In the news

There was no In the news last week because Microsoft released the new version of Word for the iPad and iPhone last Thursday and I wanted to write about it last Friday.  I’ve now been using Word on my iPad and iPhone for a week, and it has worked great for me.  If you read my post Friday morning (or if you subscribe to iPhone J.D. via email), note that I updated that post mid-Friday to note that while Microsoft is promoting this as an app that lets you review and edit documents for free, it appears that the license for the free version only allows you to “create, edit or save documents for non-commercial purposes.”  So presumably lawyers and other professionals are supposed to purchase an Office 365 subscription to use the app — which you might have done anyway for the software on your PC/Mac, unless you are still using an older version of Microsoft Office.  With no In the news last week, here are the interesting items of note from the last two weeks:

• New York attorney Neil Squillente provides advice for attorneys trying to decide between an iPad Air 2 and an iPad mini 3 in an article original published in the TechnoLawyer TL Answers newsletter.
• Washington, D.C. attorney Reid Trautz discusses his use of the iPhone 6 Plus.  He likes it, but has some trouble carrying it around because of its size.  I’ve heard from a few folks who bought an iPhone 6 Plus but then exchanged it for an iPhone 6, in large part because they found it too big to carry.
• In this article for 9to5 Mac, New York attorney Jason Stern discusses the privacy implications of using a password to lock your iPhone, which law enforcement cannot force you to reveal, and using a fingerprint, which you can be compelled to produce.  From the standpoint of an attorney complying with the confidentiality rules of the Rules of Professional Conduct, I believe that protecting your confidential information with your fingerprint is more than sufficient, plus it offers convenience, an advantage that you rarely find with other methods of protecting information.  It is true that a police officer could force you to use your finger to unlock your iPhone, but they can also force you, with a subpoena, to unlock your office door (or they can break it open themselves) so that they can access items in your law office — although of course you would obviously have many arguments for opposing that.
• California attorney David Sparks discusses the HooToo TripMate Elite, a combination external battery and wireless router that can also make the contents of a USB flash drive accessible to iOS devices.  Neat idea, and $56 on Amazon.
• Attorneys Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss apps on the latest episode of the Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast.
• Good Technology is used by a significant number of businesses and law firms, and the company recently released a report on its users’ app, platform and device preferences (PDF link).  Good found that the introduction of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus significantly increased iPhone market share.
• Scott Christensen of Law Technology News discusses considerations for lawyers using wearable technology.
• John Edwards of Law Technology News offers tips for using the Messages app.
• This week, AirDesk Solutions introduced AirDesk Presenter, an app that you can use to present evidence in court.  It is free for the first 30 days, and then costs $9.99 per month.
• I’m thrilled to see the Microsoft Office apps on the iPad and iPhone, but they are not always the best tools for the task.  While I mostly use Word for my documents, there are times when Pages is the better tool.  I use Excel for my sophisticated spreadsheets, but for simple charts I prefer Numbers.  And I always use Keynote instead of PowerPoint.  If you are considering the best tool for your task, you might enjoy this article by Allyson Kazmucha of iMore comparing and contrasting Apple’s iWork apps, Microsoft Office apps and Google Docs on the iPad.
• In the early 1990s when I was in law school, Apple and Citibank offered a credit card that let you earn points to purchase Apple products.  Because my landlord took a credit card to pay rent, I earned enough points to get a free computer when I was a 3L — I believe it was a Performa 450.  I see that Apple has once again teamed up with a credit card company, this time Barclaycard Visa, with a similar program.  You can get more information in this article by Josh Centers for TidBITS and on this page of the Apple website.
• Mandy Oaklander of Time reports that psychology professor Larissa Barber has a name for the urge to keep up with your work-related emails no matter what time of day they come:  telepressure.  Hello, my name is Jeff, and I’m a telepressureholic.
• Suzie Ochs of Macworld discusses CarPlay based on her use of a new CarPlay-complaint Pioneer in-dash unit.  There is also a video that shows how it works.
• Steve Kovach of Business Insider ranks the top 15 smartphones on the market today.  #1 and #2 are the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus.  Even last year’s iPhone 5s is still #11.
• Dan Frakes — formerly of Macworld and now of The Wirecutter — discusses his favorite new features in iOS 8.  It’s worth reading the article to make sure that you know about all of these great features.
• Joseph Keller of iMore reports that certain Starwood Hotels (Aloft, Element, W) are starting to roll out keyless hotel room entry using an iPhone.
• And finally, if you think that the only thing missing from your iPhone is that you cannot use it to saw a tree branch, cut steak, cut and strip wire, and open a bottle of beer, then you are the perfect customer for the TaskOne G3 iPhone Case.  This $89.95 case for the iPhone includes a 2.5″ serrated knife, a 1.8″ sawblade, pliers with wire cutters and 3-6mm Hex screw cutouts, a 5″ ruler, 6 Allen wrenches, dual spoke wrenches, a wire stripper, two flathead screwdrivers, a Phillips screwdriver, a saw-blade mount and a bottle opener.  Not surprisingly, the very first question on the product’s website is whether TSA might have a problem with this case when you are at an airport.  But there is an answer:  “We have made the knife portion of this case removable in seconds with no tools so it can be placed in your checked luggage or left at home on your trip.”  This version is for the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s, but you can pre-order the iPhone 6 version at a discounted price of $75.95. The developer, Addison Shelton, used to work at Apple, and he also sells some other interesting iPhone cases, the myTask line, that hold lots of items.  My first reaction to the TaskOne was that combining knives and saws with an iPhone is crazy, but then again, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that there is a part of me that wants one.  This video shows off the features: