iPhone J.D.

Apple releases iTunes 9.1

Yesterday afternoon, Apple released an update to iTunes on the Mac and PC, bringing the version number to 9.1.  The primary reason for the update was to get iTunes ready for the iPad, but there are a few minor changes that iPhone owners will notice.

First, there are some cosmetic changes to the Summary tab that appears when you connect your iPhone to iTunes.  Here is a comparison.  The Summary tab in 9.0 had the different regions in either white or gray:

The new Summary tab in iTunes 9.1 now has gray boxes around each region:

 

A minor cosmetic change, but I suppose that someone at Apple though it looked better this way.  The only new feature on the Summary tab is the addition of the option "Convert higher bit rate songs to 128 kbps AAC" for the iPhone (and iPod touch), an option that used to only work with the iPod nano and Shuffle.  If you have songs in iTunes at a very high bit rate to give you super high quality, you can choose to instead sync a 128 kbps version of the song to your iPhone to save some space on your iPhone.

Another minor change is that the tab at the top of the iPhone section of iTunes that used to say Applications now simply says Apps.  The new short name for the tab makes sense because everyone calls them apps anyway, but additionally the shortening of that tab gave Apple room to add an additional tab called Books.  Before iTunes 9.1, audio books were handled under the Music tab.  Now, both audio books and the new iBooks that Apple will be selling for the iPad are placed under the new Books tab.

I also noticed a very minor change on the Apps tab that might be cosmetic but has the potential to add functionality.  Previously, you could sort items by name, category or date by pressing a button.  Now, you have those same choices in a pop-up list.  This change makes it easier to add other sort fields in the future.  (For example, perhaps there will be different ways to sort iPad versus iPhone apps?  We'll find out this Saturday.)  Here is the old way (on the left) and the new way under iTunes 9.1 (on the right):

    

If you use Genius Mixes (I don't), iTunes 9.1 now lets you rename, rearrange or remove those mixes.  Additionally, seven security flaws on the Windows version of iTunes and one security flaw on some of the Mac versions of iTunes have been addressed, which is always nice.

60 Apps in 60 Minutes

One of the great traditions of ABA TECHSHOW is to have sessions with a title of 60 ____ in 60 Minutes.  The final session of the conference is the very popular 60 Sites in 60 Minutes, and the popular Friday night presentation is 60 Tips in 60 Minutes.  In that spirit, last week Reid Trautz and I presented 60 Apps in 60 Minutes, a collection of the most notable apps for attorneys using an iPhone.  In many cases, we selected what we considered to be the best apps.  In some cases, we mentioned an app just because it served as an example, such as the La. Civil Code app that I picked knowing full well that only Louisiana attorneys would use it, but it is a nicely done app with features that should be copied by others, plus it is an example of the usefulness of having the law of the state in which you practice on your iPhone.  And in a few cases, we mentioned an app just because it was funny.

A bunch of you have asked me for the full list of the apps that we discussed.  Those who attended will be able to download our slides from the ABA TECHSHOW website later this week, but here is a full list of the apps that we discussed.  If you want more information, many of these have previously been reviewed here; click on "iPhone J.D. Index" at the top right to get links to those reviews.

60 Apps in 60 Minutes, 2010 Edition

Research and Accessing the Law

1. Fed. R. Civ. Pro. by Cliff Maier ($2.99): 
2. Black's Law Dictionary ($49.99): 
3. Barron's Law Dictionary ($14.99): 
4. La. Civil Code ($6.99): 
5. U.S. Code by Prof. Shawn Bayern (free): 
6. Fastcase (free): 
7. Lexis Get Cases & Shepardize (free): 
8. Congress in Your Pocket ($0.99)  ; ($4.99)  ; ($29.99)
9. Merck Manual ($9.99)  ; ($29.99) 
10. Drug Trials (free): 
11. Wikipanion (free) ; ($4.99)
12. People (free): 
13. Google Mobile (free): 
14. Bing (free):

Viewing and Editing Documents

1. Documents to Go ($9.99) ; ($14.99)
2. Quickoffice ($9.99) ; ($14.99)
3. Office² ($5.99): 
4. Zosh ($2.99): 
5. Bento ($4.99):
6. ScanR Business Center ($24.99): 

Remote Access

1. LogMeIn Ignition ($29.99): 
2. Dropbox (free): 

Personal Productivity

1. Groups ($4.99): 
2. Time tracking apps (various)
3. Things ($9.99): 
4. Personal Assistant (free) ; ($6.99)
5. Evernote (free): 
6. Dragon Dictation (free): 
7. SpeakWrite (free): 
8. Awesome Note (free) ; ($3.99)
9. West CLE Mobile (free): 

Travel

1. GateGuru (free): 
2. MotionX GPS Drive ($0.99): 
3. Skype (free): 
4. Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search (free): 
5. The Weather Channel (free)  ; ($3.99)
6. WeatherBug (free) ; ($0.99)
7. AutoPark ($4.99): 

Utilities

1. Eye Glasses ($2.99): 
2. DaysFrom Date Calculator ($0.99): 
3. AppBox Pro ($0.99): 
4. Keynote Remote ($0.99): 
5. AT&T's Mark the Spot (free): 
6. Pastebot ($2.99): 
7. Gorillacam (free): 
8. Print n Share ($6.99): 
9. ZeroTap (free): 

Marketing and Social Networking

1. Facebook (free): 
2. Twitterific (free) ; ($4.99)
3. TweetDeck (free): 
4. Bump (free): 
5. UStream Live Broadcaster (free): 
6. No Traffic Tickets (free): 
7. MoFo2Go (free): 

Assisting With Your Personal Life

1. NotifyMe (free) ; ($3.99)
2. Grocery IQ ($0.99): 
3. Siri (free): 
4. Anti-Mosquito Pro ($0.99): 
5. Bills ~ On Your Table ($1.99): 
6. Yelp (free):
7. RadLaser ($1.99): 
8. Relax ($2.99): 
9. Amazon Kindle (free): 
10. Mint (free): 

Entertainment

1. DirecTV (free): 
2. Cocktails+ ($2.99): 
3. Lightsaber Duel (available soon)
4. Pandora Radio (free): 
5. SoundHound ($4.99): 
6. RunPee Mobile ($1.99): 
7. More Cowbell ($0.99): 

Whether you were there or not this year, I hope to see you at TECHSHOW next year, April 11 – 13, 2011 in Chicago.

Typing letters or symbols that are not on the iPhone keyboard

Last week at ABA TECHSHOW, one of the tips that I discussed in one of my iPhone presentations was the ability to hold down on a key on the iPhone U.S. keyboard to see a pop-up list of additional letters or symbols that are not on the main keyboard.  For example, if you hold down the letter "E" you will see the following:

 

When I was preparing my slides, I couldn't find a good comprehensive list of all of the additional letters and symbols that could be typed by holding down a key, so I created my own list for my presentation, and here it is for those of you who could not attend.

The vowels A, E, I, O and U:

The consonants C, L, N, S, Y and Z:

 

The punctuation marks and symbols:

Additionally, there are many characters that the iPhone is capable of creating or viewing that cannot be typed from the U.S. keyboard, even if you hold down a key.  However, there is a simple web app called created by developer Neven Mrgan called Glyphboard that you can use to access some of those characters.  (For example, I wrote this post last year about using Glyphboard to create an en dash.)  To use Glyphboard, go to this address on your iPhone:  http://mrgan.com/gb/  Then follow the on-screen directions and press the plus sign at the bottom of your Safari screen to Add to Home Screen.  Then click on the icon that you just added to your home screen to start the web app, and you can copy a special character from Glyphboard and then paste it someplace else, such as in an e-mail.  Glyphboard includes 48 special characters. 

