Back in the 1960’s a radical new show named Star Trek was seen on television. The crew of the show’s starship routinely used technology that was never before seen. Captain Kirk regularly reviewed reports on a handheld device called a PADD or Personal Access Display Device. The dream of tablet computing was born.
Today, tablets are proliferating quickly. Perhaps the most elegant implementation of this device is the wildly successful Apple iPad. A multitude of apps available for this tablet make it both amazing and useful. However, it is simply not powerful enough to run full desktop applications, but with clever programming that is beginning to change.
An iPad can be an excellent basic design tool but first you need something more accurate than a fingertip. A stylus fulfills this requirement. When choosing one it is important know what is needed. The capacitive touchscreen of the iPad will not respond to any old piece of plastic touching its surface. An instrument with a soft tip is required.
(Courtesy of Chasing Daisy)
Many of these instruments use a stiff foam tip. Such a tip works well but tends to get deformed with repeated usage. Griffin makes a stylus that uses a rubber tip that is firmer and more long lasting than foam. At $19.95 they are a bit pricey but they do sport a clip for anchoring in a pocket.
To realize the full potential of the iPad one should be equipped with 3G and unlimited mobile broadband. Most of the power of this tablet is in connectivity; both locally on your home or business network, and globally with the potential of connecting to the Internet from anywhere. Apple is offering services that make cloud computing a reality with an iPad so configured.
This will also give you constant access the always expanding Apple App Store. The small and nifty programs you can purchase there are exciting and fun. Now there are also apps that will be useful and productive to the professional web designer.
iDraw is a solid professional tool for this purpose. It is a full-fledged vector drawing program that shares many features with desktop heavyweights like Adobe Illustrator. It is very affordable at $8.99 and acts like a pro art program. You compose on a multi-layer canvas and have advanced tools available. There is a Bezier pen tool and a collection of operations that compare with Pathfinder in Illustrator. You can also export in PDF format that retains all the paths, fills, and gradients.
(Courtesy of windygig)
Another great app is Inspire Pro which currently rates as #1 Top Paid Application in the US. This $7.99 paint brush app can help you create professional level digital paintings that rival anything done on a workstation. Work can be saved in uncompressed PNG or in JPG formats. You can also upload paintings directly to Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr.
If you need an artist’s sketch pad, Penultimate fills the bill. Your inner designer can quickly draw ideas on photorealistic digital paper. Using your stylus, you can also handwrite notes. At $1.99 it is eminently affordable.
A truly amazing app is the $9.99 AirDisplay which allows you to use your iPad as an additional monitor for your desktop workstation. It will work with both Windows and Mac OS X. When connected you have the ability to drag anything including running applications from your monitor(s) to your iPad. When on that screen you have the amazing benefit of being able to use multi-touch motions and gestures on this full application.
A digital portfolio will let you organize your creations to present to prospective clients. Portfolio for iPad at $15.00 is a good solution. The lighter weight Minimal Folio is only $3.00 and may be all you need.
With the right apps, the iPad is a powerful design tool. Equipped with unlimited mobile broadband this tablet has unprecedented power. Use an iPad to fuel your creativity today.
About Author
This is a guest article by Ruben Corbo, a writer for the website Broadband Expert where you can find internet service providers in your area and compare prices on different deals for your unlimited mobile broadband needs.