Jeff Richardson

Yesterday, Apple released the results for its 2013 fiscal second
quarter (which ran from December 30, 2012 to March 30, 2013) and held a
call with analysts to discuss the results. Apple reported revenue of $43.6 billion and net profit of $9.5 billion.  Revenue was higher, but profit was lower, than the same quarter last year.  But as always, I’m less interested in the financial aspects and more interested in the iPhone and iPad-related announcements.  If you want to get all of the nitty gritty details, you can download the audio from the announcement conference call from iTunes, or you can read a rough transcript of the call prepared by Seeking Alpha.  Apple’s official press release is here. 
But if you just want the highlights of the call that might of be of
interest to iPhone and iPad users, then let’s get started.

• Apple sold 37.4 million iPhones in the quarter.  By my count, that means that as of March 30, 2013, Apple had sold over 352 million iPhones.  Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer cited a comScore report that the iPhone was the #1 smartphone from December 2012 to February 2013 with a 39% share.
• Over 30,000 companies are creating their own iPhone apps to be used by their employees.
• Apple sold 19.5 million iPads in the quarter.  By my count, that means that as of March 30, 2013, Apple had sold over 140 million iPads.
• Cook said that iPads are now being used in 95% of businesses in the Fortune 500.
• Over 45 billion iOS apps have been downloaded.  App developers have made over $9 billion in sales, and Apple is now paying developers over $1 billion every quarter.  Oppenheimer said that 74% of all smartphone apps sold in the world during the last quarter were iOS apps.
• As always, Apple has some new cool products planned for later this year.  Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a prepared statement:  “We see great opportunities in front of us, particularly given the long-term prospects of the smartphone and tablet market, the strength of our incredible ecosystem which we’ve planned to continue to augment with new services, our plans for expanded distribution and the potential of exciting new product categories.  …  Our teams are hard at work on some amazing new hardware, software and services that we can’t wait to introduce this Fall and throughout 2014. …  And of course, we have a tremendous culture of innovation with a relentless focus on making the world’s best products that change people’s lives. This is the same culture and company that brought the world the iPhone and the iPad and we’ve got a lot more surprises in the works.” 
• Note that Cook did not just say new products, he said “new product categories,” which implies something brand new.  Gene Munster — an analyst who asks almost every quarter whether Apple plans to start selling TVs — asked Cook to confirm that he had said that there would be a new product category.  In response, Cook confirmed that “one of our areas for growth are potential new categories, and we’re very excited about those.”
• When will we see new products and new product categories?  Cook’s prepared statement referred to the “Fall and throughout 2014" so an analyst asked whether that meant that Apple would not announce any new products before Fall of this year.  Oppenheimer responded:  “I don’t want to be more specific, but I’m just saying we’ve got some really great stuff coming in the Fall and across all of 2014.”  That sort of sounds like a “yes” to me, but we’ll see.
• One analyst asked Tim Cook whether Apple is considering making an iPhone with a larger screen.  Obviously, Apple is not going to spill the beans on any future product plans, but here is what Cook did say in response:  “My view continues to be that iPhone 5 has the absolute best display in the industry.  And we always strive to create the very best display for our customers.  Some customers value large screen size, others value also other factors such as resolution, color quality, white balance, brightness, reflectivity, screen longevity, power consumption, portability, compatibility with apps, many things.  Our competitors have made some significant trade-offs in many of these areas in order to ship a larger display.  We would not ship a larger display iPhone while these trade-offs exist.”  That’s an interesting answer because I don’t hear Cook saying no.  I hear him saying that Apple won’t create an iPhone with a larger screen until the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, which of course could happen at any time in the future as technology advances.  So maybe, in the future, we will see iPhones in more than one screen size, just like we now have both the iPad and the iPad mini.

It’s been a long time since I have reviewed time entry apps on the iPhone, mainly because I don’t currently use those apps in my practice.  One app that I looked at four years ago (and then again in September of 2009) is Time Master + Billing by On-Core Software, an app that has changed substantially since I last mentioned it.  Denver attorney Gary Marsh recently told me how much he likes this app, and he gave me permission to share his thoughts here.  If you are considering using your iPhone or iPad to handle time entry and billing, here is Gary’s perspective on how this app has worked in his practice:

– – – – –

Time Master, by On-Core Software, LLC, is now in Version 5.7 (support documentation most recently revised February 5, 2013).  It has grown into a full-featured program that rivals or, indeed, exceeds any PC or Mac desktop programs that I’ve seen – and I’ve tried quite a few. 