Note, however, that some of those characters may not display on a PC.  The following characters can be created with Glyboard and should display on most PCs (although this can vary from browser to browser and setup to setup), so you are likely safe to add them to your e-mails and text messages if you want to be fancy:

☺ ♥ ♪ ♫⇧ ↑ ↓ ← → 
♀ ♂ – © ™ ∞ ± ≠ π ² 
¼ ⅓ ½ ¾ ¶ ♠ ♦ ♣

On the other hand, the following characters can be created and displayed on the iPhone using Glyphboard but are unlikely to display correctly on a PC (although again this can vary from system to system), so think about what kind of computer the other person is using before you include them in an e-mail.

☹ ★ ✔ ♨ ☂ ✈ ⌚  ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ ☞ ☮ ☯ ✿ ✉ ☎ ✄ ☠ ☃ ✪

And just in case you are viewing this post on a PC and the above line looks like gibberish to you, here is an image of those characters that iPhones and Macs can see:

I hope that you find this list helpful.

In the news

In the news is typically the Friday post here on iPhone J.D., but this is probably my last post of this week.  If you want more, you'll have to come to Chicago and see me at ABA TECHSHOW.  

Even if you cannot make it to Chicago this year, you can still attend the pre-TECHSHOW event that occurs tonight, Ignite Law 2010, because it will be streamed live to the Internet starting at 7:30 Central.  Click here for more information.

Here are some of the interesting iPhone-related items that I came across over the last few days.

• As reported by Dan Moren of Macworld, Apple has added the ability to send someone an iPhone app as a gift.  Art of the iPhone provides more information on how it works.  Still unclear to me:  what happens if the person already has the app?
• This time last year, Apple allowed you to buy an iPhone in the U.S. without a two year AT&T contract, although the phone was more expensive and still only worked with AT&T.  Presumably it was an effort to clear inventory before the new iPhone 3GS came out in July.  Well here we are, one year later, and once again Apple is doing the same thing, as reported by Dan Moren of Macworld.  If you want to spend more, $499 to $699, for an iPhone you can get one without an AT&T contract.  But again, the only U.S. carrier it will work with is AT&T, so I suspect that few will want to do this.
• Rocket Matter, which sells online time and billing software for law firms that can be accessed from a computer or iPhone, produced a short, fun YouTube video to preview the schwag that they plan to give out at ABA TECHSHOW this week, as well as the schwag that they decided not to provide.
• Harry McCracken of Technologier has used an iPhone for years but recently switched to a Droid for a few weeks to see what Android is all about.  Here is his report of the advantages and disadvantages of a Droid versus an iPhone.
• Similarly, the ABA Journal asked attorneys Finis Price and Ryan McKeen to debate the merits of the two phones for lawyers.  The result is this article.
• Lex Friedman of Macworld compares Dragon Search and ACTRocket, two search apps for the iPhone.
• Steve Jobs was a critical impetus for a bill pending in California that would require the DMV to ask whether each person with a driver's license wants to become an organ donor.  (Currently, a person needs to know to ask to have a sticker put on his license.)  AppleInsider reports on and has the video from the press conference by Steve Jobs, Governor Schwarzenegger, and others.  It seems like a reasonable bill that should be the law everywhere.  It is very rare to see Steve Jobs speak in public outside of an Apple event.
• What is becoming less rare is to hear about Steve Jobs personally responding to e-mails asking about upcoming Apple products and features.  When these reports come out, one never knows if they are true, but Michael Grothaus of TUAW rounds up some recent reports on e-mails reportedly sent by Jobs.  One that caught my eye was a supposed e-mail from Jobs saying that Apple is adding a universal inbox to Mail on the iPhone.
• Dave Caolo of TUAW writes about iPhone apps that can be used to track packages.
• Matt Newburg of TidBITS reviews Things, a To-Do List program for the Mac that syncs with an iPhone client.
• Art of the iPhone writes about and shows a video of Opera Mini, a web browser for the iPhone that was submitted to Apple for approval.  I don't know whether Apple will approve it; there are no other third party browsers on the App Store that don't rely on webkit, the backbone of Safari.  If Apple does allow Opera Mini, it would be significant because it would be approval of an app that duplicates a core function of the iPhone.  Note that this video shows Opera Mini being many times faster than Safari, but John Gruber writes that the speed increase may noticeable mostly on slower Edge connections; on Wi-Fi the speed advantage may decrease and the rendering is likely to be worse than Safari.  We'll see.
• The Wall Street Journal reports that "Apple has seen strong demand" for the iPad and has already pre-sold "hundreds of thousands of units, say people familiar with the matter."
• Most people need to wait until April 3 to get an iPad, but a select few — including  Major League Baseball, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times — have one already, according to Brad Stone and Jenna Wortham of the Times who describe the secrecy required by Apple for those who currently have an iPad.  Douglas MacMillan of BusinessWeek has a similar report.
• Attorney Dennis Kennedy writes in the ABA Journal about whether the iPad could replace the legal pad for lawyers.
• And finally, here is a fun video showing someone using the icons on an iPhone to create the alphabet.  It took 540 icons to do.

ABA TECHSHOW Schedule

I'm flying to Chicago tomorrow for the ABA TECHSHOW conference that runs Thursday through Saturday.  I look forward to talking with as many iPhone-using lawyers as possible to find out your favorite apps and uses for the iPhone, so please stop me to say hello if you are there!  (I look like this and this.)  And to help you find me, here are some items already on my schedule.  (You can get the complete TECHSHOW conference schedule in PDF format here.)

Wednesday

7pm - 8:30pm:  Ignite Law 2010.  I plan to attend this event, at which 16 speakers get just 6 minutes and 20 slides each to discuss the future of law.  Should be interesting.  It is free to attend, and you can sign up and get more details here.

Thursday

4pm - 5pm:  60 Apps in 60 Minutes.  Reid Trautz and I will be giving this presentation.  I hope that you can attend and I'd love to chat after the session.  The location is room Northwest 2.

5pm - 6pm:  ABA TECHSHOW Welcome Recption.  At the Normandie Lounge at the Hilton.  I will try to stop by after my presentation.

6pm - 7pm:  TechShow Tweetup.  LexisNexis is sponsoring the ABA TechShow Tweetup from 5:30 to 7:30 at Kitty O’Sheas Pub at the Hilton.  I'll probably stop by whenever I leave the Welcome Reception.

7:15pm - ?:  Taste of Techshow.  Ernie Svenson and I are leading the iPhone-themed Taste of Techshow dinner.  If you own an iPhone, and if you eat dinner, then you should plan to join us.  There will be a sign up sheet at the show, at the concierge desk.  I believe that the location for our dinner will be Tutto Italiano Ristorante.

Friday

2pm - 4pm:  Concierge Booth.  The concierge booth always tends to be a gathering spot throughout TECHSHOW so you may find me there frequently, but I'm specifically assigned to work at the booth on Friday from 2 to 4.

5:30pm - 7:30pm:  Beer for Bloggers.  The ABA Journal and legal blogging expert Kevin O'Keefe, the founder of LexBlog, Inc., are hosting the Beer for Bloggers event at the Lakeside Green Lounge in the Hilton.  You can get more information and sign up here on O'Keefe's site or here on the ABA site.

Saturday

8:30am - 9:30am:  iPhone Tips for Lawyers.  Ben Stevens and I will be giving this presentation on tips and tricks for using your iPhone, including ways to maximize the built-in iPhone apps such as Mail, Contacts and Safari, strategies and third-party apps that can help you better integrate the iPhone into your law practice, and more.  Our location is room Northwest 5.

11am-Noon:  60 Sites in 60 Minutes.  I'll definitely attend this final presentation of TECHSHOW, which is always a lot of fun.  You can see some of the sites selected in past years here.  This year, the speakers are Toby Brown, Debbie Foster, Adriana Linares and Ernie Svenson.  Of course, there will be hundreds of people attending, so the chance of you finding me in the room are pretty small, but I'll be there somewhere.

Finally, this week I'm following the hashtag #techshow on Twitter so I'll be listening to you if you include #techshow in your tweets.

