What do an iPad 2 and an IBM ThinkPad from 1995 have in common? Not a whole lot–unless the iPad is equipped with Logitech’s new Fold-Up Keyboard and the ThinkPad is the famous 701 “Butterfly” model. Like the Butterfly ThinkPad, Logitech’s new gadget, which snaps onto the bottom of the iPad, packs a keyboard that’s wider than the case. As you lift up the iPad, the keyboard swivels out in two pieces–as shown in the first image above–and then pieces together. It’s also reminiscent of the Stowaway folding keyboard, a gadget which would be a wonderful iPhone accessory but which appears to no longer be available.

I haven’t used Logitech’s keyboard, but the company showed it to me recently, and it looks pretty darn clever. It’s a Bluetooth model, so it needs to be charged occasionally over USB but it wireless. It makes the iPad substantially thicker, but is by far the roomiest portable keyboard you’ll find for Apple’s gadget. It adds protection to the tablet’s underside, and you can install it and continue to use Apple’s own Smart Cover simultaneously. It’s $129.95–pricey, but worth considering if you want to use an iPad like a laptop–and will be available in September.

There are now a bunch of iPad 2 keyboard/case combos, and it doesn’t make sense to declare one as the right choice for everybody. They all make different tradeoffs when it comes to bulk, keyboard feel and size, and the viewing angle of the screen. The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg reviewed four of them, including the new Logitech, in his column last week. Of the ones I’ve seen in person, I also like Zagg’s $99.99 ZaggFolio, a case with a removable keyboard of impressively notebook-like feel and a clever design which lets you angle the iPad into a notch on the keyboard, either in the case or out of it. The ZaggFolio I bought, like other early units, has a design defect which prevents the clasp from working properly; Zagg says that it’s fixed this issue and will replace the ZaggFolios that have it.

But an Apple patent found by MacRumors suggests that there’s keyboard revolution on the brain in Cupertino. It calls for four small cameras around the main keys, pointing upwards at the user. By hovering hands above the keys, users could point and perform gestures like they would on a track pad.

In other words, it’s Kinect for your keyboard.

Apple could be on to something here. When writing, I’m sometimes frustrated by the need to grab the mouse for editing, not because it’s physically tiresome, but because there’s a certain mindset that takes hold when my hands are over the keys, and reaching for the mouse is a distraction. The keyboard also tends to take a more central location on the desk, which could explain why I sometimes find myself scrolling through web pages with arrow keys instead of my mouse’s scroll wheel.

Of course, as with any patent there’s no guarantee that this idea will end up in a real product, so perhaps the most interesting thing about Apple’s gesture-controlled keyboard is the acknowledgement that traditional QWERTY isn’t going away. Here’s a quote from the patent:

Over the last forty years there have been numerous attempts made to introduce an alternative to the standard keyboard. The changes include, but are not limited to, non-QWERTY layouts, concave and convex surfaces, capacitive keys, split designs, membrane keys, etc. However, although such alternative keyboards may provide improved usability or ergonomics, they have failed to replace or duplicate the commercial success of the conventional mechanical keyboard.

Along that line, can we get a moratorium on extraneous hot keys and multimedia controls that peripheral makers love to scatter around their keyboards? Or am I the only one who never, ever uses them?

Price: $99

“If the iPad only had a keyboard,” I’ve sometimes thought to myself, “I could take it on short trips and leave my laptop at home.” Enter tyPad, a leatherette iPad case that happens to have a built-in Bluetooth keyboard. Open it up and the iPad stands upright like a notebook screen. The keyboard is a one-piece design rather than one with discrete, desktop-style keys, but it has a home button and a shortcut for the iPad’s search function; it charges via USB. And since it replaces the on-screen keyboard, it leaves the entire display available for other purposes–which could be handy for word-processing documents, instant-messaging sessions, and other activities which involving both typing and reading.

The KeyFolio offers some handy features, such as iPad-specific keys to access functions (such as home, etc.) and a stand that allows you to use your device much like a laptop. The battery within the keyboard itself must be charged; Kensington says it would last through about 90 hours of use before needing another charge.

It’s not too heavy–it only adds another pound or so to the overall weight. The keyboard is a tad small, think of it as close to netbook size- a bit larger maybe, but still comfortable to type on.

If you’re worried about the keys scratching the screen itself, don’t. This is because the keyboard itself is rubberized — a good feature too just in case you spill that cup of coffee on it early in the morning.