The basic package is $9.99 (for timekeeping); the invoicing add-on module is another $9.99; and the synchronization add-on module, which allows the user to sync the app back and forth between an iPad and an iPhone, is another $6.99.  (The also has a $5.99 Quickbooks export module, but I haven’t purchased that component and so don’t feel qualified to comment on it.)

I’ve been using Time Master for over a month now, and it has changed the whole way the financial side of my practice works.  Formerly, I was using the desktop SaaS program TurboLaw Time & Billing, at $30 per month per computer.  I was dictating my time into my iPhone’s recorder; then using iTunes to burn the recordings to a DVD disk; then handing off the disk each week to an outside bookkeeper, who was then listening to the recordings and posting them, one at a time, to TurboLaw.  Why the DVDs?  The files, which were in Microsoft Access .mdb format, could not be sent
as e-mail attachments because the servers viewed them as being
virus-infected; thus, a physical hand-off of disks every week had to be
carried out.

The fact she did this on a second computer meant I had to pay for two separate TurboLaw licenses.  I had to pay the outside bookkeeper $800+ per month just to post all of my time and expense entries.  Then she would run preliminary invoices, which I would have to review and correct for misspellings, mispostings, and other problems.  I would then hand-deliver the corrected versions back to the bookkeeper, who would then run final versions and send them out.

At the end of our typical monthly billing period, we were usually lucky to have our client invoices out the door by the 10th of the following month – in a good month.  When instances arose where I was tied up in meetings, or court appearances, or out of the country, sometimes we just rolled the entire month over into the next month, and redid the whole process all over again.  Not exactly the preferred way for a law firm to manage its cash-flow.

Enter Time Master, which lets me post my own entries for both time and expenses on-the-fly, to either my iPhone or my iPad, whichever happens to be the most convenient at the time.  For this past month of March, we had all of our client invoices out by April 3rd.  And that was just because we were still familiarizing ourselves with the program, which is extremely user-friendly.  By the time the month of April is concluded, I fully expect we will be ready and able to send all of our client invoices out on the evening of April 30th.

 

Time Master has made great strides  since your September, 2009 review.  It should be in every lawyer’s briefcase on an iPad, or at the very least on every lawyer’s smart phone.  With the money I’ll be saving on my former TurboLaw subscription ($720 per year), plus what I’ll save from not having to have the outside bookkeeper manually post entries ($9,600 per year), plus the increased regularity of cash-flow I’ll achieve by being able to get invoices out immediately at the end of each calendar month (priceless), the Time Master app more than paid for itself on the very first day I started using it.  It would be pretty hard to beat that R.O.I. any other way, with any other app of which I’ve ever heard!

– – – – –

Thanks, Gary, for sharing your thoughts on this app.  I see that it also has integrated support for TextExpander, which can make it even faster to enter your time.  I’ve also seen other attorneys rave about this app in the past (such as Alabama attorney Clark Stewart), so I know that it can be a great solution.

Click here to get Time Master + Billing ($9.99): 

In a week in which the real news has been terrifying and bordered on the absurd, perhaps we can all gain from a break in which we just think about fun topics like mobile technology.  Here is the iPhone and iPad news of note that caught my attention this week:

• Missouri attorney Todd Hendrickson identifies his top 5 iOS apps in a post for Lawyerist.com.
• The Law Firm Mobile website reports that 22 firms on the 2012 AmLaw 200 list have mobile apps, while 54 have mobile compatible websites.
• Houston attorney Reginald Hirsch wrote to tell me that the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad, which was almost $100 when I posted a review a few months ago, is now selling on Amazon for about $75.  One of my partners picked up one of these a few weeks ago and he loves it.  I’m still not a fan of any keyboard with keys smaller than full-size, but if that doesn’t bother you, this is a very nice keyboard.
• We all know that you need to silence your iPhone in court or you might get sanctioned by the judge.  Laurel Newby reports on the Law.com Legal Blog Watch that a Michigan judge found himself in contempt after his unidentified phone started talking (sounds like Siri, but this is unclear).
• South Carolina attorney Justin Kahn discusses some apps that can scan documents and create a PDF.
• Alan Cohen of Law Technology News warns of some mistakes to avoid when you are buying and using a smartphone.
• South Carolina attorney Bill Latham of the Hytech Lawyer reviews the Seagate GoFlex Mobile Wireless Plus 1TB mobile drive, a wireless hard drive that you can use with an iPad.
• The ABA has posted a ton of pictures from ABA TECHSHOW 2013 on Facebook.
• If you need to take a full-size screenshot of an entire webpage, you’ll want to check out this review of the Barry app by Federico Viticci of Macstories.
• Joseph Keller of iMore reports that the YouTube app can now stream live events.
• Harry McCracken on Time compares the numbers on iOS and Android. 
• The humor website Funny or Die released its first movie this week, iSteve, staring Justin Long as Steve Jobs.
• And finally, it occurs to me that my children will look at cassette tapes (and albums) the same way that I look at eight-track cartridges:  something that I know my parents used for playing music, but something that I only barely remember myself.  If you want to combine the nostalgia of old technology with the new technology of your iPhone 5, then you’ll want to check out the $14.99 Cassette Case by Rocket Cases, available in six different colors.  Killian Bell of Cult of Mac posted this review.

BNA is a well-established and trusted name when it comes to legal information, both for researching the latest news and researching specific topics.  For example, I’ve frequently used the excellent ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct when researching legal ethics issues.  At ABA TECHSHOW 2013, some folks from Bloomberg BNA showed me their latest app that allows those who subscribe to BNA Law Reports to read the latest news reports on an iPhone or iPad.  BNA gave me a free two-week trial to try out the app, and it works well.

Subscribers to BNA Law Reports receive emails with news updates, but email is not always an ideal platform for receiving and reading the news, and the emails do not always contain the full article.  But if you use the Law Reports app, you have a central location for viewing the news items in the reports to which you subscribe.  On the main screen of the app, you see a list of the available reports.  Tap a report to see the latest news stories.

 

Tap a story to download and read it on your device.  A few seconds after you start reading the article, the menu bars at the top and bottom of the iPhone app disappear so that you can use the full screen of your iPhone to read an article.

 

Normally you need Internet access to download and read articles.  But if you select a report as a favorite, your iPhone will download all of the latest articles so that you can read them later even without Internet access (such as on a plane).

The app includes the option to read an article on the BNA website.  You can also email someone a link to an article, but they will have to be a subscriber to that BNA Law Report in order to read the article, so this is mainly useful for sharing an article with one of your partners when your entire office has a subscription to the report.

The app runs on both the iPhone and iPad, and in theory you are supposed to be able to use both devices and even use iCloud to sync between devices.  Unfortunately, I had trouble logging in from more than one device at a time, and BNA tells me that they are working on a fix to this right now. 

If you subscribe to a Bloomberg BNA Law Report, this is a must-have app.  It is free, and presents a clean, efficient interface for viewing the latest legal news.

Click here to download Law Reports from Bloomberg BNA (free, but BNA subscription required): 

I was too busy at ABA TECHSHOW last week to write an In the news post, so this week I’m mentioning stories from the last two weeks that I think might be of interest:

• In addition to writing on iPhone J.D., I also write iPhone and iPad articles for the TechnoLawyer BigLaw and SmallLaw newsletters.  Those newsletters are free and full of useful articles, so I encourage you to sign up for both.  This week, for example, Brett Burney of Burney Consultants wrote a great article comparing the different task manager apps for the iPad.  You must be a subscriber to get the current articles, but older articles are sometimes posted on the web, and I see that an article I wrote in 2012 recommending the best iPad apps is now online.  My recommendations are a little different now than they were a year ago, but there are still some great apps mentioned there that most any attorney would find useful.
• California attorney David Sparks discusses the recent rumors that Microsoft is holding back Microsoft Office for the iPad and will not release it until the end of next year.
• New York attorney Nicole Black discusses all of the mobile-related announcements at ABA TECHSHOW 2013.
• South Carolina attorney Ben Stevens reviews the FrameShfit iPad stand, a neat little stand that he showed the audience during a presentation that he and I gave together at ABA TECHSHOW 2013.
• Virginia attorney Sharon Nelson and her husband, security expert John Simek, provide 16 security tips for smartphones in an article for Wisconsin Lawyer.
• Carlos Motta is a Brazilian attorney with Tauil & Chequer Advogados, an affiliate of the U.S. law firm Mayer Brown.  He asked that I mention that he created an iPhone app called MindMob, an app that contains legal content (mostly for Brazil, but there is some U.S. content) and can be used to create notes and send messages to other users.
• MyCase, a company that provides web-based law practice management software, now had an iPhone app, and Josh Camson of Lawyerist.com reviews it.
• Today is the first day you can get an iPhone 5 from T-Mobile.  T-Mobile offers some unique features, such as no contracts so you can leave at any time and a lower cost over the course of two years than you will pay to get and use an iPhone 5 on other carriers.  T-Mobie’s 4G LTE network is currently very small but it is growing, and T-Mobile is the first U.S. carrier to support HD Voice, which Brent Rose of Gizmodo tried out and found to be “a bit richer, and definitely fuller. I wouldn’t say it was like night and day, but it’s definitely a noticeable improvement.”  
• Meanwhile, Jeff Blagdon of The Verge reports that AT&T will start to support HD Voice later this year.
• Macworld created a new ebook called The iPad Office.  I haven’t read it yet, but it looks to be full of information on how to get work done with an iPad.  Get more details here.
• Nick Guy of iLounge reviews the new Bose SoundDocks Series III, an iPhone speaker that now includes a Lightning connector for the iPhone 5.
• Now that nice weather is returning, you might want to take your iPhone with you when you go to the beach.  Bonnie Cha of All Things D reviews three cases that waterproof an iPhone.  Last year I reviewed the DryCASE, one of the products mentioned in Cha’s article, and it worked well for me.
• Joe Kissell of Macworld discusses options for editing PowerPoint presentations on an iPad.
• And finally, John Browlee of Cult of Mac collected a baker’s dozen pictures of Apple cakes.  Many of them relate to the iPhone or iPad, such as this one by Samantha of Scrumptious Buns in the UK:

Thank you to Rocket Matter
for sponsoring iPhone J.D. this month.  Rocket Matter sells legal
practice management software for small to
mid-size firms.  The software is online, so you can use it on a PC or a
Mac to track your time and manage your clients and matters, plus it works on the iPad and iPhone.

Rocket Matter had one of the most popular booths at ABA TECHSHOW 2013 last week, not only because of interaction with the attorneys who are using Rocket Matter (I heard nothing but rave reviews), but also because the company just launched Rocket X1, an Internet marketing service for attorneys that offers a full range of services:  website construction, SEO, social
media, PR, graphic design, content creation, and strategic consulting.

If you haven’t downloaded it yet, Rocket Matter is currently offering a free ebook to all attorneys. 
Attorney Michael Moore, who is the CFO and VP of Business Affairs for
Rocket Matter, wrote Ridiculously Remarkable Legal Billing:  How Better Billing Practices Improve Your Law Firm and Your Life. 
This book is in PDF format, and is only 60 pages with a font that is
large and easy-to-read on your iPad.  It only took me about 15 minutes
to read the book, but it is full of helpful tips for any attorney in
private practice — i.e., any attorney who bills clients. 

Click here to learn more about Rocket Matter, click here to learn more about Rocket X1, click here to get the free ebook, and don’t forget that you can download the free Rocket Matter iPhone app on the App Store: 

Ah, the pencil.  We all grew up using a pencil, as did our parents, our grandparents, etc.  According to Wikipedia, the pencil dates back to the 1500s.  The eraser on the back of a pencil was added in the mid-1800s, and is even the subject of a Supreme Court opinion, Reckendorfer v. Faber, 92 U.S. 347 (1875) (declaring patent for eraser on the end of a pencil invalid; it was “more convenient” but not a “new result”).  The now traditional yellow color and hexagonal shape was created in 1890 by L. & C. Hardtmuth Company of Austria-Hungary.  That particular model, the Koh-I-Noor, became so popular that the company renamed itself Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth, and the same pencil is still sold today and looks like this:

While the Europeans use a scale that ranges from 9H (hard) to 9B (soft), here in the U.S. we use a number grading system.  The No. 2 pencil (equivalent to the European HB pencil) is, of course, the most popular and the one that we all grew up using.

