Jeff Richardson

When I was at ABA TECHSHOW a few weeks ago, several people told me that PDF Expert from Readdle was their favorite tool for editing and annotating PDF documents on the iPad.  My co-presenter Brett Burney even included PDF Expert in this year’s edition of 60 Apps in 60 Minutes.  Readdle sent me a free review copy of the app and I’ve been using it for the last few weeks.  PDF Expert is a sophisticated app for working with PDFs on the iPad.  It is the same caliber of app as PDFpen, which I reviewed last month, in that it has lots of powerful tools.

Note that there are separate versions of PDF Expert for the iPhone and iPad.  Each costs $9.99.  I have only reviewed the version for the iPad.

There are lots of ways to get a file into PDF Expert.  Of course you can use the standard “Open in…” menu.  You can also connect to a large variety of servers, including Dropbox.  Like GoodReader, you can even choose to sync folders.  You can also connect to PDF expert from a computer on the same Wi-Fi network and transfer files that way.  And despite its name, PDF Expert can handle many file types beyond PDF include MS Word and images.

PDF Expert has a number of ways for displaying files that are contained in the app.  A grid view shows you icons with document previews for many file types including PDF, or you can select a list view.  You can sort by name, date or size.

Once you select a document, you can tap once in the middle of the document to view it full screen, or tap again to see menu items.  The second menu items is a clock.  Tapping it brings up a useful list of recently accessed files, saving you a trip back to your list of all documents. 

Tapping the grid button shows you all pages in a document.  From there, you can insert a blank page, rearrange pages, copy or delete pages and export pages to a new document.

The edit tool includes many of the common annotation tools, including adding boxes, ovals, arrows, etc.  For readable text, the app does a great job with highlighting.  For nonreadable text, the app includes a highlight tool, but unfortunately like so many other apps it makes the text that you highlight harder to read.  (PDFpen is one of the few apps to handle this correctly.)

PDF Expert aso includes a nice tool for signing documents.  You can use the full screen of the iPad to create your signature, then you can save the signature for future use.  You can only store one signature in the app, but every time you insert a signature you are given the option of either using your stored signature or adding a “Customer Signature” — in other words, let somebody else sign without saving that signature to a clipboard for future use.

You can add two types of stamps.  First you can add a picture from your Photos library.  Second, you can add a text stamp.  You can edit the words in the text stamp as well as the color, but all of the text stamps basically look the same.  The app also comes with some built-in stamps, most of which are simply text stamps, but there are a few others as well such as check marks, Xs, and tabs showing you where to sign.

The app lets you view a list of PDF bookmarks, an outline, and annotations, and you can tap on entries to jump to particular instances.  When you are done, you can export a file via e-mail or by using the “Open in…” menu.  If you enable syncing with a server such as Dropbox, you can export files that way too.

Having seen all that PDF Expert can do, I now understand why I met so many enthuiastic users at ABA TECHSHOW.  This app can handle most of the tasks that you would want for a PDF editor on the iPad.  Having said that, I can’t help but compare this app to PDFpen, and while each app can do things that the other cannot (or that the other does differently), I prefer most of the choices in PDFpen.  For example, as mentioned above, PEFpen does a much better job highlighting a document that does not have readable text.  PDFpen has a more sophisticated Library system for storing and adding objects to documents, whereas PDF Expert is limited to the text stamps and a few others (although you can also add a picture from your photos library).  PDF Expert has the ability to sync with a server such as Dropbox, a feature that PDFpen lacks (PDFpen lets you get a file from Dropbox but only syncs with iCloud), but I prefer to use GoodReader for my Dropbox syncing so that feature is less important to me than it would be to others.  For these and other reasons that are mostly a matter of personal preference, I suspect that I will use PDFpen more than PDF Expert, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t used PDF Expert quite a bit lately, and not just because I’ve been preparing a review.

For attorneys looking to spend $10 on an excellent app for handling PDF files on an iPad, PDF Expert and PDFpen are both great options.  Hopefully my reviews of both apps will help you to decide which app is best for you.

