My Inaugural iPad Pro Trip

ByD'Ann Mateer
10 Comments

As you know, I’m on the road a lot. I tend to accompany my husband on business trips at least once a month, sometimes more. And between times we travel to see our kids and our granddaughter, too. Sometimes I get frustrated because I never seem to get as much writing done as I would like on those trips. Mostly it’s the travel days that upend me, but it is other days as well. Days where I debate carrying my computer with me because I might or might not have down time to work or time to take my computer back to a hotel room before a dinner engagement. So after months of watching my husband with his iPad Pro, I decided to take the plunge and see if having one would increase my travel productivity.

First, I bought the old iPad pro—the one before the newest one. The same one hubby has. As I researched, I realized I didn’t need the “latest and greatest” when for 1/3 of the price I could get “perfectly fine.” Then I bought the same case he has—the one with the slim keyboard—and the first generation Apple Pencil. All of these, of course, I bought for much cheaper than the newest versions!

After loading the iPad with the apps I need to do the things I do on my computer when traveling, I was ready to go. With a bit of fear and trepidation, I left my computer at home when we went to celebrate my father-in-law’s 75th birthday this past weekend.

Did you think I wouldn’t work in a picture of my Ivy? 🙂

When waiting in the airport, the iPad was easy to pull out and put away. I could use it on the plane from takeoff to landing. There was no need to turn it off or on. It was easy to use it in the car while traveling, whereas using my laptop in the car always feels awkward. And best of all? I could put it in my purse and carry it with me wherever we were going, giving me the ability to use those unexpected moments of downtime to get things done without feeling like I had to ditch my computer case before more social moments.

Don’t get me wrong. My iPad isn’t—nor do I want it to be—a replacement for my laptop. When I work at home, I prefer my MacBook. Same when I go to the library or a nearby coffee shop. Laptop every time. But the iPad Pro already appears to be a very good investment for me, given how often we travel. It’s a tool I’m counting on to help me to work more writing time into this chaos I call my life.

What is your favorite tech tool these days—the one that helps you write or work or just keep up with life in general?

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Inspired by novelist Eugenia Price, D’Ann’s dream of writing historical fiction with an element of faith began in middle school, though her serious drive toward publication took a bit longer. D’Ann is the author of four historical novels and one novella, as well as a contemporary short stories in a compilation volume. D’Ann and her husband of 30 years can be found in Austin, TX when they aren’t touring historic sites or visiting their grown children.

10 Comments

  1. Only thing I have is an iPad mini. I do everything on it. I have a kindle that is just for books. But I still can read on the iPad especially Docs, which don’t show up in the kindle. I have books from authors for early reviews, or book funnel that show up as Docs.

  3. Glad you found a good solution — convenience is half the battle to getting things done. One caution on not buying the “latest and greatest” — i have run in to the “end of life” issues with iPads and iPhones. With the ever evolving software and hardware changes, companies (Apple especially) only supports a version of a product for so many changes. Mostly because it is too difficult for third party app creators to support so many different combinations of hardware in a single published version. Even the iOS can’t support old and new technology without it getting messed up somewhere.
    So before buying an older model, i google to find the “end of life” date which is when a model will no longer be supported by iOS and app updates. Which is a real security concern too if the iOS isn’t being updated regularly.

    1. Good advice. I ran into that issue with my ipad mini I bought years ago and have run into with laptops as well. Fortunately, this one came out just before the newest one, so I have a decent life ahead for it. 🙂

  4. I love my iPad and iPhone. I don’t write but I read a lot so I have always got a book with me when I go somewhere. I still read paperbacks at home. So almost constantly I have one book going on the iPad and a couple or three paperbacks going on at home.

    1. I love ebooks for traveling–even if it’s just out and about in town. Like you, I read physical books at home (mostly!), but I love having a library at my fingertips when I’m not.

  5. I LOVED how you snuck that sweet grandgirl pic in! 🙂 So far, I haven’t had trouble traveling with my MacBook Pro since I went down to the 13-inch. But Ken has the iPad Pro and really likes it. I may have to try his out sometime!

    1. I think my problem traveling with the macbook (even the 13 inch!) is that so much of our “on the road” time is really “in the air” time, and I always have the middle seat, so getting the computer our and working on it makes me feel even more claustrophobic than I already do! The ipad pro has helped that tremendously. And the upside is if I want to watch a show or a movie, it’s a much bigger screen than my phone. 🙂

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