Thanks to the popularity of the iPad, it now seems like there is an endless variety of styluses on the market.  My current two favorites are the Wacom Bamboo Stylus duo and the second generation of the Adonit Jot Pro.  But when iPad accessories manufacturer Griffin sent me a free review sample of their new No. 2 Pencil Stylus for Touchscreens, I couldn’t help but smile.  It is a stylus that looks like a No. 2 pencil.

At first I thought that this would be just a novelty, but to my surprise, it is actually a pretty nice stylus.  The size of the tip is smaller than that of a typical stylus, closer to the size of the Wacom Bamboo stylus, which I find helps to make a stylus more precise.  The tip is firmer than the Wacom Bamboo tip so you have to push down a little bit harder to use it — not my preference, but I know that some people like this, which is why Wacom sells firmer tips for those who want one for their Bamboo.  But once you get used to pushing down a little harder, the tip works well.  Here is the Grifin No. 2 Pencil Stylus next to a Wacom Bamboo Stylus duo:

The best thing going for this stylus is also the most obvious — it looks like a pencil.  As I noted above, the now-traditional pencil design has been around for a long time, and for good reason: the hexagonal shape feels good in your hand and stops it from rolling off of a desk.  When you hold this stylus, you can tell that it has a plasticky feel unlike the wood of a real pencil, but otherwise it actually feels very much like you are holding a pencil in your hand.  It has the same size and weight.  I also like the longer length as compared to most othe iPad styluses being sold todaly. 

Note that the “eraser” on the end is just colored plastic.  It would have been fun if the back had a rubbery feel and could also be used as a stylus, perhaps with a softer tip to contrast to the other end. 

Here it is next to a real pencil that happened to be in the cup holder on my desk:

When you use this No. 2 Stylus in public, you are sure to get some stares and likely a few smiles as well.  I’m sure that many will buy this stylus simply for the amusement value.  But this stylus has more than just form going for it; it is quite functional.  The size and shape feels good in your hand and I can honestly recommend this stylus just based on its utility.  Griffin did a nice job with this stylus.

Click here to get the No. 2 Pencil Stylus for Touchscreens from Griffin ($16.99)

I spent the last few days in Chicago at the 2013 installment of ABA TECHSHOW.  In just about every way, I considered it to be the best TECHSHOW ever, although there are a few things that I hope are done differently next year.

The conference sessions were, as always, excellent, with a full day devoted to Tablets and Smartphones.  As the title suggests, this track was platform-agnostic.  For some topics, that made sense.  For example, I gave a presentation on tablet and smartphone security with Pittsburgh attorney David Ries and Illinois attorney Aaron Brooks, and I thought it was quite helpful to compare and contrast security options on the different smartphones.  On the other hand, on Friday morning there was a session presenting the top apps for four different platforms:  iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows 8 tablets.  Each presenter was excellent, but it would have been far more useful to have different sessions devoted to different platforms.  iPhone and iPad users didn’t gain much learning how Android users are trying to work around the lack of legal-specific software for that platform.  I really hope that next year the ABA brings back the 60 iOS Apps in 60 Minutes session that has been so popular in the past.  But notwithstanding my constructive criticisms, the iOS content at this year’s TECHSHOW was better than ever before, which is a big part of the reason that I thought TECHSHOW overall was better than ever this year.

Another reason:  the keynote speaker.  David Pogue of the New York Times was even more entertaining than I thought he would be, and I had high expectations.  I didn’t realize that his grandfather, Welch Pogue, founded a D.C. firm that merged with Jones Day in 1967 (hence the “Pogue” in “Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue”) and his father, Dick Pogue, was the managing partner of Jones Day for many years.  (Jones Day grew from 335 to 1,250 lawyers under his tenure.)  So while Pogue is not an attorney and did not speak much about the law, he definitely has an understanding of what it means to be an attorney.  Pogue talked about the future of technology, but was as much a comedian as a visionary.  He had the audience in stitches for almost an hour, then ended up by performing some funny songs.

After his amazing talk, he was nice enough to chat with many of us and take lots of pictures, such as this next one with me.  I laughed when I saw Ed Walters of Fastcase tweet that upon posing for a picture with Pogue and Kevin O’Keefe, he felt like his Twitter feed had “materialized out of thin air.”

The exhibit hall of TECHSHOW was full of activity every time I visited it.  And it seemed like half of the vendors were showing off something on the iPad.  It was just three years ago that all of us at TECHSHOW were wondering about what the upcoming iPad might mean for lawyers, and it is amazing how quickly this technology has taken hold.  I’ll be discussing some of what I saw in upcoming posts.

