameboy, while I would normally agree with you, I haven't found any limitations to the IOS environment on my phone, and for laptop uses I can't imagine running into them either. Plus, we're an Apple household now, with 3 apple devices already. We don't use them for music, so we rarely fire up iTunes for any reason. 

Part of my reason for avoiding the vast majority of Android based hardware products is that they are JUNK. I've never seen an Android based device that lasted more than 2-3 years before becoming near obsolete. Damage such a device? Might as well go buy a new one because getting it repaired is fruitless. 

I don't like that Apple "locks you in" but to be honest, the quality of applications available for IOS is so much better than the vast majority of Android apps that I don't mind paying a few bucks for it. Stuff just works, and with millions of users, people have found work arounds when things don't. 

pheller said:

Gameboy, while I would normally agree with you, I haven't found any limitations to the IOS environment on my phone, and for laptop uses I can't imagine running into them either. Plus, we're an Apple household now, with 3 apple devices already. We don't use them for music, so we rarely fire up iTunes for any reason. 

 

Part of my reason for avoiding the vast majority of Android based hardware products is that they are JUNK. I've never seen an Android based device that lasted more than 2-3 years before becoming near obsolete. Damage such a device? Might as well go buy a new one because getting it repaired is fruitless. 

 

I don't like that Apple "locks you in" but to be honest, the quality of applications available for IOS is so much better than the vast majority of Android apps that I don't mind paying a few bucks for it. Stuff just works, and with millions of users, people have found work arounds when things don't. 

You would be well served by an Apple TV then. I think you can get one for about $99 refurbished. We got one for Christmas, and I thought it was silly. Until I hooked it up. I am a big fan now. 

My Android phone's pushing 7 years old, OS is still pretty up to date but the keyboard is in pretty bad shape now I mostly do my own repairs but any independent phone repair shop will fix an Android phone. Protip, the best apps are in the F-Droid store

I don't really want a AppleTV, primarily because they are like 4-5x the price of a Roku, which I already have. 

I just want something to easily hook the iPad up to a HDMI screen, either a computer monitor or a TV. Bonus points if I can use a USB mouse and keyboard with such a setup. Basically, a laptop dock for an Lightning connector. 

(EDIT: I notice that if I had spent twice the money I could've gotten a iPad Pro with USB-C then had access to all kinds of docks like I'm looking for.)

Trust me, the AppleTV will make your life much easier than tethering that iPad with an HDMI cable. You can do it - it's a $10 dongle - but now you're tethered. You say you're in the Apple ecosystem, the AppleTV is the final step in that convergence we've been promised for your entire life where everything just talks to everything else.

Wireless mice and keyboards are cheap. Keep in mind that the Air isn't really a laptop that's pretending to be a tablet, it's a tablet that's trying to be a really good tablet. The Pro is a laptop pretending to be a tablet. So let the Air do what it does well.

You can get a Lightning plug to HDMI cable, and then a short HDMI cable for the TV, if you want that.  Works fine, great screen.  But the apps will restrict which signals can be sent over the TV- which I think is more app related than anything else.  It's not a dock, just an adaptor. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD826AM/A/lightning-digital-av-adapter?fnode=91&fs=f%3Dadapter%26fh%3D4588%252B45b0

A BT keyboard should be an obvious choice- you can find them as an integrated part of a case.  On that note, I'll suggest finding one that can recharge via USB- the one we have uses a pair of 2032 batteries, which are used much faster than the keyboard says they should.  I'm still considering making a battery replacement.

Answering a different part of your questions...  

Our nearly 5 yr old has for the past few years loves the Amazon shows:

• Tumble Leaf
• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Both can be free downloaded to the tablet.  I know because I hear them played from the back of the car all the time.  

On our last few flights with our 3-year old we brought our phones/tablet, but for the most part she played with her activity books and a few toys she picked out and brought with her in her own travel bag.  Having new books/toys combined with one or two already loved items may have helped keep her interest.

I bought and downloaded Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and along with a few other Disney movies she liked to the Amazon Prime app.  She watched a little bit of them, but would go back to stuff going on in the plane, activity book, snacks, etc.

She is fully capable of sitting around and watching TV all morning (doing so right now), but on the plane she just wasn't into it.

Each kid is different, but I'd try to keep the tablet/phone as a backup and try to find some other solutions as the primary "entertainment."