Click here to get PDF Expert for iPad ($9.99): 

Another week, another set of stories of interest to iPhone and iPad users.  Without further ado, here is this week’s In the News:

• Texas Assistant Attorney General Frank King writes about using an iPad at trial for the Texas Bar Journal.
• Attorney Sam Glover of Lawyerist wrote an article for Law Practice Magazine recommending iPad apps for productivity.
• New York attorney Michael Zussman wrote an article for The Federal Lawyer about advice for IP lawyers based on Steve Jobs.  A copy of the article is hosted on his website.
• North Carolina attorney Andrew Nettleman explains how he uses his iPad in a post for Tablet Legal.
• Attorney Matthew Hickey writes about using GoodReader to organize your case files in this article on The Sociable Lawyer Blog.
• Virginia attorney Rob Dean writes about using PDF Expert to sign pleadings.
• Giles Turnbull of Cult of Mac also writes about PDF Expert.
• Andy Ihnatko writes for Macworld UK that his laptop computer has become essentially a desktop computer and his iPad has become his portable computer.  I couldn’t agree more.
• Dallas attorney Tom Mighell writes about the limitations of the “Open in…” menu on the iPhone and iPad.  I couldn’t agree more that Apple needs to fix this soon.
• Mighell also explained what to do when an app crashes.
• Bill Latham of The Hytech Lawyer recommends 31 apps for lawyers.
• Horace Dediu of Asymco writes that Apple Stores have 17 times the performance of the average retailer.  In terms of sales per square foot, Apple Stores are twice as efficient as the #2 company, Tiffany & Co.
• Mark Sullivan of PC World tested for four major phone carriers in various cities across the U.S. and found that T-Mobile has the fastest 3G downloads and AT&T has the fastest 4G downloads.  I do have some questions about this study, however,  T-Mobile did well because it uses HSPA+ in many cities for its 3G.  In New Orleans, however, this study ranked AT&T as having the slowest 4G, but New Orleans doesn’t have LTE yet.  What AT&T calls “4G” in New Orleans is (for now) the same HSPA+ that T-Mobile has in many cities.  I only know about this issue for the New Orleans data because I live here; there may be similar problems with how the study ranked other cities.  Nevertheless, this is still an interesting report.
• Looking for a text editor for your iPad?  There are over 50 of them, and Brett Terpstra compares them all.  (via Daring Fireball.)
• Looking to buy an iPhone right now?  Steve Kovach of Business Insider offers some advice.
• Michael Rose of TUAW writes about the new Connect service from QuickOffice and the Box OneCloud services, alternatives to using DropBox to sync files to you iOS devices.
• Roy Furchgott of the New York Times reviews the Element Case, a half-pound iPhone dock.
• Chris Mascer of MacNewsWorld reviews Printer Pro, an app that helps you print from an iPad.
• And finally, do you love to use your iPhone but hate that people keep trying to shoot it?  Well then you’ll want to spend $650 on the new bulletproof iPhone case from Japanese firm Marudai.  (via the Daily Mail.)

My father is an architect and can easily draw wonderful pictures.  When I was a Freshman in High School, I thought that I might want to become an architect too, so I signed up when my school offered an architecture course as an art elective.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that I have no skills as an artist, and now instead of using a drafting table I draft briefs.  Perhaps if I had a different skill set, this site would be iPhone AIA instead of iPhone J.D.

Thanks to a wonderful new app called Paper from FiftyThree, however, I can now pretend that I actually have some skills as an artist.  Drawing apps for the iPad are nothing new.  Indeed, just yesterday you heard me talk about Noteshelf, Note Taker HD and Notes Plus, three apps that let you draw on virtual paper with virtual pens and markers.  But there is something really special about this Paper app.  It only includes a few simple drawing tools, but they are so brilliant that they make it easy to create wonderful drawings on an iPad — especially if you are using a stylus, but you can use the app with just your fingers if you want.

When you start the app you are presented with a series of journals, each of which contains multiple pages.  When you create a new journal, you can give it a name and either choose one of the 11 included covers or create your own cover with a photo in your Photos app.

Tap a journal to see the pages within, presented in a fan-like fashion.  Pick a page with a prior drawing, tap an empty page to get a blank canvas, or tap the plus button to create a new blank page in the journal.