As always, one of the best parts of TECHSHOW was talking with other attorneys about technology.  I always learn so much when I hear what others are doing with their iPhone and iPads.  I also enjoyed talking with Jeff Taylor of The Droid Lawyer.  Sam Glover of Lawyerist.com apparently found it amusing when he saw us talking, leading him to tweet about competing smartphone ecosystems, but I always enjoy hearing what Taylor is doing with his Android phone and tablet because it often gives me idea for the iPhone and iPad.  Sam was nice enough to take this picture of the Jeff and Jeff of the iPhone and Android worlds with my iPhone.

I want to especially thank the very enthusiastic crowd for the iOS in Action session that Ben Stevens
(of The Mac Lawyer) and I presented on Saturday morning.  I know that many people had left TECHSHOW by then, but we still had a packed room and some great questions both during and after the presentation.  For those of you who didn’t get a chance to talk to me or Ben, you can always freel free to send me an email.

Finally, I had a fabulous time at the Taste of Techshow dinner that I co-hosted on Thursday night.  It’s a shame that only 12 people could attend, but we had an amazing group with lots of lively and fun conversation.  Thanks to everyone who attended:  Scott Norby of Thomson Reuters ProLaw (which sponsored the dinner), Philippe Doyle Gray (a barrister in Sydney, Australia and frequent iPhone J.D. commenter who literally traveled across the world to join us), Ian O’Flaherty and Tara Cheever of Lit Software in Miami (makers of TrialPad and TranscriptPad), South Carolina attorney Bill Latham of The Hytech Lawyer, San Antonio attorney and mediator Don Philbin (creator of the Picture it Settled app), North Carolina attorney Leigh Anne Miller, Texas attorney Karl Seebach (who recently started eDepo, a service that delivers video transcripts to an iPad), North Carolina legal technology consultant Pegeen Turner of Turner IT Solutions, Illinois law student Noelia Rodríguez-Quiñones and of course my co-host, Dallas attorney Tom Mighell.

I’m already looking forward to the next ABA TECHSHOW, in Chicago on March 26-29, 2014.

I’ve heard from many iPhone J.D. readers who will be in Chicago for ABA TECHSHOW 2013 starting tonight.  This will be my fifth TECHSHOW, and it is always a great opportunity to
learn about technology from formal CLE sessions, vendors showing off
cutting edge legal technology and (best of all) other attorneys who enjoy
using tech.  The attention to mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad at TECHSHOW has steadily increased every year that I’ve attended, both in terms of the number of CLE sessions devoted to the topic and the number of vendors showing off mobile software and accessories.  And considering that the cover article on this month’s ABA Journal is The Mobile Lawyer, I have no doubt that iPhones and iPads will be central topics throughout TECHSHOW this year.

If you are reading this, I hope to see you there.  Here is where you are likely to find me:

Wednesday, April 3

6:00 – 8:00 pm:  Cocktails and Comedy.  (Continental A/B)  The event is hosted by Rocket Lawyer. If you see me, please say hello.  I look like this.

8:00 – 10:00 pm: LexThink.1.  A fast-paced Ignite-style event.

Thursday, April 4

I’ll be checking out the over 100 companies on the Exhibit Floor and attending various sessions throughout the day, so you might bump into me just about anywhere.  My schedule includes:

10:00 – Noon:  I’ll be working at the Concierge Desk.  If prior
years are any indication, that means that I’ll spend a little time
helping people find things at the conference, but most of my time will
be devoted to talking about iPhones and iPads with anyone who stops by
to chat.  It’s usually the most social spot at the conference.

4:00 – 5:00 pm:  The Tablet Litigator.  (Northwest 3)  San Antonio attorney Mark Unger and attorney Paul Unger of the Affinity Consulting Group, will be talking about using an iPad in trial.

5:30 – 7:00 pm:  Welcome Reception.  (EXPO Hall)  A chance to socialize with attendees and vendors.

7:30 pm – ?:  Taste of Techshow.  Dallas attorney Tom Mighell, author of many books on using an iPad in your law practice, and I are hosting a dinner for iPhone / iPad users at Wildfire restaurant.  Thomson Reuters is sponsoring our dinner, and we are sure to have a great time.  The dinner has been sold out for a while now, but there is often a waiting list at the Concierge Desk, or you can sign up for one of the many other Taste of Techshow dinners, four of which also have an iPhone/iPad focus.

