Page Turners

Now that there are several page turners available for the iPad, we’ve been getting a lot of questions from people who are trying to decide which one is right for them. We’ve had a chance to test out three of them: AirTurn’s BT-105, PageFlip’s Cicada, and Bili’s Footime.

Design

The Cicada and Footime page turners are all-in-one units with the pedals built into the device itself, while the BT-105 can be used with a variety of third-party pedals. While this makes the BT-105 the most expensive option, it’s also the best for musicians who already own pedals or who are accustomed to a particular brand.

Connection

The BT-105 and Cicada both connect to the iPad over Bluetooth, although the Cicada requires an additional step of entering in a code (a simple task if you read the manual, but not the most obvious aspect otherwise). The Footime page turner, on the other hand, connects to your iPad via USB which is more reliable but requires the additional purchase of Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit ($29). Unfortunately, this dongle/cable combination means that the iPad can no longer stand upright, so you’re forced to use your iPad in landscape orientation or fashion your own music stand with a hole in the bottom.

Power

This is perhaps where these three page turners differ the most. The BT-105 has a built-in battery that can be recharged with the included USB cable, while the Footime is powered directly from the iPad. The Cicada can be powered by two AA batteries, the included wall charger, or over USB.

Verdict

While the Footime turner is the most reliable (because it doesn’t require any additional power source and doesn’t rely on wireless connectivity to function), the dongle makes actual usage difficult and the additional purchase makes it the same price as the Cicada.

The BT-105 is the most flexible option for musicians who are more discerning about the pedals they use, but it relies on a power source that can’t be easily swapped out right before a performance, making it imperative that you charge it up in advance.

Though all three of these options are great and have different strengths and weaknesses, we were very impressed by the PageFlip Cicada. It was much smaller than we expected (the images on their site don’t give you any real sense of relative size, but it’s very compact while still being totally usable). The pedals are built-in and the batteries are replaceable, making it the best option for us. As with all things, your mileage may vary.