11 yr old son 2E with handwriting issues -Has been using a laptop but is heavy with all his books...Has anyone tried using an ipad for mainly for word processing in middle school?

Hi bbb. I have an IPad and love it but would not consider it to be the solution when it comes to word processing. A friend of mine is switching his therapy office to the IPad for medical records but he told me today that he will continue to use his main computer to document when a new patient comes in and use the IPad for repeat clients.

I would suggest that you take your DS to a store and have him try out the keyboard and see what he thinks but IPads don't come with word processing software installed on them. I'm sure it is a possible purchase in the applications software. You could also buy an IPad and a separate little keyboard that he could take with him. Most keyboards come with a little stand that the Ipad stands on, turning it into a kind of laptop.

Alternatively, you can get a cheap netbook with 6-8 hour batteries that's ~2.5 pounds (vs 1.5 for iPad) and far less expensive.

If you want the "pen" functionality you could also check out the classmate PC by intel. It is ruggidized and designed for the younger student set. It has a keyboard and some models also fold down for use as a tablet.

I have the ipad 1 and the keyboard stand. My only complaint with it is the same with all laptops - you are sort of scrunched in when typing and so for long periods its hard on the back and neck in terms of posture. But It would be easier with the keyboard to really type correctly, ipad and iphone have rather annoying spelling corrections which cannot be unlearned or changed. But if DS is already using a laptop and is used to that, this will be a huge improvement in terms of weight. It is much much lighter. I only find it gets heavy when reading a book, kindle weight its not. I absolutely want the 2 for the weight reason. I would go to the apple store and check it out.

DeHe