External Keyboards for the iPad - Not Necessary At All

I've been typing on my iPad for more than a year now. And I don't think I'm alone in saying that I like the virtual keyboard very much. Light touches and generally accurate if you learn to trust it. However, I think I am in the minority on this issue. It's not because there are most people who don't like typing on the iPad. Rather, it's because most people don't type on the iPad.

Either way, is there a need for those cases outfitted with physical keyboards that turns the iPad into a netbook?

First of all, I don't think I've seen one that I like. I don't like the Kensington rubber keyboard. It's, well, rubbery. And it's not the only maker of keyboard-combo-cases that use a silicone or rubber cover. There are also ones with hard cases but they are still far from perfect. The Zaggmate case has these side walls that, from the pictures, feel weird to me.

Besides the fact that I haven't found the perfect keyboard with a case, I don't think I really need one. And I think more and more people are realizing that as well.

Once I get into a rhythm (and inspired), I can hack out a good page or two relatively quickly on the iPad. In coffee shops that I've seen, people using their iPads they type are increasing little by little.

For the rest, they seem to be using their iPads to consume media than actually doing work on there. For instance, while I was waiting for my car to be ready at the dealership today, there were quite a few iPads. Six that I could see. And everyone of them seemed to be reading or watching videos on them. No typing. They've got cases but they appear to be the standard Apple cases. No keyboards.

I'm not saying that there is no need for these keyboard cases at all. I'm just not sure they will have mainstream appeal for a major of the iPad market.