For those of you headed to Chicago, I look forward to seeing you this week!

Review: MoFo2Go -- law firm marketing iPhone app done right

iPhone owners love to download apps, so it is understandable that many companies have produced iPhone apps for the purpose of marketing the company.  Even law firms have gotten into the act, and I discussed some early efforts this past January. 

Morrison & Foerster, a megafirm that has been around since the 1800s and has over 1,000 lawyers, recently unveiled new marketing initiatives.  First, the law firm — which calls itself MoFo — unveiled a new website.  The design sparked a lot of controversy, but I like it; it's unique and fun.  My only critique is that the font is Arial, and if a law firm wants to be seen as a leader, it should select the font Helvetica instead of Arial in light of the Arial's reputation of being a cheap imitation of Helvetica.  (Having said that, I acknowledge that few people know the difference.)  The firm also unveiled an iPhone app called MoFo2Go (which uses Helvetica, not Arial, giving the app that extra touch of class over the website).  I'm still undecided on whether an iPhone app makes sense as a law firm marketing opportunity, but if you are going to do one, you need to check out the MoFo2Go app because this is an example of how to do it right.

 

First, the app is functional.  What would a client want in a law firm app?  Bios on attorneys and easy links to call or e-mail them, firm addresses, and perhaps firm news.  This app has all of this, and every screen is nicely formatted for the iPhone.  The attorney bio pages are organized either by attorney, by practice area, by office or by law school.  You can also do a search to find a person, although the app only searches for names and does not do a full text search of each attorney's bio.

    

The Locations portion of the app is particularly well done.  Locations brings up a nice Google Map displaying not only a black pin for the office location, but also red pins for travel locations (airports, parking), green pins for recommended nearby restaurants, and blue pins for recommended nearby hotels.  This makes it very easy for a client to find places near the law firm.

    

I don't know how often people would want to use an iPhone app to read news releases from a law firm, but the app also includes a news page brings up standard law firm news releases, including tech-related articles with pictures that are nicely formatted for the iPhone.  A user can also create notes related to an article, another feature that I suspect will get rare use, but its inclusion doesn't take anything away from the app so why not include it.

    

In addition to the function, the app has some fun.  First, the app includes a maze game, giving the user a reason to start up the app even if he is not looking to get MoFo information.  Second, the app itself, like the website, is nicely laid out and has a vibrant, fun feel.

    

One problem with the app is that every time you launch it, you need to wait for the app to download new information — presumably updated bios, new news, etc.  I understand why this is necessary to ensure that the app is always current, but it is a drag to have to wait. 

Overall, while I remain on the fence about whether a law firm should have an iPhone app, MoFo has shown one way to do it well.  Some other bloggers have been less kind about this app, but I like it, and if I were a client of MoFo I could see myself both using the app and having positive thoughts about the firm because of the app.  I give the firm credit for doing something unique and doing it well, although some of the credit also goes to Rubenstein Technology Group, the developer of the app.

Click here to get MoFo2Go (free): 

In the news

The number of iPhone users should continue to grow, the New York Times loves talking about the iPhone, lots of people love to speculate about the iPhone, plus cheese, all in this week's edition of In The News.

• Reuters has an article about patients being told by attorneys to use their iPhones to record appointments with their doctors, without telling their doctors.  Obviously, the doctors are not happy about this, nor are the malpractice attorneys who represent them.
• GigaOm has a neat infographic on smartphone OS share.
• As that GigaOm chart shows, there are still a lot of Blackberry owners, but Art of the iPhone reports on a study by Crowd Science that finds that 40% of Blackberry owners want their next phone to be an iPhone.
• According to the Wall Street Journal, 10% of Microsoft employees are using iPhones.  I presume they are hiding them in paper bags or something.
• Attorney Finis Price of TechnoEsq.com discusses PadNote, an app for the upcoming iPad that will allow you to easily annotate PDFs.  Price predicts that this could be very useful at trial, considering that the iPad has a VGA out port.
• Charles Starrett of iLounge writes that Apple is banning from the Apple Store all products which are, or which include, protective screen film.  I don't use one of these products myself -- I find the iPhone screen sturdy enough, I prefer the feel of the iPhone screen without a cover, and I especially like the oleophobic coating on the iPhone 3GS -- but having reviewed the Invisible Shield product last year I can understand the appeal, and my wife likes having one on her iPhone.Claire Cain Miller of the New York Times reports on an update to the PayPal iPhone app that lets you send someone else money just by bumping iPhones, giving you an easy way to pay someone back or divide a check.
• Dave Itzkoff of the New York Times reports that the cable channel Epix is developing a new TV series called "iCon" written by Dan "Fake Steve Jobs" Lyons and television veteran Larry Charles.  The show will focus "on a fictional Silicon Valley CEO whose ego is a study in power and greed."
• Brad Stone and Miguel Helft of the New York Times report on a rumored spat between Apple and Google because of Google coming out with phones to rival the iPhone.
• And the iPhone articles from the New York Times aren't over yet.  Jenna Wortham has written several interesting iPhone-related stories for the New York Times over the last few months (previously discussed here: 1, 2, 3, 4).  Her latest is this one in which she speculates that Apple may be developing a service called iGroup that would "use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to allow a group of users in the same area to share information such as contact information or chat about an event while it’s happening."  Interesting, if true.
• If you are in the mood for more iPhone speculation, AppleInsider reports on an Apple patent that would add walkie-talkie capabilities to an iPhone.
• Let's keep the speculation coming:  Stan Schroeder of Mashable reports that Chetan Sharma Consulting estimates that mobile app downloads on all smartphones, which were around 7 billion in 2009, will jump to almost 50 billion in 2012, at which time the market will be worth $17.5 billion.
• I'm not sure if this is inside information, speculation, or just hopeful thinking, but according to Art of the iPhone, the parent company of T-Mobile USA has said that it hopes to offer the iPhone on T-Mobile by the end of 2010.
• Ars Technica reports on a study by mobile analytic firm Localytics which concludes that most iPhone app use occurs around lunch-time and around 9pm on weekdays, and throughout the day on weekends. 
• If you are a woman, you like to use your iPhone while you workout, and you don't mind giving people a reason to stare at your chest, TiPb writes about Gracie Gear workout clothes with an iPhone holder built-in to the top.
• And finally, are you trying decide what food you serve when you have a party to celebrate your love of the iPhone, or perhaps the arrival of the iPad?  Ken Aversano, Director of Public Relations at the cooking enthusiast website CooksDen.com, with the help of his wife Diane, created a sculpture of Steve Jobs's head made out of mozzarella cheese, and his website gives you step-by-step directions so that you can create one yourself.  Aversano even suggests three different servings:  Apple Cheese Plate, iPad Thai, and my personal favorite, Spicy Steve Nachos Supreme which starts out looking like Steve Jobs and then melts over your chips.  Here are a few pictures, but you should really check out The Cooks' Den to see all of them.  Aversano's creation has gotten him much attention, including an article in the L.A. Times.  I give the credit to New Orleans attorney Dewey Scandurro for bringing this one to my attention:

 

More on iSlips

Last November, Gary McFarlen, a computer consultant in Texas, wrote a comment on iPhone J.D. asking if there were any time tracking apps that synced with Timeslips, a popular Windows product used by many law firms and other companies that bill by the hour.  Back in November of 2009, there were not, but as I posted last week, the new iSlips app is the first to do so.

Since the release of iSlips, Gary and I have been talking via e-mail about various topics including this app.  At $49.99, iSlips is one of the more expensive apps you might purchase for your iPhone, so if you are thinking about buying iSlips I'm sure that you are interested in hearing from someone who has actually used the app.  Because I don't use Timeslips at my law firm, I won't be able to give iSlips a formal review myself, but when Gary told me about his experiences I thought that it would be something that others might like to read.  Gary gave me permission to post his e-mail, so here is one person's first-hand experience with iSlips after the first week of use:

I wanted to give you some feedback about the new iSlips app for use with Timeslips.  I have been testing a copy for over a week now.  As I had related previously, I have previously used a product from iambic named “Timereporter for Timeslips” that ran on the Palm platform.  I have used it for years and it has been a tremendous productivity tool.  I had attempted to locate a similar item for the iPhone with no success.  I had recently entered into discussions with a programming group to develop this type of product [but iSllips] eclipses my own design interests. 

