Most of the iPhone news of note this week concerns updates to iPhone apps that may be of interest to attorneys:
Dragon Dictation is one of my favorite apps for the iPhone. (My review is here.) You can often dictate a quick e-mail or text much faster than you can type one. The app was just upgraded to version 2.0 and adds several new features such as (1) the ability to paste text directly into an SMS client (the old version just put it on the clipboard so you had to manually paste into a text message), (2) the ability to paste the text directly into Facebook or Twitter, (3) multilingual support and (4) iOS 4 compatibility so, for example, dictated text in a scratchpad isn’t lost if you accept an incoming phone call. Click here for Dragon Dictation (free):
Courtroom Objections (which I reviewed last month) was updated to add references to rule numbers in the Federal Rules of Evidence and the Texas Rules of Evidence, making this app much more useful (especially for Texas attorneys). The update also adds iOS 4 compatibility. Click here for Courtroom Objections ($2.99):
Trying to come up with a good quote to spice up a speech? Joel Mathis of Macworld reviews Who Said, an app that offers quotes by subject.
If you want to use your iPhone as a remote control for your TV, Christopher Breen of Macworld reviews two options.
Fred Vogelstein of Wired wrote an extensive article on the relationship between Apple and AT&T.
Earlier this year, I reviewed Note Taker, an app from Dan Bricklin (who created the legendary VisiCalc app in 1979). It is a neat app, although the iPhone screen is a little small to do much handwriting on it. But the iPad is much larger, so Bricklin developed Note Taker HD. Fritz Nelson of InformationWeek reviews the iPad version. Click here for Note Taker ($1.99): . Click here for Note Taker HD ($4.99):
It is hard for me to believe that there is a popular video game based on being an attorney, but Phoenix Wright is a popular game on the Nintendo DS that was ported to the iPhone earlier this year. I haven’t tried it myself, but if you want to, it is currently on sale for $2.99 instead of the normal $4.99. Click here for Phoenix Wright ($2.99 on sale):
And finally, the UK rock band Squeeze (who had so many great songs in the 1970s) appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and played a version of Pulling Mussels from a Shell that featured a solo on the iPad. Yes, the iPad. Look at the video at the 2:25 point:
3 thoughts on “In the news”
Jeff, I enjoyed Squeeze in the 70s and still appreciate their music. If that video doesn’t make you spring for an iPad now, I’m at a loss to figure out what will. 😉
Re: Dragon Dictate. I love the program also, and it sees to run better on my Iphone than my computer. However, the new version has a feature I do not like. The last version allowed me to go from text feature to Dictate, and then it would put it back in my conversation. With the new version, I have to type in the name of the person with whom I am texting. I have gone back to copying and pasting.
Jeff, I enjoyed Squeeze in the 70s and still appreciate their music. If that video doesn’t make you spring for an iPad now, I’m at a loss to figure out what will. 😉
Wait a second. I just finished my shower and realized that I bought Squeeze records in the 80s. Was I not an early adopter?
Re: Dragon Dictate. I love the program also, and it sees to run better on my Iphone than my computer. However, the new version has a feature I do not like. The last version allowed me to go from text feature to Dictate, and then it would put it back in my conversation. With the new version, I have to type in the name of the person with whom I am texting. I have gone back to copying and pasting.