iPad Pro for Beginners: The Unofficial Guide to Using the iPad Pro (8 page)

The biggest companion to the iPad Pro—perhaps the reason you bought the device—is the Apple Pencil. The Pencil looks like a normal stylus, but it's much more sophisticated then that; there's actually a tiny processor inside of it and when you use it, it's scanning for a signal over 240 times a second.

Unlike other stylus', the Apple Pencil has a battery built into it. To charge it, simply lift off the cap and plug it into the Lightening connector (the connection just below the Home button that normally charges your iPad); Apple says you can get 30 minutes of life into the Pencil by charging it for just 15 seconds. Don't worry about constantly charging it, however—it will last roughly 12 hours.

Using the Apple Pencil is also easy; as soon as you touch the Pencil to your screen, the iPad can sense that it's a Pencil and not a finger; pressing the Pencil harder on the iPad will make the line or object you are drawing darker; pressing it softer will make it lighter.  If you want to add shading, tilt the Pencil; the sensors inside the Pencil calculate the orientation and angle of your hand.

As a fun side note, no matter how much you try to roll it, the pencil always rolls back to the side that says Apple.

For the first time, Apple is releasing a branded keyboard; it's also an iPad Pro exclusive, so unfortunately if you are considering the smaller tablets, it won't be an option for you--but there are a number of third party keyboards to choose from.

The iPad Pro is also the first iPad with a connection dock on the side of the tablet. It looks like the image below:

This is where the keyboard snaps into. Like the Apple Pencil, the keyboard is charged through the iPad itself, so there's no need to worry about having a separate charger for it.

The Keyboard itself has three modes; typing mode:

Viewing mode, which is essentially a stand to watch movies or set upright for handsfree viewing:

And, finally, a cover:

The keys on the iPad are the same kind technology that is found on the new Macbook keyboards; there's no gaps between them, which makes the keyboard resistant to stains.

The magnets on the keyboard are powerful enough to keep the iPad Pro in place—it may look a little thin and flimsy, but don't be fooled—it's quite powerful. You can turn it upside down and it will still hold it in its place.

The keyboard is full-size--meaning it's the same size and spacing you are used to on larger tablets. Being full-size means there's room for shortcuts. Holding down on the CMD button next to the space bar, for example, while you are in pages, brings up the menu below:

If the keyboard isn't sturdy enough for you, another keyboard to check out is the Logitech Create keyboard; it's about 10 dollars cheaper that the Apple keyboard, but works the same way. The Logitech keyboard has a backlit (so you can see the keys in the dark) and chargers through the iPad, so there's no need for batteries. It comes at a cost, however--it's about a pound in weight.  

The iPad Pro shares one more thing in common with the Macbook: keyboard shortcuts. Because the keyboard has a command key, you’ll be able to use the same shortcuts you may already know. Below is a list of them (note: these shortcuts will not work with every program).

Command-X – Cuts or removes selected text or item and copies it to the clipboard.

Command-C – Copies the selected text or item to the clipboard.

Command-V – Pastes the contents of the clipboard into the document, app, or finder.

Command-Z – Undoes the previous command.

Command- Shift-Z – Redoes the previous undo.

Command-A – Selects all text or items in the running program.

Command-F – Opens the Find window to find documents or other items.

Command-G – Finds the next occurrence of a previously found item (i.e. Find Again).

Command-H – Hides the current running program or front window (Note: this will not work if you have a program running in full screen).

Command-N – Opens a new document or window.

Command-O – Opens an item (for instance if you are in Word or Pages and you want to open a previously saved document).

Command-S – Save the current document.

Command-Q – Quit an app.

Command-Tab – Switch to the next open app (Note: if you don’t let go of Command and continue hitting the Tab button, you can continue going to the next app.

Document Shortcuts

The following shortcuts are applicable to supported document software like Word, PowerPoint, Pages, Excel, OpenOffice, etc.

Command-B – Bold or un-bold the selected text.

Command-I – Italicize or un-italics selected text.

Command-U – Underline or remove underline to selected text.

Appendix C: Essential Apps

This list is not going to be full of apps you have heard of. Do you really need me to tell you about a little game called Angry Birds? Or a social networking site called Facebook? If you don’t know about the apps, I’m sure someone in your family will tell you all about them as soon as you show them your iPad. What follows are a few apps you might not know about, but will almost certainly benefit from. Please note, prices are set by the app publishers and may increase or decrease when you look them up.

SignNow – Free

Have you ever gotten an email with an attachment that needed to be signed? You print it, then scan it, then send it back. SignNow takes away some of those steps. The app let’s you sign a document straight from your iPad (no more printing and scanning).

JotNot – Free; $1.99, Pro Version

Speaking of scanning, JotNot let’s you scan a document with your camera. You’ll be surprised by the quality of the final document—it’s not the same as scanning, but it’s as good as you’ll get from a tablet.

SwipeSpeare – Modern Shakespeare: Free

This is a very cool Shakespeare reader. It let’s you toggle between the original Shakespeare language and a modern Shakespeare language with the swipe of your finger.

Google Translate – Free

This app is a travelers dream. You can speak a word into the translator, and it will tell you how to say it in over two dozen languages. It even pronounces it for you!

Hipstamatic - Free

You’ll quickly discover that there are a lot of camera apps out their; if you are a fan of vintage, then try Hipstamatic’s app; it will turn your iPad into a digital antique!

8mm - $1.99

8mm is the same concept as Hipstamatic, but instead of taking pictures with old photo cameras, it takes videos with old video cameras.

LoMeIn Ignition – $29.99

Thirty dollars is pretty steep for an app. It’s the most you will probably ever pay for an app. So what makes it so great? It can log into your computer remotely…from your tablet. That means if you are at work and forgot a file on your computer, you can log in and email it to yourself. And with the larger screen and faster processor, you might forget you even are using an iPad Pro.

Crackle – Free

If you are a fan of Hulu (the Internet website that let’s you stream TV shows and movie for free), but you don’t want to pay extra to get Hulu+ on your tablet, then try Crackle. It has plenty of full-length free shows like Seinfeld and even has free movies.

Flixster – Free

If you go to the movies often, then this is a must have app; it gives you the showtimes for any movie theater near you using your tablets GPS; several theaters also let you buy movie tickets directly from the app.

Carcassonne – 9.99

This will probably be the most expensive game you purchase on the iPad, but it’s well worth it. If you have never played the original strategy board game then you are in for a treat; it’s also great if you want to play with others who have an iPad Mini or iPad.