Swipe up from the bottom to see the six drawing tools.  The app itself is free and includes the eraser and the fountain pen. For a $7.99 in app purchase you can buy the other four drawing tools (or buy them individually for $1.99 each).  I wasn’t long after I downloaded the app that I decided that I was going to want to purchase all four of the tools, but let me start by talking about the free tool, the fountain pen, because it is simply amazing.  I’ve never seen a drawing tool like this on the iPad before.  The tool draws a dark line, the thickness of which changes based on the speed of your movement.  It really does create the illusion that you have written something with a fountain pen, and I encourage you to download the app right now just to play around with this fun and free tool.

The other amazing tool in Paper is the Color tool.  As you draw with this tool, you get beautiful strokes that appear to have been created by watercolor.  Watercolor is a fun way to add color because it masks your lack of talent.  Watercolor is never really supposed to be “perfect” and instead is just intended to create a sense of color.  It doesn’t much matter if you stay within the lines and there is no need to fill to the edges.

The app also includes a Sketch tool (like a nice lead pencil), an Outline tool (a marker) and a Write tool (a pen).  For each of the tools you can select one of nine colors that complement each other very well.

Swipe down on the tools palate to make them go away and use the entire iPad screen for your drawing.  To bring the tools back, just swipe up from the bottom of your iPad screen.

Instead of an undo button, the app introduces a gesture that FiftyThree calls Rewind.  Place two fingers on the screen and then move your hand in a counter-clockwise circle to undo strokes one at a time, or move clockwise to bring them back.  The gesture is simple, intuitive, and actually fun enough to make you almost want to make mistakes that you have to undo.

What is interesting about this app is what it doesn’t do.  You only get the nine preset colors, so you cannot select another color (except that if you use the Color tool you can blend different watercolors).  You cannot zoom in to be more precise in your drawing.  You cannot make the canvas any larger than the iPad screen itself, although if you have a third generation iPad the app uses the full Retina screen of 2048 x 1536 pixels.  The creators of the app say that many of these ideas are under consideration, but their goal was to encourage creativity without getting people bogged down in so many options that they don’t know where to start.  I do hope that the app adds more features in the future, but I understand the dilemma; you don’t want the app to become confusing and bloated.  As Steve Jobs famously said:  “I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.”

After you are done with your masterpiece, you can swipe to browse between pages in your journal.  You can share a page by sending it to your Photos library, by e-mailing it, or by posting it to Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr.  As you can see on this page, lots of folks have made some truly amazing pictures using Paper.  Or you can stay right here and see the streetcar picture that I created after spending five minutes channelling my inner Bob Ross:

Try not to laugh too much at my streetcar, and I promise to think twice before exhibiting any more of my artwork here on iPhone J.D.  But even if I’m not going to impress anyone other than perhaps my two young kids, I find it really enjoyable to make quick sketches and pictures with this app.  The next time that I’m having a brain freeze while trying to draft a compelling argument in a brief, I can see myself spending a few minutes playing around with this app to get my creative juices flowing again.  And whenever I have a need to quickly sketch a simple diagram, this will be the first app I open on my iPad.

Paper is a beautifully designed and executed app.  The sophisticated fountain pen and watercolor tools let you pretend that you have some artistic talent even if you really don’t.  And even if you are just trying to quickly sketch something, you’ll get a lot more enjoyment using this app then writing on the back of that cocktail napkin.

Click here to get Paper (free; but in-app purchase for additional pens): 

I enjoy using a stylus to take notes on my iPad, but I realize that it is not for everyone, and often it is not even for me.  When I have to take notes at my fastest, such as when I am in trial or a hearing or taking a deposition, I stick with a pen and a legal pad.  But when I can can take notes at a less feverish pace, such as during a meting or when I am just monitoring a hearing or a trial, it is nice to use just a single device—the iPad—to store my documents, take notes, check e-mail, etc. 