Keith Tanner said:

Keep in mind that the Air isn't really a laptop that's pretending to be a tablet, it's a tablet that's trying to be a really good tablet. The Pro is a laptop pretending to be a tablet. So let the Air do what it does well.

As I dig further into it, this appears to the unfortunate case. 

While iPadOS does seem like a step in the right direction, Lightning has its limitation on what it can power and the chances of all-in-one desktop hub are pretty slim because of those hardware limitations. So while I could hook up a bluetooth mouse and keyboard, then use the HDMI adapter to hook up to my monitor, a simple single dongle USB hub like those available for the USB-C equipped Pro is unlikely. 

It would be cool to be able to go to a "iPad only" computing situation, but because my desktop at homes functions as much as a NAS as it does a browsing device, that's unlikely anytime soon anyway. 

My hope is that with a few hundred thousand or million or whatever number of iPads running around that Apple will figure out a better docking hub situation for Lightning users. 

In reply to pheller :

it's also peculiar that Apple's actual laptops are not touch screens.  The things are so very close to each other in terms of what they can do, it's kind of a surprise that they don't let them cross over at all.  

I have a dongle with an HDMI-out connection that is nice for plugging into TVs and monitors while on the road.  

A long power cord and the correct AC adapter is good to have, 

Wireless headsets are a must for cars and planes with kids. I just got these in black for $20, the pink $30 sadly.  

Screen wipes are essential with kids! 

A simple case that allows the pad to be hung from the headrest of the seat in front is also handy. 

As for working, if you drink the Apple KoolAid 100%, you can do most things. If you pay for Office 365, you don't even have to use the Mac programs. All office programs work on the iPad, but you only get like 80% of the features you'd get on a PC. 

A decent Bluetooth keyboard is nice if you do a lot of writing. Talk-to-text is also a timesaver! 

The biggest limitation to me is no mouse. Even with the magic pen, it's not a natural movement. Graphics and things like PowerPoint are tough without a proper mouse and I don't think that's an option for the iPad.  I have worked for 1-2  weeks on the road with nothing but an iPad, but I have to save certain things for when I have my big screens and a mouse. 

alfadriver said:

In reply to pheller :

it's also peculiar that Apple's actual laptops are not touch screens.  The things are so very close to each other in terms of what they can do, it's kind of a surprise that they don't let them cross over at all.  

But then how could they sell you both devices?

Although with the stagnant state of their computers the past few years, they could stand for the upgrade. 

You can get a bluetooth mouse to work with an iPad now. 

alfadriver said:

In reply to pheller :

it's also peculiar that Apple's actual laptops are not touch screens.  The things are so very close to each other in terms of what they can do, it's kind of a surprise that they don't let them cross over at all.  

There's still a pretty big gap between a full-blooded laptop and a tablet, despite what the commercials might be trying to tell us. Not for email or social or websurfing, but if you're trying to do any real work you discover the gap pretty quickly.

This is from a guy who wrote a magazine article on a Palm Pilot III and uses a Wacom as his pointer device on his desktop 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

There's still some crossover.  Enough that Microsoft is doing both at the same time.  And it's super easy to get a Windows computer with a touch screen, and one that folds back on itself.  

That's the curious part- you can get a windows machine that is a crossover, but you can't a Apple.

In reply to John Welsh :

Oh tumbleleaf!

Our kids love it and from what I've seen it's a really great show.

Some crossover, sure. Like so many crossovers - is the result the best of all worlds, or the worst? Apple seems to be trying to approach it from the tablet side and making their laptops aimed more at serious users.

I dunno. I've got a laptop and a tablet and I do find myself putting one down to use the other, depending on the capabilities I'm looking for.  Rarely would a do-all machine satisfy both, as it's primarily the portability and size of the tablet that I want and a touchscreen laptop wouldn't satisfy that. I never want to touch my laptop screen because I have a little touchpad substitute that does a pretty darn good job. If I want to draw, I'm on the desktop with a pair of big monitors and a 15" Wacom.

Well, MS is trying to sell their Surface pretty hard- which is a crossover.

I would argue that if you need a laptop, get a laptop.  Besides, you can't tie up the iPad when toddler wants it, which she will.  I don't deny the attraction and usefulness of the iPad.  Hell, there are five of them in my house right now.  But they ain't laptops.