Air Display turns iPad into extra monitor

Air Display turns an iPad into a second monitor

Avatron Software, Portland, Ore., launched its new Air Display app turning an iPad into an extra monitor for netbook, laptop or desktop computers, adding up to 70 percent more usable screen space, the company claims.

The lightweight app improves productivity by allowing users to reposition windows or workflow elements onto the separate screen to free up more workspace. It is suited for pairing with small laptops, such as the MacBook Air.

“Air Display is perfect for times when you need more screen space, especially for graphics software like Photoshop, Office or iWork, or games that require more room than a 13-inch screen can provide,” says Dave Howell, CEO of Avatron Software. “The app makes it incredibly easy to setup the iPad on a desk, at a coffee shop—wherever you need some extra workspace. You just launch the app and it’s ready to go.”

Air Display connects the devices over a localized wireless network and leverages the iPad’s auto-rotation feature, allowing the device to be rotated in portrait or landscape orientation as needed. The iPad can be positioned to the left or right of the primary screen, and the device’s touch-screen functionality can still be used to manipulate features on the iPad screen, just as if it were being used alone.

The app delivers mouse capabilities with a screen refresh rate of 150 frames per second for no perceivable lag time in mouse performance. Compressed image quality and refresh speed are continually balanced to optimize viewing quality or speed of movement as needed.

For easy installation, the required Mac components are installed to the main machine, with the Air Display app loaded on the iPad. Once basic configurations are made, the main machine automatically recognizes the iPad as a secondary monitor each time the app is loaded on the device. Once the iPad app is closed, the main machine automatically returns to single-screen mode.

Air Display for iPad is available in the U.S. now for just $9.99 in the App Store. The Mac OS installer is free, and a beta version of the Windows installer is also available.

Air Display for iPad and iPhone is available now for just US$9.99 in the App Store.  The Windows installer (Beta version) is free at www.avatron.com/ad.