iPad Ergonomics

Gadget Joe was not his usual chirpy and bright self. He would usually talk about gadgets and technology with excitement and would ensure that everyone from the manager to the young waiter boy at the Caravan, knew what’s hot in the gadget-world. People loved to listen to his explanations, about how gadgets worked and what they could do. No wonder the cheerful Jonathan Davies earned the name – Gadget Joe. But today, he sat at a corner table at the coffee shop, sipping mocha; with a long face.

Carl, another regular at the Caravan and a good buddy of Joe entered the coffee shop. Spotting Joe in the corner he walked up to him. “Not a good day, aye pal?”, asked Carl.

“Er. Yea.”

“What’s the matter? You can tell ole Carl about it.”

“Sigh. I’m in love…”

“Attaboy! That calls for celebration! Who’s the lucky lady?”

“Hmmph. Its not that kind of love… I’m in love with a gadget.”

“A .. er..what?”

“Yea, the Apple iPad! The Apple tablet, you know. It looks so awesome. The big screen with multi-touch. Just imagine those App Store apps and videos on a screen much larger than the iPhone! That’s a real roar.”

“Then why don’t you pre-order one. Heard it’s coming in May here in the UK.”

“Right. But I’m in a dilemma.”

“Go on…”

“I’m thinking about the iPad ergonomics. It doesn’t seem right somewhere.”

“How do you know that?”

“You have your netbook with you? I’ll show you some videos and pictures.”

Carl usually carried his netbook wherever he went. He pulled it out of his bag and placed it before Joe, who began opening out some websites.

“Look at them.”, he said pointing at some pictures of people using the iPad.

“Wow! Look at that thing. Marvellous. I think I’m in love too. But what’s wrong?”, asked Carl, quite puzzled, as everyone seemed happy using the svelte tablet.

“Look at them hold the device. They need to constantly keep the right hand up in the air, with only the index finger and thumb running all over the tablet. As long as you’re just watching videos, listening to music, reading books and flipping through photographs, it seems fine. But, imagine working on the tablet for hours. When you need to put the tablet to official use, like working on an official document, surfing the internet for information, typing out emails continuously, or even playing the addictive App Store games, you might end up with a wrist pain.”

“Really?”

“Yea. Ask any ergonomics expert. He’ll tell you that you need to rest your hand, starting from the elbow to your wrist, on a flat surface. You even need to sit with your back straight and rested well. And your feet need to be rested flat on the floor too. Else you’ll end up with pain due to RSI.”

“You mean repetitive stress injury?”

“Absolutely.”

“How about placing it on the lap and resting your palm on the lap too.”

“Not too sure how that would feel when working for a long time. Will you be able to rest your elbow comfortably as well? I guess extra cushions to support your elbows, will be part of the accessories list. And then again, you’ll also need to keep your neck bent to view the tablet. You can’t hold it like the iPhone and work with your thumbs. It is too huge for that. If you put it flat on a table and work on it, the viewing angle might be an issue. You might need to bend over the table for clear viewing. People might have to use the dock and keyboard, to use it like a netbook when working for long hours. But that beats the fun out of using the multi-touch interface. The most comfortable position to use the iPad seems when you rest on your couch, with a pillow to support your head, knees bent, and the iPad resting on your thighs.”

“Sigh. That’s not always possible.”

“Yea double sigh for that. So I guess, its just going to be a leisure device rather than one meant for official work.”

“Guess you’re right buddy.”

The corner table at the Caravan now had two men, sitting at it, sipping coffee, with long faces.