Avatron Air Display App: Your iPad as External Screen [Updated]
Not everyone needs multiple computers and screens like my setup, above, but if you do and also own an iPad, there’s a quick-fix option.
Despite my 5 screens (3 laptops, 1 Dell Zino mini-desktop), iPhone and iPad, my work sometimes has me wishing I had yet one more screen. That productivity is extremely high when you use multiple screens is an established fact — according to my own experience and to various studies I’ve not bothered to to get references for. If you doubt me, try it yourself. Two screens is better than one, three better than two, and so on. If there’s an upper limit where too many screens become a distraction, I haven’t reached it yet. But adding extra screens gets costly, and when you’re a bootstrapping mobile startup, that matters.
Fortunately, if you already own an iPad, there’s an inexpensive option that might do in a pinch: your iPad. Yes, you CAN use your iPad as an external screen to your computer. I have tried using VNC software, but that’s a remote desktop app, and not really what we need here. The answer? Avatron’s Air Display, which currently only supports Mac computers but will have a Windows solution in the future. Using a combo of an iPad and a server app on your laptop/ desktop, the iPad can be used as an external screen. (Expensive option, yes, unless you already own an iPad and don’t want/ are not ready for another external monitor.) [Update: Installation of the equivalent server application on your Mac requires that you have to restart your computer .]
Ars Technica already has a fairly lengthy review of Air Display, so I’m not going to review it too. I purchased the iPad-specific app from the Apple App Store on the basis of the review and like it for the most part. The only caveat I’ll mention has to do with the iPad WiFi-only model’s wireless connection quirkiness and its lack of connection persistence, if you haven’t used the device for several minutes, or if your wireless setup has fluctuations (my AT&T U-Verse setup does). When the wireless connection temporarily ceases, the app has to be reset all over again (from the Mac toolbar). This is irritating because any windows you have open in the iPad’s screen area gets shunted over to one of your other screens. You have to move them all back when you reset Air Display settings. Not exactly productive.
If not for this situation, Air Display is a killer app. I’m guessing that if you’re one of those rare people with two (or more) iPads, you could connect all of them and have quite the temporary display setup. Hopefully either Apple will hurry up the software fix for the connection problem or Avatron will upgrade the app to save state so that the problem is minimized. Ultimately, if you need something more permanent, you’re better off purchasing a real monitor. For suggestions on setup, read my detailed post at Performancing on multi-screen, multi-computer configuration options.
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[...] The only caveat I’ll mention has to do with the iPad WiFi -only model’s wireless connection quirkiness and its lack of connection persistence, if you haven’t used the device for several minutes, or if your wireless setup has fluctuations …More [...]
Update: My comment in the article above that this app is not persistent is a bit misleading. What I found is that my AT&T U-Verse connection had some problems and as a result, my Internet connection kept dropping on a regular basis. Once AT&T fixed the problem, my wireless network connection drops much less frequently — maybe once every one to two hours (compared to every 5-10 minutes). Since then, Air Display has worked like a charm, acting exactly like an extra monitor, as claimed.