There are quite a few apps you can use to take notes with an iPad, and my favorite one is Note Taker HD because it is so powerful, although the interface is confusing.  Earlier this year, I reviewed Notes Plus, a powerful app that I really like; my main complaint is that app lags in keeping up with your stylus.  Los Angeles attorney Robin Meadow posted a comment to that review stating that he uses Noteshelf and that: “I find it very easy to use and very responsive for pure note-taking — it feels just as fast as ink on paper.”   This wasn’t the first time I’ve heard praise for Noteshelf, so I asked the developer for a free review copy and I’ve been trying out the app for a few weeks.  It’s a great app.  [UPDATE 4/18/12:  Meadow posted a long comment to this post that is worth reading.]

To take notes, you first choose an existing, or create a new, cover for your notebook and then select the default page type for the notebook.  There lots of covers and pages includes, and you can visit the in-app store to purchase even more.  If you are looking to mimic a legal pad, the app comes with several relevant paper choices such as “Legal Pad,” “Ruled Paper” and “Wide Ruled Paper.”

The paper you are seeing in the following screens is the Wide Ruled Paper.  The paper fits entirely on the screen when you are in portrait mode.  In landscape mode, the paper width stays the same, and the area on the right is used to scroll up and down.  You cannot pinch to zoom in and out of the page; the size of what you write remains constant at all tmes (except for the zoom box, discussed below).

If you want, you can write directly on the screen. One minor complaint that I have about this app is that the pen stroke seems somewhat more fuzzy in this app than in other note-taking apps.  (Click on one of the screenshot images on this page to get a better sense of what it looks like.)  I suppose this is just an issue of personal preference and some may prefer the softer look of the virtual ink.

To write more precisely, the app includes the feature that I consider essential to any serious note-taking app:  a small window at the bottom that enlarges a portion of the screen so that you can write larger at the bottom and have it shrunk on the page.

I think that the implementation of this feature is poorer in Noteshelf than in Note Take HD or Notes Plus.  For example, in those two app the gray area where you can cause the line to advance is on the left, so you get to decide when to move your stylus to that area and have the window advance.  In Noteshelf, the gray window is at the right so there is automatic advance until you reach the very end, whether that is convenient or not.  Note, however, that you can also manually tap the arrows to advance the window.  Also, the zoomed text is far more blurry in Noteshelf than in Note Taker HD or in Notes Plus. The instruction manual acknowledges this, stating:  “As the zoom panel shows the page bigger than its original size, it is slightly blurred.  This blurry effect increases as you increase the zoom factor.”  Perhaps this is just a tradeoff for speed. [UPDATE 4/18/12:  I agree with Robin Meadow’s suggestion in his comment that this blurriness is caused mostly by the app not being compatible with the retina display on my third generation iPad.  I just tried the app on my iPad 2 and most (although not all) of the blurriness goes away.  I could live with what it look like on the iPad 2, but on the new iPad this is a problem that will hopefully be fixed soon.]  Meadow was right about this app doing a great job of keeping up with the stylus, perhaps even ever so slightly better than Note Taker HD.  But the zoom box area in Note Taker HD is not blurry at all, and I prefer that even if it comes with a very slight tradeoff in speed.

You can change your pen width and color using beautiful windows that pop-up when you tap a tool.  Similarly, when you select an eraser, instead of just having one eraser tool with an adjustable size, the app shows you graphical representations of three different sizes.  Nice touches like this make this app a joy to use.

If you have the need to change the paper type, you can easily do so, either for the current page or for subsequent pages.  In other words, you don’t have to have the same background for all pages in a notebook, so you can have a lined page for notes, followed by a blank page for a picture, followed by a grid page for a more precise drawing, etc.  Unlike Note Taker HD and Notes Plus, the app doesn’t have a built-in feature for creating perfect shapes and lines.  You can, however, insert pictures from the Photos library.  You can also insert Emoji symbols like smiley faces, hearts or a football, although that’s unlikely to be a feature you will find useful when taking notes in court or in a meeting.

Noteshelf has many other features too.  For example, in addition to writing on the paper you can also insert typed words.  The app can search for those typed words across notepads, and you can even add tags to notepads to make them easier to find later.  You can export one or more pages as either pictures or a PDF file, and you can e-mail it, print it, or send it to your Dropbox or Evernote account.

