In the news

I got an iPad 2 last night (Black, 32GB, Wi-Fi only).  They sure are hard to get right now; you have to be lucky to catch an Apple Store when they have one or two in stock.  I knew it was going to be thinner and lighter, but I wasn’t expecting it to make such a big difference.  That is partly because I used a case with my original iPad, and carrying around my original iPad in a case was like carrying a hard cover book.  Carrying around the iPad 2 with a Smart Cover is like carrying around a magazine.  It is a night and day difference.  I’ll post more after I have used the iPad 2 for more than just these last few hours, but my inital impression is:  wow.  Here is the iPhone and iPad news of note from the last week:

• I consider my iPhone and my iPad to be an important part of my law practice.  I use them both every day.  Apparently many doctors are starting to feel the same way, according to a CNBC report that is described by David Winograd of TUAW.  I like the article’s title:  “iPads are becoming as important to doctors as their stethoscopes.”  
• This is really more of a Fourth Amendment issue than an iPhone issue, but Denver attorney Bill Kelly passed along this interesting report by Anita Thompson on the Huffington Post Denver about the Colorado Supreme Court’s recent decision that police improperly invaded a man’s privacy when they read through the text messages on his lost iPhone and used what they found to get search warrants and ultimately get felony drug charges.
• The Paul, Hastings law firm unveiled its iPhone app this week.  It is a typical law firm iPhone app with firm bios and news and other information that you would find on its website, but it is nicely done.  Click here to download the Paul, Hastings app (free): 

  

• On the Lawyer2Laywer podcast that I linked to yesterday, attorney Rick Georges bragged that an advantage of Android is that it is an “open” platform.  While I question what difference that really makes for attorneys using smartphones, there was some truth to that when Android debuted.  However, Ashlee Vance of Businessweek reports that Google is now retreating from its prior policies of openness.
• Also on that podcast, Rick Georges talked about how much he loves his new HTC ThunderBolt phone, especially the fast 4G LTE speeds.  If you are interested in learning more about that phone, Jonathan Geller of BGR has a comprehensive review.  He concludes that “the sheer thickness and weight” and “the poor battery performance makes it a tough sell,” and while the LTE speed is fantastic, “that means nothing if my battery dies after just a few hours of usage.”
• Tim Chaten of AppAdvice reports on his research into insurance policies that you can purchase for your iPhone and iPad.
• David Pogue of the New York Times reports on Amazon’s new Cloud Player service.  It doesn’t work with the iPhone or iPad yet (there are work-arounds, but they are clunky), but many have speculated that Apple is planning to offer a similar service, so it is interesting to see Amazon’s approach.
• Litigation consultant Ken Broda-Bahm discusses two iPad apps that can help with jury selection, iJuror and Jury Duty.
• Attorney Finis Price recently gave a presentation on the use of iPads by lawyers including recommended apps.  Ben Stevens of The Mac Lawyer reports on that presentation.
• If you would like to read a comprehensive review of the iPad 2, Daniel Eran Dilger wrote one such article for AppleInsider.
• I much prefer magazines on the iPad than to reading them on paper.  Electronista notes that Popular Science recently announced that it now has over 10,000 iPad subscribers, which sounds like a lot until you realize that they have 1.2 million print subscribers.  But hey, you have to start somewhere.
• Tom Kaneshige of CIO writes about the use of iPads in large companies.
• Debra Cassens Weiss of ABA Journal reports that some federal courts are banning smartphones because of fear that they could be used as bombs.  This is unfortunate; I consider my iPhone a critical tool when I am in federal or state court.
• Nick Bilton of the New York Times reports that the smartphone market is poised to explode in 2011.  Wait… no, he said “soar.”  Not “explode.”  Don’t tell the federal courts I said “explode.”
• Last week, I mentioned that Sylvia Hsieh of Lawyers USA interviewed me and other attorneys for her great article on the iPad 2.  You can now read that article even if you don’t subscribe to Lawyers USA because it was republished by the Wisconsin Law Journal.
• Legal consultant (and fellow New Orleanian) Craig Bayer tells me that he is very impressed with miniLaw, a time and expense tracking app for the iPhone that works with the PCLaw accounting software.
• The most famous BlackBerry-using attorney in the world — President Obama — confirmed that he owns and uses an iPad, as reported by MacNN.  Now that he is using the iPad, can the iPhone be far behind?
• If you would like to process credit card payments on your iPhone, you should look into Square.  Attorney Jeremy Horwitz of iLounge posts a comprehensive review of the app and hardware accessory.
• Attorney Tom Mighell discusses iPads replacing PCs for attorneys on the Attorney at Work blog.
• Atorney David Sparks of the MacSparky blog and the MacPowerUsers podcasts discloses the apps on his iPad’s home screen in this post at Tablet Legal.
• And finally, if you want to keep your iPhone close to you — really close to you — how about underwear that can hold an iPhone?  The folks at SCOTTEVEST (the company that makes coats and other apparel with a million pockets to store all of your gadgets) created boxer shorts with a pocket for your iPhone.  Get more info here on the company’s website, or watch the company’s founder and CEO extol the virtues of the product in this video: