O’Reilly news

Take care of business with "Take Control of Working with Your iPad, Second Edition"

Ithaca, NY—It may not wear a coat and tie, but that doesn't mean an iPad can't fit in at the office. Joe Kissell's second edition of Take Control of Working with Your iPad, published by TidBITS Publishing, Inc., helps iPad-toting workers find and use the best productivity apps and techniques.

The new edition includes information not only on the changes that iOS 4 has brought to the iPad but also on the many new and revised iPad apps that have become available recently. With advice that has been polished and refined over many months of real-world iPad use, Kissell explores the working possibilities of the device.

With this new edition in hand, readers can learn how to:

• Type right: They'll learn tips for maximizing typing speed on the onscreen keyboard and discover the best ways to use the iPad Keyboard Dock and Bluetooth keyboard options.
• Select, cut, copy, and paste: These commands may be second nature to regular computer users, but their touchscreen versions are another matter. Kissell explains how to use touchscreen editing commands effectively and fluently.
• Transfer files among apps and devices: The ebook shows how using iTunes to exchange documents with an iPad is not the only way to go. It looks carefully at those apps that can exchange documents with each other and with cloud/server-based systems, including Air Sharing HD, Documents To Go, Dropbox, GoDocs, GoodReader, MobileMe iDisk, Memeo Connect, Office2 HD, PrintCentral, Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite, ReaddleDocs, SugarSync, and more. It also provides insights into how the iPad handles files and explains how readers can leverage that knowledge.
• Manage contacts and calendars: Few workers can survive without their contact lists and calendars; Kissell teaches the essential techniques for using the iPad's included Contacts and Calendar apps.
• Write and send email: Today's worker can't survive without email either; Kissell explains how to set up email accounts, view and reply to email, and adjust settings in Mail to match each workplace's requirements.
• Take notes effectively at meetings and lectures: It's hard to take a shiny new iPad to a meeting unobtrusively, but once the ooohs and ahhhs die down, everyone has to be able to get back to business. The ebook offers useful pointers for using Apple's Notes app, and tips on great third-party apps for taking typed or handwritten notes, recording audio, and even using speech recognition.
• Create documents in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, and more: Kissell runs through the productivity capabilities of the apps in Apple's mobile iWork suite, and he explores a number of third-party alternatives that offer capabilities that Apple overlooked. He also provides a special focus on cross-application communication among the iPad, "the cloud," and a desktop computer.
• Print documents: And not just on a printer - Kissell describes how to "print" to a Dropbox folder, to PDF format and more, using Apple's built-in AirPrint feature and third-party apps.

From instant messaging and Web browsing to location mapping and note taking, Kissell puts the iPad's capabilities into the context of getting work done. The ebook concludes with pointers to apps that allow workers to perform even more tasks, including drawing and painting, working with multi-track audio, outlining and brainstorming, and using databases.

Coupled with Kissell's latest book, the iPad turns out to be a great business tool (coat and tie remain optional).