I ran into a couple of hiccups getting it originally installed on my iPhone.  This was due more to my own ignorance than anything else.   The best technique is to buy through the iTunes store and sync it directly into the iPhone.  Once installed on the phone, it is necessary to go to Brain Freeze software’s website and download and apply the iSlips Sync software to your computer.  This need is not readily apparent at purchase.  Fortunately, between Steve’s timely support and my own “Never Say Die” attitude, it was easy to figure out. 

After installing both pieces of the software, configuring the PC portion for my Timeslips database, I was ready for action.  The sync between the iPhone and database takes place wirelessly.  So it is imperative that a WIFI connection is available between the iPhone and the PC.  Once this was enabled, my first sync transferred all of my clients, fee and expense categories into my iPhone.  Fantastic!  I began entering time and expense entries from that point forward and they synchronized into my Timeslips without fail.  All I have to do in Timeslips is edit the entries for content and accuracy. 

A built-in feature allow the iPhone to [calculate] mileage using the built-in GPS.  This is a great tool for expense recapture of that nature. 

On a support note, I reported some anomalies that I observed in the Sync interface on the PC and an amended / corrected version was posted in just a few days. 

So far, I am very pleased with this application.  I will be recommending it to my colleagues and clients.

Thanks to Gary McFarlen for sharing his thoughts on this app.

[UPDATE 5/26/2011:  McFarlen wrote me again to provide some follow up on his use of this app a year later:

The original release was a very well developed product.  Nevertheless, some minor tweaks and improvements have been made over the last year to further enhance the wireless sync activities, etc.  My daily use to capture consulting fees and expenses has been greatly enhanced.  I find I capture my time more accurately and methodically with iSlips.  The automatic updates of my client list, categories, etc. is a huge time saver.  I wirelessly dump my data to Timeslips, perform slight edits and fire off electronic billings to my clients.   As an example of maximized cash flow, I have performed work that was entered in iSlips, sent an electronic bill later in the day, and received a check in the mail the very next day! 

And now for the good news.  iSlips has just been released for the iPad.  I had the pleasure to work with both beta, and the shipping versions.  I would write this in All Caps, but shouting is not cool.  This is a “Must Have” app for any attorney or contractor that bills by the hour and uses the Timeslips billing program.  The original interface for the iPhone has been modified to take advantage of the larger iPad screen.  The availability of the larger iPad onscreen keyboard makes working with the interface a snap.  Yes, I am extremely fired up about this app.  Not only do I get the familiarity of the original version for the iPhone, I now have a much more useful device for its use.  I have shown this app to a number of attorneys and they all want it.   At this point it is only available for the Timeslips platform for $64.99.   I have had very little need to contact the vendor, Brain Freeze Software, for support.  However, every instance has been met with genuine interest and very prompt response.  I could not be happier with this product.

Thanks for the update!]

Click here for iSlips ($49.99): 

 

Law Practice Magazine has app recommendations and more

Law Practice Magazine is the publication from the Law Practice Management Section of the ABA.  The magazine has always included good articles on legal technology.  Indeed, the reason that I joined the section in the 1990s — back when I was an associate and had nothing to do with the management side of a law firm — was that the magazine included a column by attorney Erik J. Heels, one of the pioneers in the use of the Internet by lawyers.  In 1992, Heels published an electronic and print book called The Legal List which compiled law-related resources on the Internet.  You can now read the old editions of The Legal List on his website, and it is an interesting trip down technology memory lane, back in the days when "The Internet" meant GOPHER, FTP, WAIS and BBS.

Fast-forward to the present, and lawyers interested in the Internet and legal technology are gearing up for ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago later this month.  The current edition of Law Practice Magazine includes tech tips from many of this year's TECHSHOW speakers, including a short column I wrote recommending a few iPhone apps for lawyers.  It reflects a small portion of the "60 Apps in 60 Minutes" presentation that Reid Trautz and I are giving on March 25.  

I also enjoyed reading the columns suggesting Blackberry apps by Toby Brown and Dan Pinnington and Palm Pre apps by Erik Mazzone and Nerino Petro.  (UPDATE 3/19/10: The print issue of the magazine also has recommended apps for the Motorola Droid running the Android OS by Rick Georges, but I don't see that column is online.)  Some of the apps suggested in those columns include:

• Documents to Go and other apps to view Word, Excel and PDF files
• Twitter clients
• Task managers
• Flight information apps
• Instant messaging clients
• Voice control apps such as Vlingo and Google Mobile
• Compilations of statutes and rules
• Internet radio apps such as Pandora
• GPS navigation apps
• Evernote
• Weather apps
• e-Book readers

In light of those two columns, if you are wondering what would happen if you had to use a smartphone other than the iPhone, apparently the answer is that while you would lose the elegance and power of the iPhone, the apps that you would be using would for the most part be very similar to the apps that you are using now with the iPhone.  Interesting.

I'll recommend two more good articles from the current issue of Law Practice Magazine:  this article by Nicole Garton-Jones with tips for lawyers who travel, and this one which collects a wide variety of legal technology tips from many different TECHSHOW presenters.

Review: Readability -- make website articles more readable on the iPhone

On my desktop computers (both my PC at work and my Mac at home), I've long been a fan of a free service called Readability.  It allows you to take a website that contains an article and a bunch of other extraneous information on the side (ads, other stories, etc.) and reformat the page so that all you see is the text of the article itself and the pictures, plus you can format the text into beautiful fonts at different sizes on a nice background.  It is sort of like taking the text of an article and placing it into an elegant book reader on your computer screen.  By increasing the text size, the text becomes easier to read, and by stripping away the ads, you remove the distractions and can just focus on the articles.  Here is a link to a great post by David Pogue of the New York Times which describes Readability better than I can.

It never occurred to me that this service could work with an iPhone until I saw this article by Darren Becket on iPhone Alley, which prompted me to do some more digging and locate this post from Herm Greider last year.  The steps to set it up are a little complicated, but essentially you use your computer to create a bookmarklet for the Readability site, and then you transfer that bookmarklet to your iPhone.  There are two ways to do this.  If you already use MobileMe to sync your Safari bookmarks on your computer and iPhone, then just create the Readability bookmark on your computer and it will automatically sync.  Greider describes that easier method, and also gives step by step instructions on a more complicated way that I used which involves sending yourself an e-mail containing the javascript for the bookmarklet.

Once you have it set up, here is what you can do with it.  Let's say you are reading the New York Times using Safari on your iPhone and you see an article like this:

 

There is a lot of extraneous information on that page, such as all of the ads on the right and the related stories on the left.  You can of course double-tap on the text of the article to zoom in, but you still have some of this distracting information.  But with the Readability bookmarklet, you can just tap your Bookmarks icon, then select Readability bookmark that you created, and then the article that you were looking at will instantly be reformatted. 

Here are two examples which both use the settings of Newspaper style, Extra Large size but the one on the left uses a Wide margin and the one on the right uses the Extra Wide margin (to get an even more narrow column, which you can double-tap to get even larger text):

    

The text in the Newspaper / Extra Large / Extra Wide Margin version is obviously quite huge, but I like that I can hold my iPhone far from my face and still easily read the text.  Of course, with fewer words per page I have to do more scrolling, which is a reason to instead use Newspaper / Extra Large / Wide Margin.  I actually set up two bookmarklets on my iPhone, one with each size of margin, so I can just choose the one that fits my mood.

I prefer the white background and typeface of the Newspaper style, but if you want something different you can choose other styles such as Inverse (on the left) and Novel (on the right):

    

For those of you planning to get an iPad, keep this tip in mind as I'm sure that Readability would look fantastic on the iPad's large screen.  But even on the iPhone, it is wonderful to have a fast option for stripping away the extras and focusing on just the text in an article.

Screen rotation lock and more on the iPad; coming to the iPhone too?

Apple started accepting sales for the iPad this past Friday, and at the same time updated some of the pages on its website concerning the iPad.  One interesting update was to add this page on the Apple website containing this picture:

 

Before this past Friday, Apple had not previously mentioned a "screen rotation lock" button the the iPad, and I presume that this witch was not on the sample iPads that selected journalists were shown back when the iPad was first announced — if it had been, people would have written about it.  [UPDATE: iPhone Alley reports that this switch was on demo units, but Apple previously called this the Mute switch, just like we have on the iPhone.  Now the function has been changed to a screen rotation lock switch.]

For iPad enthusiasts, it is exciting to see Apple adding new features to the iPad that were not previously discussed.  Macword's Dan Moren wrote this helpful article to describe some of the features only recently learned from the new pages on the Apple website.

As an iPhone user, what interests me most about the iPad is that it may provide evidence of what Apple is planning to bring to the next version of the iPhone, which I presume Apple will introduce this June as the company has in the past.  I would love to see a screen rotation lock added to the iPhone.  At least once a week I find myself using my iPhone in a bed, while lounging in a chair, or in some other location where I must be tilting the iPhone as I look at it because the iPhone suddenly thinks that I want to switch from portrait to landscape mode (or vice versa) and the rotation changes.  Ugh!  Whenever it happens, I find myself wishing there was some way to tell the iPhone not to rotate the screen.

Of course, the iPhone is much smaller than the iPad, leaving much less space for buttons and switches, and thus I can see Apple deciding to include this as a software feature accessible in Settings instead of a hardware button on the side.  Plus, a software update would be helpful for all current iPhone owners, whereas a hardware button would require a new purchase.  On the other hand, pressing a switch to stop screen rotation is much faster than having to dig into the Settings app.  However it is done, I just hope that Apple adds this feature.

I see a few other newly discovered features in the iPad that might also be nice on the iPhone.  One example is the advanced data consumption information and warnings so that you know how much 3G data you have consumed.  If you are in the U.S. on an unlimited data plan, this information is not all that important, but if you travel abroad and purchase one of AT&T's international roaming plans, you'll want to place very close attention to the amount of data you are using because the charges if you go over are very high. 

Another example is that the iPad has a separate app for Videos, whereas on the iPhone your videos are part of the iPod.  The iPad has an iPod app too, to play both music and music videos, but it appears that if you want to play a movie or TV show you use the separate Videos app.  A separate Videos app would also make sense on the iPhone.

Since the iPhone was released in 2007, Apple has essentially only sold one model at a time.  Sure, some units had more RAM than others, and there were different colors, and Apple continued to sell some older units at the same time as the newer units, but there were never truly different, equally new models at the same time.  With the iPad, Apple will for the first time be selling two, current generation iPhone OS-using devices at the same time.  It will interesting to see which new features on one pop up on the other.

In the news

My post on Wednesday about the Blue Marble default iPhone wallpaper has resulted in record traffic to iPhone J.D. thanks to John Gruber, who linked to the post on his great Daring Fireball site, and tons of folks who mentioned the post on Facebook and Twitter.  For example, Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, noted in this tweet that the Blue Marble is his wallpaper on both his iPhone and his computers.  Likewise, I've had the Blue Marble set as my iPhone wallpaper for the last week.  It really is an amazing image that makes me think about how small the Earth really is (not to mention how cool it would be to be an astronaut).  I mention all of this today because if you enjoyed the original post, you'll want to go back and read the very interesting comments, especially the ones at the end by Kevin Purcell of Seattle who added some great links to other fantastic photographs of Earth from space.  And now, on to the iPhone news of note from the past week:

• Adam Engst of TidBITS wrote an excellent review of the WeatherBug Elite app.  I've had the free version of WeatherBug for a long time now.  I always considered it one of the best iPhone weather apps, along with AccuWeather and The Weather Channel.  (I also like the Weather Underground website which is formatted for the iPhone.)  But I didn't realize all that the WeatherBug app can do until I read this review, which prompted me to spend the dollar to get the "Elite" version which doesn't have ads.  The ads do get in the way of the maps and charts, so if you decide to get WeatherBug after you read the TidBITS review, I recommend that you spring for the Elite version.  Click here to get WeatherBug Elite ($0.99): 
• Nicholas Bonsack of Macworld writes about a Stanford survey on iPhone addiction.  Hey, I could quit the iPhone anytime I want, I just ... ahem ... oh who am I kidding, yes I'm addicted.
• Claire Cain Miller of the New York Times writes about mobile apps that outperform websites.
• Court Days is a great date calculator app by Dan Friedlander that only costs $0.99.  I reviewed the first version last year, and now the app is about to be updated to version 2.0.  The new version isn't in the App Store yet, but you can read about it on the LawOnMyPhone website.  [UPDATE 3/14/10:  The update is now available in the App Store.]  There are some great additions, including the ability to add custom court holidays. 
• The West Virginia Record writes about Charleston, WV attorney Robert Bailey who wrote iPhone apps containing the rules of procedure for West Virginia state and federal courts.
• If you are looking for a way to stream video from your computer to your iPhone, even video that is in a format that the iPhone normally wouldn't be able to play, Gizmodo has a review of an app called Air Video.  I've tried it and it works great.  Click here to get Air Video ($2.99): 
• I purchased one or two Emanuel study guides when I was in law school.  For anyone out there planning to take the Multistate Bar Exam, Emanuel now has six iPhone apps to help you prepare.  Each one costs $12.99, and the subjects covered are (these are links to the App Store):  Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Property and Torts.
• Apple makes iPhone app developers agree to keep the terms of Apple's developer agreement confidential, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation noticed that NASA is an iPhone developer, so the EFF submitted a FOIA request to NASA to get the agreement, and then posted it on its website.  Interesting strategy.  If you want to know more about the agreement, click here.  Frankly, a lot of what EFF highlights is also contained in Apple's App Store Terms and Conditions, which are available to the public on Apple's website and which I analyzed in my post last year entitled "No refunds and no nukes:  a look at the Apple iPhone App Store Terms and Conditions."
• I always enjoy reading about how lawyers use their iPhones.  Rick Georges writes on his FutureLawyer site about all of the things that he does with his Droid phone, and since the items on his list are all things that you can also do with an iPhone, I thought some of you might enjoy reading his article.
• Putting aside the fact that AT&T still doesn't allow tethering on the iPhone, I've wondered whether you could tether an iPhone to an iPad, making it unnecessary to buy the more expansive version of the iPad and 3G monthly service.  As Engadget notes, Steve Jobs apparently says no.
• And finally, Doritos sponsored a contest for people to come up with a video that would go viral, and one group produced a cute one that mocks Apple's video on the upcoming iPad.  You can read more on Mashable and you can view it right here:

Review: Pastebot -- sophisticated and beautiful clipboard for the iPhone

Ever since iPhone Software 3.0, we've had the ability to copy text and pictures from one app and paste into another app.  But what if you want to store the copied text or photo so that you can use it again later?  Pastebot is a useful app from Tapbots that addresses this need.  Tapbots gave me a free review copy of the $2.99 app, and I really like it.

When you launch the app, it takes whatever you last copied and adds it to the top of a list of clippings.  If you want to take something that you have already saved into Pastebot and copy it to the iPhone clipboard, just tap it once and a blue dot will appear to the right of the clipping, indicating that it is now loaded into memory and you can go to another app and paste it.  You can store up to 99 clippings in the main portion of the app, plus you can create folders to hold up to 99 clippings each so you can essentially hold as many clippings as you want.