Friday, April 5

I’ll be in room Northwest 5 most of the day because that is the location of the Tablets and Smartphone track, where I will be speaking in the afternoon.

8:00 – 9:00 am:  Tablet Wars 2013.  Hopefully Tom Mighell will get some sleep after our dinner on Thursday night, because bright and early Friday morning, he is teaming up with Jeff Taylor of The Droid Lawyer to compare and contrast iPads with Android tablets.

10:00 – 11:00 am:  The 4×4 Challenge: Top Apps for Every Platform.  Dan Pinnington, Ben Schorr, Jeff Taylor and Mark Unger will discuss the top apps for iOS, Android, Windows Mobile and Blackberry.  Although I’ll attend this session, it will be somewhat in protest; I liked it better when we had an entire hour devoted to just iOS apps, and it’s a shame that there is no 60 Apps in 60 Minutes session this year.  Hopefully it will come back next year.

12:45 pm – 1:45 pm:  Keynote speaker David Pogue of the New York Times will discuss “Disruptive Tech:  What’s Now, What’s Coming, and How It Will Change Everything.”  Pogue is a funny and intelligent speaker, and I’m thrilled to see that he will be at TECHSHOW.

2:30 – 3:30 pm:  Mobile Collaboration.  Michigan attorney Patrick Crowley and St. Louis attorney Dennis Kennedy will discuss using mobile devices to share documents and ideas.

3:45 – 4:45 pm:  Batten Down the Hatches: Mobile Security for Lawyers.  I’ll be co-presenting this session along with Pittsburgh attorney David Ries and Illinois attorney Aaron Brooks.  We’ll give you lots of tips for maintaining the confidentiality of documents and other data on your iPhone and iPad.

Finally, I haven’t seen an official announcement yet [UPDATE: confirmed], but traditionally Kevin O’Keefe of LexBlog and the ABA Journal sponsor Beer for Bloggers at 5:30 at Hilton Chicago’s Lakeside Green Lounge.  This event is a happy hour with free drinks for all TECHSHOW attendees, even if you don’t have a blog.

Saturday, April 6

9:45 – 10:45 am:  iOS in Action.  South Carolina attorney Ben Stevens
(of The Mac Lawyer) and I will present this session devoted to getting the most
out of an iPhone and iPad in your law practice.  Stevens and I gave a similar presentation focused on the iPhone back in 2010, and a lot has changed in the world of iOS since then.

Finally, if this will be your first TECHSHOW, or if you just want a refresher, New York attorney Niki Black has a great All You Need to Know post with details for preparing for, and getting the most out of, ABA TECHSHOW.

See you in the Windy City!

Citrix provides remote access solutions for more than 260,000 organizations and over 100 million users around the world.  Many law firms (mine included) use Citrix, and Citrix provides users with a free Citrix Receiver app that they can access their work environment even when they are out of the office.  I see that I’ve never posted a formal review of the Citrix app, but I use it somewhat frequently, and it works well for those times when I need remote access to software that only works on Windows or that requires you to be within the work environment.  I like using the virtual mouse mode in the iPad app that makes it easy to get the cursor exactly where you need it, making it easier to tap small buttons.

With so many Citrix users, Citrix is able to compile some statistics on who uses what platforms in which industries.  Citrix just released its Enterprise Mobility Cloud Report for Q4 2012, which you can download here (PDF format).  Not every law firm uses Citrix, of course, and I suspect that there are more Citrix users in medium size to large law firms than smaller law firms.  Thus, it would be a mistake to extrapolate any data from Citrix to all lawyers.  Nevertheless, Citrix is quite popular, so the statistics do tell you something.

So what are the statistics?  In some industries, such as transportation and utilities, Android is currently the preferred platform.  But in the legal (and insurance) industries, the iOS platform is by far the preferred platform.  Specifically, about 98% of Citrix mobile users at law firms are using iOS.  Here is a chart from the report (click to enlarge):

To be honest, I was surprised that the number was that high.  98% for the legal services industry is a pretty overwhelming statistic.  However, the Citrix numbers are consistent with what we see from other surveys and estimates — namely, that the iPad is by far the tablet device of choice for lawyers.