Tons of Verizon customers who have been waiting a long time are now getting their first iPhone. I know that many of these folks are attorneys based on what friends are telling me and the e-mails that I have been receiving. Indeed, if you practice law in the states of North or South Dakota, Montana or Wyoming, the New York Times recently noted that you have been unable to use an iPhone until now because of the lack of AT&T in those states. If you are just now finding this website because you yourself are a new "iPhone J.D." here is some information for getting the most out of your new iPhone.
iPhone Tips and Shortcuts
There are a lot of shortcuts that will help you use your iPhone more efficiently. Some of them are shortcuts that you might know from a prior smartphone, such as tapping the spacebar twice to add a period for the end of a sentence and capitalizing the next word that you type. There are shortcuts for typing a comma with only one stroke (press and hold the 123 button and then without lifting your finger, slide your finger over to the comma and then release), for quickly scrolling back up to the top of the screen (tap once on the status bar at the top of the screen, where the time is displayed), and for zooming in and out with even more precision (hold one finger down on the page and then just move the other finger back and forth to zoom in and out). You can find those three shortcuts and a lot more in the following posts:
- My favorite iPhone shortcuts: 11/24/08
- More iPhone Shortcuts: 12/12/08
- Tips on iPhone Software 3.0: 6/23/09
- More iPhone 3.0 tips and shortcuts: 7/6/09
- Create an Apple folder: 6/30/10
- Vanity mirror: 7/1/10
- Create a folder with a color Emoji icon: 7/5/10
- How many apps do you have?: 11/15/10
- Zoom: 12/14/10
- Invite out-of-town relatives to the party: 1/18/11
Best Apps for Attorneys
One of the best parts of the iPhone is that you can add third-party apps to do all sorts of useful things. With over 350,000 apps in the App Store, it can be difficult to know where to start — especially since new apps come out every day. In March of 2010 at the ABA TECHSHOW, Reid Trautz and I picked 60 great apps that every lawyer should consider installing on his or her iPhone. Click here to see that list. Even though it is a year old, virtually every app on that list is still useful today (and indeed, many of those apps have been updated with new features that make them even more valuable). Josh Barrett of Tablet Legal is joining me and Reid in two months to present the 2011 version of that presentation. We just finished our rough draft of the list of apps, and it is going to be another great list. If you cannot join us in Chicago for this year's TECHSHOW, I'll post the list here afterwards. By the way, here is a similar list from ABA TECHSHOW 2009, but that list is starting to show its age.
But before you go ahead and download 60 apps recommended in 2010, and another 60 apps downloaded in 2009, let me highlight a few apps that I suggest you download right away:
- Dragon Dictation. This free app will let you talk to your iPhone and have what you say automatically turned into text. If you used an Android phone before the iPhone, you will remember that is a built-in feature for those phones. On the iPhone, you need a third-party app to do it, but it is very useful and free. I reviewed the app at the end of 2009, and it works even better today.
- Documents to Go. Attorneys receive and send a ton of Microsoft Word documents, so it is helpful to have an app that makes it easy to edit those documents. There are three leading apps for the iPhone that do the job right now — Documents to Go, Quickoffice and Office2 — but for a while now only Documents to Go supports footnotes (which I consider a crucial feature for any litigator). If you own an iPad too, the same app also works great on the iPad. (Quickoffice makes you buy a separate iPad app.) I've talked about Documents to Go many times in the past, including: o: 6/22/09, 6/25/09, 8/4/09, 8/17/09, 12/31/09, 2/11/10, 9/8/10. The premium version of Documents to Go has all of the bells and whistles and costs $14.99.
- A date calculator. If you often find yourself trying to figure out what date is a certain number of days before or after another even to calculate a due date for a brief, a discovery deadline, etc., a date calculator can be very handy. The one that I use the most is a simple one called DaysFrom that only costs $0.99 (my review is here), but you should also consider an app called Court Days. I reviewed Court Days in July of 2009, but the developer (attorney Dan Friedlander) recently announced on his website that an app called Court Days Pro is coming soon for the iPhone and iPad. I'll post a full review when that app is available. Go ahead and get DaysFrom now — it's only a buck — but keep in mind that in just a short while you might also want to also get Court Days Pro.
- GateGuru. If you travel by plane a lot, get this free app to maximize your efficiency at the airport. My review is here.
- Fastcase. This free app lets you search for and view any case or statute in the U.S. It is a must have for any attorney with an iPhone. My review is here.
- LogMeIn Ignition. This is one of the must valuable apps on my iPhone and iPad, and depending upon how you work, it may be for you as well. The app gives you remote access to a PC or Mac so that even when you are out of the office, you can access that file sitting on your desktop and use the full features of any program (such as Outlook) when there is no other way to get a task done on an iPhone. My review is here.
- Chase. It seems that most financial institutions have an iPhone app, so download one for whatever bank you use. If you are a Chase customer like I am, the Chase app offers the amazingly useful ability to deposit a check on your iPhone. When you get a check, just use this app to scan both sides and then presto, the check is deposited and you can toss the check in a drawer just in case you ever need it in the future. (You won't.) Saves you lots of unnecessary trips to the nearest Chase branch. My review is here.
- Flahlight. The iPhone 4 has an LED light on the back that works as a flash when taking a picture. But when it is dark, it is useful to turn that light on to use your iPhone as a flashlight. It sounds silly to use something that costs hundreds of dollars as a flashlight, but let's face it — your iPhone will always be with you, and that fancy Maglite flashlight will be stuck in a drawer somewhere. I use a free app called LED Light for iPhone 4 Free. There are tons of other apps that do the same thing, so feel free to shop around if you want, or just get the free one that I reviewed here.
I'm only scratching the surface here, and before long you will also be using your iPhone as a legal dictionary, a GPS unit, and a substitute for that string around your finger, but that list will get you started.
What was that again?
If you come across someone using an iPhone-related word that doesn't make any sense to you, the website TiPb has come up with a useful dictionary of iPhone-related terms. Additionally, it might be helpful to come here to iPhone J.D., go to the search box at the top right of every page, and enter the word to see what I have said about it in the past.
And so much more...
Once you get up to speed with your new iPhone, you'll be looking for even more that you can do, hardware attachments, etc. Browse through the index of my past posts to get ideas for even more that you can do with your new iPhone, and I'd love for you to become a regular iPhone J.D. reader. If you are not the sort of person who remembers to keep up with websites, you can click here to have iPhone J.D. delivered to you via e-mail every morning for free. And when you figure out something neat that you can do with your iPhone that helps your law practice, send me an e-mail (see Contact Me at the top left of this page) and I'd love to share what you have learned with others.
Congratulations on being a new iPhone owner!