    

If that was all that Pastebot did, it would be a useful app that I would recommend.  But that is just the beginning.  Tap on the arrow to the right of any clipping and you see a large screen containing the text.  From there, you can easily edit the text in the clipping, add a title for the clipping, or see some statistics about the clipping such as the date of the clipping, the number of characters and the number of words.  Even more impressive, if you tap the icon at the bottom left, you can select a filter to do things like convert the text to lowercase or uppercase, find and replace within the text, and even translate to a different language (a feature just added in the 1.1 update on February 23, 2010).

   

If the clipping is a picture, Pastebot will tell you the dimensions in pixels, and the picture filters give you some basic picture editing functions such as adjusting brightness or saturation or converting to black and white or sepia tones.

  

Indeed, you don't have to even bring up the full page version of a clipping to get at most of the functions.  When you tap once on a clipping, in addition to setting the blue dot and copying the clipping into memory, a mini-dashboard pops up below the clipping from which you can access filters and other functions.

  

While the main feature of Pastebot is to copy and paste into the iPhone's clipboard, you can also press a button to send a clipping directly to e-mail, to save a picture to the iPhone Photos app, or to send text to Google to perform a search in Safari.  The 1.1 update to Pastebot added the ability to duplicate clippings, useful if you want to make changes to a clipping but also keep the original. 

The app also works with a free Mac application that will allow you to wirelessly send clips from a Mac to Pastebot and vice versa.  I haven't had a reason to try this yet — for me, the main value of the app just comes from using it on an iPhone — but I'm glad to know that the function is there if I want to use it in the future.  If this feature is of interest to you, you'll want to read this great post by Shawn Blanc which talks about the different file types that can be shared using Pastebot.

Perhaps best of all, Tapbots give you form, not just function.  If you have ever used the other two apps sold by Tapbots, Convertbot or Weightbot, you know that Tapbots makes beautiful apps.  The panels on each screen slide gracefully and make satisfying noises.  It is really a joy to use any of the Tapbots apps; I use Convertbot all the time, not just because it is useful to make conversions, but also because it is, frankly, fun to use.  In the last week that I've been testing Pastebot, I'm finding that is equally true for this app.

What's not to love?  The only big negative for me is that the app doesn't handle all of the types of items that you can copy and paste on the iPhone.  For example, you can copy portions of a webpage in Safari including both pictures and text and paste that into an e-mail, but you cannot paste that into Pastebot.  Similarly, you can copy rich text from one e-mail (containing bold, italics, etc.) and paste it into another e-mail, but you cannot use Pastebot as a go-between.  Why not?  According to Ars Technica, Apple doesn't currently allow third party apps to use these features.  Darn.  Hopefully Apple will change this in the future because it would be a welcome addition to Pastebot.

Pastebot is useful app that is a joy to use.  If you use copy and paste on your iPhone and want to get more sophisticated features, you won't regret buying this great app.

Click here for Pastebot ($2.99): 

Blue Marble

One of the default pictures included with the iPhone is a beautiful image of the Earth as seen from space.  Unless you weren't paying attention, you saw this picture when you first purchased your iPhone, and you can still view it by going to Settings --> Wallpaper --> Wallpaper; it is the second image provided by Apple.  Here is what it looks like as a wallpaper on an iPhone:

 

If you have ever wondered where this photograph came from, a recent post from Gizmodo sheds some light on the subject, although to get the full story you need to go to some more sources, including this page from the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science in Switzerland.  Here is a short version.

First, a little history.  One of the most famous pictures of the Earth was taken on December 7, 1972 from a distance of about 18,000 miles out by the crew of Apollo 17 who were fortunate enough to have the sun directly behind them so that the Earth was fully illuminated.  One of the astronauts, Eugene Cernan, quipped when the picture was taken:  "I know we're not the first to discover this — but we'd like to confirm, from the crew of America, that the world is round."  The image was called Blue Marble and is one of the most widely distributed photographs in existence:

 

In 2000, climatologist Reto Stöckli was working with the NASA Earth Observatory team and decided to update that famous picture.  By compiling satellite data and images taken over several months, he created an artificially colored image that he also called Blue Marble:

 

Then in 2002, Stöckli worked with Rob Simmon of the NASA Earth Observatory and others to update that image and create a so called "true-color image" that was based on data which closely reflects the full spectrum range of visual perception.  In other words, this is what the Earth might really look like if you were in space.  This image, called Blue Marble 2002, was the most detailed true-color image of the entire Earth to date.  To be clear, this is not a single snapshot of Earth, but instead is a composite of months of satellite-based observations.  Most of the data came from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) which flew on a satellite over 400 miles above the Earth, so much closer than the 18,000 miles out of the Apollo 17 astronauts.  Here is Blue Marble 2002:

 

You can download the full size, 2048 x 2048 pixel, version of Blue Marble 2002 from the Flickr page for the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.  You can also view this animation of the Earth spinning created from the same images.  NASA released the Blue Marble 2002 image to the public, and that was the image that Apple decided to use on the iPhone. 

Although the Gizmodo article cited above says that this is this is the highest resolution image of the earth, that is actually no longer true.  Stöckli, Simmon and the rest of the gang got the band back together to work on a project called Blue Marble: Next Generation (BMNG).  Using MODIS data from 2004, the BMNG team created this image in 2005:

 

The full size version of Blue Marble 2005 is 4096 x 4096 pixels, so it is four times the size of the 2002 image used by Apple on the iPhone.  You can download full versions of all of the images mentioned above — the 1972 Apollo 17 image and the Blue Marble versions dated 2000, 2002 and 2005 — on this page from the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science.  You can also get more information on all of the different versions of Blue Marble on Wikipedia.  

Although Blue Marble 2005 is the more recent and more detailed version, in my opinion the 2002 version is the most beautiful of all of them, although of course the original 1972 version is also wonderful because it is "real" and not a composite.  I suppose that someone at Apple felt the same way since the 2002 version is the one included with the iPhone.  If you changed your iPhone's default wallpaper then you probably won't see this image on your iPhone again unless you have a serious crash and the iPhone returns to a default state and commands you to connect your iPhone to a computer running iTunes.  If that does happen to you and you find yourself starting to panic, perhaps you can distract yourself by thinking of all of the time and care that went into creating the beautiful image of Earth on your iPhone screen.

[UPDATE 1/26/12:  NASA has now released Blue Marble 2012, an even higher definition (8000 x 8000) view of Earth created by combining several images taken by a NASA satellite on January 4, 2012.  Looks like it is time for Apple to update the iPhone wallpaper!]

iSlips -- track time and expenses, sync with Timeslips

About a year ago, I posted a survey of the time tracking apps that existed at that time.  Many of those apps have been improved greatly over the last year and several new apps have been released.  I myself have never felt a need to track my time or expenses on my iPhone, so I don't have any first hand experience with these apps, but I do try to keep tabs on what is out there because people ask me about them from time to time.

One question I have received quite a few times is whether there is an iPhone time tracking app that syncs with Timeslips, a popular Windows product used by many law firms.  This past Friday, a new iPhone app was released that tracks time and expenses and it is the first app that syncs with Timeslips.  The app is called iSlips.  In addition to syncing with Timeslips, this looks like a very capable iPhone app in its own right.  Here is a video provided by the developer which provides an overview of the app:

At $49.99, this is one of the more expensive time and expense billing apps for the iPhone, but it looks like an app that might fit a need for many attorneys so I wanted to mention it here.  If you try this app, I would love to hear how it works for you, including how well you find that it integrates with Timeslips.

[UPDATE 3/18/10:  Click here for more info on this app.]

Click here for iSlips ($49.99): 

iPad availability and first commercial

Are you thinking about getting an iPad?  Late last week, Apple announced on its website that the iPad will be available to purchase starting Saturday, April 3, 2010.  And starting this Friday, March 12, you can pre-order an iPad from the Apple Online Store or you can go to any Apple Retail Store and reserve an iPad that you can pick up on April 3, 2010.  If I've learned anything from the launches of the different models of the iPhone, it is that supplies will be limited on the first day, so if you want to starting using your iPad on April 3, you should make plans to give Apple your $499 (or more) early this Friday.