Even more than with most matters technological, input is a profoundly personal thing: The fastest way to enter text into a phone is whichever one you find to be fastest. Which could be physical QWERTY or onscreen QWERTY or Swype or something else. So I’m not telling David that there’s anything wrong with him for not bonding with Swype.

But a few thoughts on why I do use Swype, and thoroughly enjoy doing so:

• I’m not sure whether I type any faster by Swyping characters rather than tapping them. I like it because it’s less tedious, not because it’s quicker: There’s something about tapping hundreds of times at a fast clip (and the precision required to type accurately) that makes my noggin hurt. Gliding around the keyboard with Swype is more pleasant, even if it’s no zippier. It’s like the difference between using a pogo stick and going ice skating.
• David doesn’t like the word choice window, which pops up with multiple words which you may have entered. Neither do I. So I turn it off. I find that it’s usually necessary only with very short words (such as David’s example of “put,” “pot,” and”pit.” I generally tap those rather than Swyping them–and I do it instinctively rather than having to think about it.
• David talks about using Swype vs. two-thumbed typing–and if you’re a proficient two-thumber, Swype might be less appealing. But with smartphones, I’m usually a one-fingered typist, and often type with the thumb of the hand that’s simultaneously cradling the phone. I find that Swype works really well in these scenarios.

Swype clearly isn’t for everybody, and it isn’t perfect. For instance, I don’t get why it recognizes words such as “Verizon” and “McCracken” every time I Swype them, but doesn’t understand that the first always needs to be capitalized and the latter needs two capital letters. (It renders them as “verizon” and “mccracken,” and entering the correct versions in the dictionary doesn’t help.) I suspect that it’ll get better at this stuff in future versions. But even as it stands now, it’s on my list of things that Android phones–some of them, anyhow–do better than the iPhone…

Thus, it looks like the company’s next big thing is in accessories, and the two newest products fall under its Ergomotion line. Maxell debuted its laser and optical mice as well as its ergonomic keyboard this week in New York. As the name suggests the ergonomics of this line have to do with motion, and the way the company does it sure is interesting.

Beginning with the mice, the first thing you will notice with them is that they’re almost on a pedestal of sorts. This pedestal allows the mouse itself to be tilted around, which in turn allows users to find the way that is most comfortable to them instead the typical flat-handed hold we have been using to operate our mice for so long.

The real benefit of these mice could be found by standing up. When you’re operating a mouse from that position, your wrist must be bent back unnaturally for long periods of time. With the pedestal, the mouse could be tilted forward slightly, requiring less of that bend on your wrist and thus a more comfortable hold. Maxell argues that this will provide a larger benefit over the standard ergonomic mouse.

Two versions of the mouse are available, an optical and laser model, and will retail for $29.99 and $49.99 USD respectively. The laser version will only come in black, however the optical version is available in grey, blue, red, and purple.

The second Ergomotion product will be the Automatic Motion Keyboard, which will retail for $149.99 USD. While at its heart this keyboard is a standard ergonomic keyboard with the traditional bowed shape, its biggest feature is the fact that it actually moves.

Maxell’s argument for such a feature is this. By changing the shape of the keyboard ever so slightly every hour, it enhances the ergonomics by moving the hands slightly. If a user does find a setting they especially like, Maxell does give the option to stop the keyboard from moving. However, that just seems to defeat the purpose.

This keyboard requires power, so there isn’t a wireless version–it needs to be plugged into a USB port. There is also another downside, at least for Mac users: it’s PC only. The mice will work on either operating system, however.

I decided to do a test–a very unscientific one–to see how quickly I could bang out text on the iPad, in both its landscape and portrait orientations. A few notes on this undertaking:

• I tested the iPad against a 15-inch MacBook Pro (with an excellent full-sized keyboard), an Asus EeePC 1000HE (a netbook with a pretty good keyboard by netbook standards), and an iPhone 3GS (with a keyboard that crams the same basic idea as the iPad one into far less space).
• On each device, I typed the English lyrics to Antonio Carlos Jobim’s song “The Girl From Ipanema” (which, I should note, are by Norman Gimbel). I chose this test for a practical reason: I know the words by heart, and they therefore test my typing speed, not my ability to transcribe a passage I’m unfamiliar with.
• I never took typing lessons and  therefore type idiosyncratically; Wikipedia tells me my speed is average. If you’re an ace touch typist, your results might vary a lot.
• On the iPhone, I typed with two thumbs in portrait mode, and one finger in landscape mode. On everything else, I typed with both hands, as I would on any standard keyboard.
• On all the devices, I took advantage of autocorrection and autocapitalization where possible, and otherwise corrected my own errors as I typed.
• For each device, I practiced a few times, then typed the passage and timed my speed with a stopwatch.

