Blog post via BlogPress on iPad

I have read numerous reviews on the iPad and how it is the ideal gadget for consuming content – but not the best gadget for creating content.  I wanted to test this personally and downloaded BlogPress.   Reading through the application’s description on their website – it is a WYSIWYG editor.  This is an accurate description.   This is the blog post that I wrote using the editor: “The Glee Singing Community”.

What I like about the editor: It allowed me to post a blog entry via my iPad without using the HTML editor that Blogspot has.   It allowed me to insert photos into the entry.  It also allowed me to use Tags, Categories and set a Future Publish date for the entry.  It also allows the user to choose the position of the picture ( center, embedded into the paragraph, or left-justified ).  The picture options also include an ability to choose the size of the photo.

What I didn’t like about the BlogPress editor:   The text formatting is very limited.   It does not even have options for justification style.  You will notice that I have a fully justified format for my blogs.  This is actually a result of years being part of the school paper and painstakingly justifying the right margin manually via a typewriter.  Ever since word processing applications were invented – and this function can automatically be done – I never looked back.  Most of the office and personal documents that I produce have fully justified formats.

It does allow pictures to be attached in the blog entry. A user can also choose the size of the photo.  However – the size you choose can be a hit or miss – and requires a little bit of Math to figure out what the proper length or width is appropriate.  It may just be me – but it took me three tries to get the right size.  It would be great to see the pinch action of the multi-touch screen in future releases.

For now – BlogPress will be parked on my iPad – and I will continue to use Windows Live Writer to write my blogs.   However – when I am on the road – I think that I will definitely use BlogPress for the first draft and just adjust the cosmetics when I get to my laptop.  At the end of the day – the limitations that I see on the app – are purely cosmetic needs.   It’s a great tool – and worth the money that I spent on it.