Last night was the Oscars (I guess technically it was called the 82nd Annual Academy Awards) and Steve Jobs was in attendance.  I'm sure that he was thrilled to see that his other company, Pixar, won the Oscar for Animated Feature Film for its latest movie, Up.  (What a wonderful film, from its amazing first ten minutes to the beauty and humor throughout the movie.)  But by not being at home, Jobs missed the chance to see the first televised commercial for the iPad.  Hopefully he has a DVR. 

If you also missed it too (or just want to see it again), you can view the ad here on Apple's website, or here is a version from YouTube:

I presume that one reason for running the ad was to publicize the April 3 availability date.  But this was also Apple's first chance to show the public at large what the iPad is all about.  In the ad, Apple chose to show off the following built-in apps: Safari (displaying the New York Times and Facebook websites), Photos, Videos, iPod, Calendar, Maps and Mail.  The ad also shows off two of the apps developed by Apple that you can download from the App Store:  Pages, which costs $9.99, and iBooks, which is free.

This isn't the first time that Apple has used the Oscars to show off the iPhone operating system.  On February 26, 2007, Apple ran an ad for the original iPhone during the Oscars.  It was a great commercial, one which served not only to whet the public's appetite for the first iPhone but also as an homage to many great actors.  Here it is from YouTube:

It is incredible when you think how far Apple has come with the iPhone operating system over the last three years.

I didn't buy the original iPhone when it first came out, although I was mighty tempted to do so.  Likewise, I don't plan to buy an iPad on April 3, 2010, but let's be honest, we all know that I'll get one at some point.  It's just a question of when.  Maybe, like the iPhone, I'll wait until the second model comes out.  Or maybe not.  I suspect that many of you are having similar thoughts.

In the news

For all of you who are planning to attend ABA TECHSHOW later this month, let's get dinner!  On Thursday and Friday nights during the conference, there will be several "Taste of the ABA TECHSHOW" dinners.  These Dutch-treat dinners provide attendees with the opportunity to meet and network with speakers and other attendees with similar interests.  Mark your calendar for Thursday, March 25 because that night, Ernie Svenson, who was recently profiled on InsideLegal, and I will host a dinner for iPhone-using attorneys.  I believe that the location will be Tutto Italiano Ristorante, but this may change.  You'll be able to sign up once you get to the conference.  This will be one of those rare times when it is not considered rude to use your iPhone during dinner!  I hope to see you there. 

Also, one quick programming note.  I know that some of you never use Twitter at all, others are occasional users, and a few of you rely on Twitter to get all of your news.  If you fall in the second or third category, I have been tweeting for a while now at @jeffrichardson if you want to follow me.  I don't post very often so I won't overload your feed, but when I do run across something timely or when I have a major new post on iPhone J.D., I'll put a quick tweet on @jeffrichardson.  But if you fall in the third category and you like to use Twitter to see what is new, this week I've started using the @iphonejd Twitter account to automatically post the title and a link for every new post on iPhone J.D.  Feel free to follow that account if you want to get notice of every single new post shortly after it appears. 

And now, on to the iPhone-related news of note from this past week:

• Attorney Finis Price compares the screen on an iPhone with the screen on the Google Nexus One on his TechnoEsq site.  The Nexus One has a higher resolution 800 x 480 OLED display, compared to the iPhone’s 480 x 320 LCD display, but Price shows that the iPhone still does better with photos because the Nexus One display only displays 16-bit color.
• AppAdvice reports that Apple has decided to pull all Wi-Fi tracker apps from the App Store.  I've have one called WiFi Track that I use occasionally and that I have recommended in the past, but I suppose I cannot recommend it anymore because it is no longer available on the App Store.
• AppAdvice also reports on the RedEye Mini, a $49 device that plugs in to the headphone jack on your iPhone and turns it in to a Universal Remote.
• Well that didn't take long.  When I discussed Quickoffice and Documents to Go by DataViz on February 11, 2010, I noted that Quickoffice had just added support for some of the cloud document storage services such as Google Docs, and then I added in an update the next day that DataViz had announced plans to catch up by adding Google Docs support soon.  Documents to Go was updated yesterday, so now either app can access documents on Google Docs.  Click here for Documents to Go Premium ($14.99): 
• Fortune just released their annual list of the world's most admired companies, and Apple is #1 in 2010.  Dan Moren of Macworld points out that this is the third year in the row that Apple has taken top honors.
• Apple filed suit against HTC alleging that its smartphones running the Google Android operating system or the Windows Mobile operating system infringe on 20 iPhone patents.  Engadget has this page with general information and this page analyzing the 20 patents at issue.  John Gruber writes extensively on his opposition to the lawsuit here, stating "Whatever benefit in the market Apple hopes to achieve by this suit to me seems likely to be worth far less than the loss of good will and prestige Apple will suffer if they vigorously pursue this case (let alone if they initiate more such suits)."
• Kim Komando writes for USA Today about apps that let you turn your iPhone into a powerful mobile office.
• And finally, did you ever notice that Apple always found ways to make the iPod smaller and smaller over time, from the original generation to the nano to the shuffle, but with the iPhone OS Apple went from the small iPhone to the larger iPad?  The French site BeGeek takes a humorous look at what this might mean for the future of iPhone OS devices.  (Link via AppAdvice.)  Here is what they, ahem, predict:

Review: Louisiana Legal Ethics -- free La. Rules of Professional Conduct

In October of 2009, I described a free website by Loyola (New Orleans) Law School Professor Dane Ciolino, an expert on legal ethics, called Louisiana Legal Ethics.  The portion of that website containing the latest Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct is now available in a free iPhone app.  While the content comes from Prof. Ciolino, the iPhone app was put together by New Orleans attorney Matt Miller, who wrote the Louisiana Civil Code and Code of Civil Procedure apps that I also reviewed this past October.

The app allows you to browse the rules in two ways.  First, you can view them grouped by Article.  Second, you can just see a full list of the rules.  I find it faster to use the second method, especially because you can quickly run your finger along the right side to jump to the part of the rules that you need.

    

Another way to get at the rules is to run a search.  All rules containing the word will appear.  Unfortunately, the word is not highlighted when you read the rule so you will just have to hunt for it.  The final way to get to a rule is to tap the Bookmarks button to see the rules that you have previously saved as a bookmark.

When you view a rule, you get three things.  First, you get the full text of the rule.  Second, you get background and historical information on the rule provided by Prof. Ciolino.  Finally, you get the ABA official comments to the model rule on which the Louisiana rule is based.  If you find that you refer to a rule a lot, you can add it to your list of bookmarks by tapping a button at the top right.  (The button does not appear if you have already added a rule to your list of bookmarks.)

  

If you are a Louisiana lawyer, you are likely to find this free app very useful.  I've only had the app a few days and I've already used it several times.  It is nice that Prof. Ciolino's website is nicely formatted for the iPhone and includes extra features like the latest legal ethics news, but this dedicated app is even faster when you just want the rules.

Click here to get Louisiana Legal Ethics (free): 

Review: Kensington LiquidAUX Auxiliary Car Kit with Remote -- great connection between your iPhone and your car

I listen to my iPhone in my car all the time — mostly podcasts, other times music, occasionally an audio book, and sometimes while using a GPS navigation app at the same time — but I've been in the market for a new car kit.  I had been using the Griffin AutoPilot, a device which I liked because it charged the iPhone, provided audio out, and even had a button on top of the part that plugs into the cigarette lighter / auxilary port that could be used to play/pause, FF and RW.  Unfortunately, after about 18 months of use, the button stopped working, and I had really grown to like the button feature.  After looking at all of the current replacement options, I decided to purchase a Kensington LiquidAUX Auciliary Car Kit with Remote, and my verdict after two weeks of use is that I really like it.  You can buy it from Kensington for $59.99, but this link will give you the Amazon price which is currently $45.84.  (Note that Amazon links on iPhone J.D. include an affiliate code that won't cost you anything but Amazon provides iPhone J.D. with a small referral fee if you buy something.)

