Two of my favorite iPad-using attorneys — Tampa, FL attorney Katie Floyd and Irvine, CA attorney David Sparks who together host the great Mac Power Users podcast — wrote this week about an iPhone dock that they both like called the EverDock. Katie's article is here, and David's article is here. I haven't used the EverDock, but based on what both of them had to say, it sounds like a nice product.
What I instead use is the dock that Apple makes and sells. I reviewed it last year, and it is called, appropriately enough, the iPhone 5s Dock. (It also works with the iPhone 5.) Apple doesn't sell it on Amazon, but you can get it directly from Apple for $29.00, which is cheaper than the EverDock that Katie and David use (normally $49.99, but currently on sale for $39.99). Note that if you use a case, the Apple dock will probably not work; it is molded to the shape of the naked iPhone. Note also that with any of these docks, you need to furnish your own USB-to-Lightning cord. And also note that many other companies sell docks that work with an iPhone.
The advantage of the EverDock over the dock sold by Apple is that it is designed to be a universal dock so it should work with future versions of the iPhone. My iPhone 5s Dock will almost certainly not work with whatever new version of the iPhone that Apple releases later this year. As I noted in my review of the iPhone 5s Dock, I've purchased many other docks for other iPhone models over the years.
I mention all of this today because Katie and David's articles remind me that a dock is one of the best iPhone accessories that an attorney can buy — or anyone else who has a job that involves spending a lot of time working at a desk. When you have a dock on your desk, you have a central place to put your iPhone when you are working, so you never need to worry about it getting lost under a bunch of papers. And because docks hold up the iPhone at a nice angle, you can always see the screen while you are working, a nice way to see alerts for new emails, new text messages, calendar appointments, or whatever other alerts you have enabled on your iPhone. And best of all, because docks are made to have a cord attached that runs to a USB port (either on your computer, or on a power supply), your iPhone charges whenever it is sitting in the dock. So when you pick up your iPhone from the dock to head off to a meeting out of the office, chances are your iPhone will have a 100% charge and you don't need to worry about running low on power.
If you don't already own an iPhone dock, you should seriously considering getting one. It is an accessory that you will find useful almost every single day.
