Greetings from Chicago! I am at the ABA TECHSHOW 2012 conference speaking about the iPhone and iPad, talking to developers of apps for lawyers, and learning quite a bit about cutting edge legal technology. The conference sessions here are attended by hundreds of attorneys, and this time last year, lots of people were still curious about the iPad. This year, the conferences are a sea of iPads. It seems out of place to see an attorney who isn't using an iPad. Of course, you would expect attendees of a tech conference to use the latest gadgets, but I didn't expect for the iPad alone to be embraced by so many attorneys, regardless of whether there is a PC or a Mac on their desk. I also want to thank everyone who attended the Taste of Techshow dinner that Josh Barrett and I hosted last night; there were attorneys from North and South, the West Coast, the East Coast, two from Canada, and even a special guest from Apple. It was a great event. And now for the iPhone and iPad news of note from the past week:
- The #1 question I am asked here at TECHSHOW is "I already have an iPad; should I upgrade to the latest model?" I tell users of the original iPad yes; I tell iPad 2 users that they can wait to upgrade next year. Car manufacturers release new models every year too, but that doesn't mean you need to get every new model. But I also tell iPad 2 users that if they do decide to upgrade, they are unlikely to regret it because the Retina Display screen is so amazing and the dictation feature is so useful. Plus, many attorneys have told me that they appreciate the improved iPad camera so that they can scan documents and "go paperless." Regarding that first point, the Retina Display, Dan Frakes of Macworld writes that the Retina Display really is good enough to justify an upgrade for iPad 2 users, especially if you read a lot of text on the iPad (which is true for all lawyers).
- California attorney David Sparks ("MacSparky") tweets a link to a shorter version of the Dan Frakes story, by Yuvi Zalkow.
- There are 37 AmLaw 200 firms (the 200 largest firms in the country) that have websites optimized for the iPhone. My law firm, Adams and Reese, is one of them. The Law Firm Mobile website saw that 16 AmLaw 200 firms have apps and wrote this report on what is out there. For example, all 16 of the firms have iPhone apps, but very few have BlackBerry or Android apps. It's an interesting article.
- Yoni Heisler of NetworkWorld attended a technology convention in Chicago just before I got here and heard Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus discuss the early days of Siri at Apple, including what Steve Jobs originally thought about the name "Siri." His article on the presentation is here.
- Charlie Sorrel of Cult of Mac writes that the British Parliament is considering buying an iPad for every MP to save money.
- Litigation support consultant Brett Burney shares 10 tips for using Safari on an iPad.
- Virginia attorney Rob Dean of WalkingOffice reviews PocketJustice, a collection of U.S. Supreme Court opinions and recordings of oral arguments before the Court compiled by the Oyez Project.
- Melissa Perenson of PC World reports that you don't need to worry about the recent news articles about the third generation iPad getting warm after extended use because Android tablets do the same thing and laptop computers get even hotter.
- Anand Lal Shimpi of AnandTech reports on iPad battery life.
- Buster Heine reports on Ultra HD videos on YouTube that show off the new iPad's better-than-HD screen.
- Matt Burns of TechCrunch reports that for the first time, iPhones are outselling BlackBerries in Canada, the home of BlackBerry manufacturer RIM.
- David Pogue of the New York Times reports on NetZero, a relatively inexpensive WiFi portable hotspot.
- Pogue also discusses text messages on the iPhone.
- Chris Foresman of Ars Techica discusses the security of documents stored in Apple's iCloud.
- Charles Jade of Ars Technica reports on styluses for the iPad.
- Christian Boyce of Macworld provides tips for using the Maps app on the iPhone and iPad.
- And finally, iPad magicians! (via Ernest Svenson)