The basic features are the ones that you find in any car kit.  You plug one end in to your cigarette lighter / auxilary port and the other end has a standard iPhone dock connector.  It provides power to the iPhone and also acts as an audio out.  A cord comes out of the plug that plugs in to your auxiliary audio input on your car stereo.  I actually don't have an auxiliary audio input in my car, so instead I use a cassette tape adapter and I use cheap ($5.00) 3.5mm Stereo Coupler to connect the two cords.

What makes the LiquidAUX special is that it comes with a small wireless remote.  The remote has four buttons: play/pause at the top, rewind on the left, fast forward on the right and shuffle at the bottom.  The remote comes with a case in which it sits.  The case includes a velcro strap that is designed to be wrapped around your steering wheel like this:

 

(By the way, you can click any of the pictures in this post to see larger versions.)  You can attach the remote anywhere on your steering wheel, and the remote easily pops out of the case and can be turned 180º so that the play/pause button is at the top no matter which side of the steering wheel the case is on.

 

The remote works great and makes it very easy to start, stop and change music on your iPhone while you are driving without having to look at the iPhone screen.  In fact, you don't even need to look at the remote to use it because the buttons are raised.  Thus, you can feel where you need to press without taking your eyes off of the road.  I found that I actually didn't like the remote on my steering wheel because as I turned my wheel and felt the wheel slide under my hand, I didn't like the slight bump of the case for the remote.  But I quickly found a great solution for the layout of my car:  I placed the remote around the emergency break right next to my seat.  That actually places the remote at a perfect position for my right hand and I can easily find and use the remote without needing to look at it at all.  So here is the setup in my car:

 

You might not mind the remote case on your steering wheel, but in case you do, consider whether you have an optimal alternative location in your car like I do.  Wherever you place it, the remote is really the best part of this product.  By the way, in the above picture, my iPhone is upside down (but it also works right side up because there is a notch for the cord) inside of a Griffin iSqueez, a product that is unfortunately now discontinued.  If you can still find one, it does a nice job of holding an iPod or iPhone in place in a car's cup holder as long as you don't use a case.  (With a case, the iPhone is too big for the iSqueez.)

 

Here are some additional details that might be of interest to you.  The wireless remote uses the 2.4GHz spectrum.  When your car power turns off, the device goes off as well so that it doesn't drain your car battery.  Unlike some car chargers, this one won't pop up the warning every time you connect it that "This accessory is not made to work with iPhone" which is nice.  When your car power turns on, the device turns on, and then you can press the play button on the remote to resume playback.  It works with the original iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, and because the cord plugs into the iPhone dock connector port, it works with most cases (assuming that your case has an opening for the dock connector).  [UPDATE 7/5/10:  I've been using the Kensington LiquidAUX Auxiliary Car Kit with my iPhone 4 and it works fine.]  The plug has a short cord to go to your audio auxiliary port, but the unit comes with a four foot audio extension cable in case your car's cigarette lighter / power port is far away from your audio auxiliary port.  

I have a slight concern about the iPhone dock connection because you can easily pull the cord out of your iPhone.  For now, the connection is snug enough that this isn't a problem, but I do wonder whether in the future a slight pull on the cord might result in the cord popping out of my iPhone.  I'll just have to see how it holds up.

Kensington makes some other models in the LiquidAUX line that I did not try.  a "Deluxe" model costs $20 more than the version I bought and has a sturdy arm that comes out of the power plug with the dock on the top that your iPhone fits into.  There were some mixed reviews on Amazon about how well the arm works.  There is also a Bluetooth model for $40 more than the model I purchased which doesn't need a physical connection to the iPhone at all — music streams from your iPhone to the LiquidAUX using Bluetooth A2DP — but that model doesn't charge the iPhone while in the car.

I've used the Kensington LiquidAUX both on short trips around town and on long road trips while using MotionX GPS Drive and listening to an Audible audio book and all of my experiences with this product have been positive.  The remote works great and is so convenient to have at my fingertips.  The price (at Amazon) was right, the device powers my iPhone, the sound quality is good through my car stereo, and the remote works great.  If you are in the market for an auxiliary car kit for your iPhone, this one is worth a look.

Click here for the Kensington LiquidAUX Auxiliary Car Kit with Remote from Amazon ($45.84).

Nuance develops medical versions of Dragon Dictation

I am a huge fan of Nuance's Dragon Dictation, the free iPhone app that lets you speak a few sentences to your iPhone and have them quickly transcribed for an e-mail, text, etc.  The app works great, and when it makes mistakes they are very easy to correct.  The Nuance technology is also used in Siri, another useful app that I recently reviewed.  Dragon products have been available for the computer for a long time now and even come in special editions for lawyers and doctors.  I've been wondering whether Nuance would use its special knowledge of legal and medical terms to improve the iPhone app.  We now know that the answer to half of that question is yes.

This week, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is holding its annual conference and exhibition in Atlanta.  One of the exhibitors is Nuance, and yesterday Nuance announced a new line of Dragon Dictation iPhone products for people in the medical field, all of which are discussed here on the Nuance website.

First, Dragon Medical Mobile Search is an app that will let you use your voice to search for medical information on sites such as MedScape, MedLine, Epocrates and Google.  That app should be available by April 30th.  Second, Dragon Medical Mobile Dictation is a version of the iPhone Dragon Dictation app that understands medical terms.  Thus, doctors can use it to dictate their medical notes.  Third, Dragon Medical Mobile Recorder will record longer dictation, send it to the Nuance website, and have the transcription sent back to the doctor as a "high quality draft document" for the clinician to "review and sign-off."  That last service requires a subscription to Nuance's transcription services.

Additionally, Nuance announced a Dragon Medial Mobile SDK that third parties can use to add Dragon Medical Dictation technology directly into their medical iPhone apps.

Nuance has not yet announced a price for its medical apps.

Why am I writing about this?  I don't think that I have a huge audience of doctors who read iPhone J.D., except perhaps for my brother (hi, Kevin!) but if you look at the Nuance press release and replace the word "medical" with the word "legal," you can easily imagine some great new Dragon Dictation apps for lawyers.  We know that Nuance has a lot of experience understanding words spoken by lawyers and translating those words into written legalese, so it seems like a natural product for Nuance to develop.  I see that Nuance will have a booth at the ABA TECHSHOW in just a few weeks, so you know what my first question will be when I visit with the folks from Nuance.

As much as I love Dragon Dictation on the iPhone, I should note that I am not a fan of the same product on my computer.  I have tested the Dragon Naturally Speaking several times over the years, and I find it cumbersome to have to wear a special headset to dictate my briefs.  I also get frustrated by the accuracy because even though it is almost 100%, those few errors always seem to take me a long time to fix, plus fixing them disrupts my writing process.  As someone who can type fairly quickly and has always avoided dictation in favor of just typing everything myself, using Dragon on a computer just slows me down.  On the iPhone, however, I can speak and fix any mistakes faster than I can type on the virtual keyboard, and I say that as someone who actually does pretty well typing on the iPhone keyboard.  Having the ability to dictate sentences that include legal terms, legal cites, etc. on my iPhone when I am away from a computer would be very useful.

I have no inside knowledge about whether Nuance is developing anything for lawyers who use iPhones, but with yesterday's announcement of the Dragon  Medical Mobile suite of apps, I am now crossing my fingers that this is something that we see soon.  In the meantime, lawyers who work on medical malpractice cases, medical paralegals, and other lawyers who frequently deal with medical terms might find something useful these latest announcements from Nuance.