When the iPad first came out, I challenged myself to see how fast I could type. Using the iPhone program, iTextSpeed, I clocked in at an adjusted words per minute of 47.
After performing the typing test I kept wondering how fast I could really type, if I was typing in optimal conditions. This led me to typing with the iPad resting flat on a table, and then inevitably, trying to find the perfect position on a couch.
What follows below is a video of me touch typing an e-mail at a pretty decent clip, while sitting slightly reclined on a couch. In the test I didn't use the iPad case or any other case, and simply rested the iPad on my knees while they were slightly bent while sitting on the couch. I'm not sure how fast I ended up typing, but I was able to go through e-mails at the same speed that it normally takes me to attack them using a laptop. Also, I was fixing my errors, too, and fighting with the auto-correction on and off.
In short, it seems that if you can find the right position, the iPad's on-screen keyboard lets the iPad function as a solid laptop replacement for creating and responding to e-mails. I also used it to browse the web and perform other functions, but I can't imagine typing posts like this on it. Of course, I'll be trying that next.
See the video of my typing below.