How’d the iPad stack up? After the jump, the results.

After two days with an iPad, my speed isn’t dazzling–I’m way slower than on the MacBook Pro or the Asus netbook. Punctuation is particularly nettlesome, since it often involves switching keyboards on the iPad: A surprising percentage of the iPad’s sluggishness is due to typing the quotation marks around the word “Aaah!”–which comes up twice in the song.

Typing speed and typing pleasure are two completely different factors, at least for me. When I type on an iPhone, for instance, it’s not the slow pace that bothers me–it’s the fact that the process makes me feel kind of seasick.

At the moment, I can type faster on the Asus than on the iPad, but the Asus feels more ungainly: I’m keenly aware I must angle my hands, and I feel constricted by the lack of width. On the iPad, I spent less time thinking about its limitations. Maybe that’s because it’s not a narrow version of a standard notebook keyboard but something quite different. Or maybe I’m just basking in the enjoyment of a new toy. Or maybe it’s a bit of both.

In theory, the iPad’s Atari 400-like flat keys should make me pine for the decisive feel of a good full-travel keyboard. So far, they aren’t. In fact, going back to the Asus was a strange experience–it felt like work to push its keys down.

Oh, and I was surprised to find that I typed at about the same speed on the iPad whether it was in landscape orientation or the much narrower portrait mode.

Bottom line: I’m no speed demon on the iPad, but it’s by far the best on-screen keyboard I’ve ever used. For now, it’ll be adequate for e-mails, short blog posts, and other items that don’t involve vast amounts of typing. But when I’m planning to knock out more than a few hundred words, I’ll reach for a device with a wider keyboard made out of good old-fashioned plastic. (In case you wondered, I wrote this post on the MacBook Pro.)

Of course, my time with an iPad has been brief. (After two days with an iPhone back in 2007, I could barely type two characters in a row without at least one typo.) I assume that I’ll get faster over the next few weeks–and it’ll be fascinating to see if I catch up with my netbook speed, at least.

If you’ve got an iPad and have formed your own impressions of its keyboard(s), I’d love to hear them.

My method is simple: I use a tissue and rubbing alcohol to remove the grime that builds up on the keys. To get rid of all the loose gunk, I take the keyboard outside and blast it with a can of air. It’s one of those low-cost ways to feel like you’ve accomplished something important.

On those rare occasions when I’m feeling ambitious, I remove the four screws at the bottom of my way too expensive Avant Stellar keyboard, detach the keyboard from the case, and use the air can there, too. Try it if you have the courage — and the handyman skills.

And if you tip a bottle of beer onto the keyboard, some people recommend you try popping it into the dishwasher.

Newfangled Keyboard Cleaning

When I was at CES, the consumer electronics show, I found another keyboard cleaning trick. It looks like a solution looking for a problem, and you’ll have to shell out some bucks to try it.

CyberClean is a neon-colored, gelatinous cleaning compound — the main ingredient is diazolidinyl urea. It’s kind of what The Blob might have felt like (Beware of the Blob! It creeps, and leaps, and glides and slides across your keyboard!).

It works like Silly Putty: Press it onto your cell phone, keyboard, a remote control, or even your child’s dirty face (just kidding) and it slurps up the debris. You can even use it on your car’s dashboard.

Does it work? Yep, it sure does. I tried it on a not-often-dusted keyboard that’s connected to a test PC. Watch a video of CyberClean in action. It was professionally produced by a member of the Bass International A/V squad.

If you’re wondering how long it’ll last, well, depending on how much you use it, and how dirty a person you are, it can last a couple of days to many years. Right, I haven’t a clue. A can — about five ounces of CyberClean — costs $8. Would I buy it? Probably not, but I sure stuck my hand out for a sample.

Fun with Pressurized Canned Air

Take a can of pressurized air in your car, the kind you use to clean camera lenses or, as I recommended, keyboards, and leave it in your car. Park the car in a sunny location, preferably in the middle of August, somewhere in Arizona. Wait until the inside of the cab gets nice and toasty.

Then watch how the compressed air can flies through the windshield and lands 20 feet away. Check out the pics.

The other option is to spray a blast of air onto your auto’s dashboard — and then light a cigarette. This PDF shows what happens.

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