Noteshelf doesn’t have all of the features of Note Taker HD (which can do almost too much) or Notes Plus (which can convert handwriting to text, turn a circle or square you draw into a perfect circle or square, etc.).  It also seems to use a smaller piece of virtual paper than those other apps; the paper doesn’t seem as large as a legal pad so I seem to get far fewer words per page than with Note Taker HD or Notes Plus. 

On the other hand, Noteshelf does have more features than some of the simple note-taking apps, many of which don’t even let you zoom in on a portion of the screen to draw in a smaller window at the bottom.  Most importantly, if your goal is simply to write or draw on lots of different kinds of paper, Noteshelf handles that core task just fine.  And finally, as you can see, Noteshelf has a beautiful design, the best that I’ve ever seen on a note-taking app for the iPad.  

I consider Noteshelf to be a perfect mid-range entry in the world of iPad note-taking apps.  It does a lot more than the simple apps that are only useful for jotting down a quick number as opposed to taking notes in court.  Noteshelf is definitely good enough to be a true legal pad replacement.  It lacks many features in other more advanced apps, but those may well be features that you’ll never want to use anyway.  By including just enough features, and by packaging it all into a beautiful design that is fun to use, Noteshelf is sure to be a favorite note-taking app on the iPad for many, striking the perfect balance between features and simplicity.  I still find myself going back to Note Taker HD for most of my note-taking, in part because I appreciate the extra features notwithstanding the confusing interface and in part becuase I prefer the way tha the digital ink looks in Note Taker HD, but I suspect that I’ll still come back to Noteshelf from time to time because it is such a nice app.

Click here or Noteshelf ($5.99): 

There are times when you want a simple cover for an iPhone or iPad to provide just some basic protection against scratches.  The iShine is an inexpensive cloth sleeve in which you can slide an iPad or an iPhone with a drawstring at one end to cinch it closed. The manufacturer sent me a free review sample about a month ago and I’ve been using it off and on since then.  The cloth itself is made of soft microfiber, which means that when it isn’t carrying your device, you can use it to clean you screen. 

The iPad version of the iShine will hold any model of the iPad, from the original iPad to the new third generation iPad.  There is enough space to hold an iPad even when an Apple Smart Cover is connected, but the iShine is even more useful if there is nothing on the iPad screen because then the microfiber cloth will lightly rub against the screen and clean it while it is covered.

The iPhone version of the iShine holds any model iPhone or iPod touch.  There seems to be enough space to fit an iPhone even if it is inside of a case as long as the case itself isn’t too big.  Again, however, you get more out of the iShine if the iPhone is in there by itself being polished and cleaned by the iShine.

I most recently used the iShine over Easter weekend when my family traveled on a plane to visit my wife’s relatives.  Now that I have a third generation iPad, I let my son use my older iPad 2 on the plane, and I was looking for something simple to cover the iPad 2 and give it some simple protection before I placed it with a bunch of other items in my knapsack.  The iShine was perfect for the job.

If you are looking for simple protection for an iPhone or iPad, the iShine is a great option.  It is inexpensive, and in addition to covering your device it cleans the screen.

Click here to get iShine for iPad ($12.95) from Amazon.

Click here to get iShine for iPhone ($5.95) from Amazon.

I took a deposition yesterday in which the witness had produced thousands of pages of documents.  In the past, that would have meant lugging tons lots of boxes and binders to the deposition.  Instead, I just put everything on my iPad.  I used Apple’s Numbers app to read some Excel files.  The PDF files went in to my Dropbox account, and while it took over an hour to sync almost 2 GB of data to GoodReader, everything worked great once it was there.  Searching for a term in a 2900 page PDF file was slower in GoodReader than it would have been with a laptop computer, but it was fast enough for what I needed during the deposition.  It worked great, and reminded me (once again) of why the iPad is such a great litigation tool.  And now, for the news of note from the past week:

• Speaking of depositions, a California attorney asked me yesterday if I had any experience with using an iPad for a realtime deposition transcript during a deposition.  I have not, and frankly I’m not sure that I would use this because I’d rather use my iPad for accessing pleadings, exhibits, etc. during a deposition.  (Unless I brought a second iPad?)  The website for the court reporter company Gramann Reporting, Ltd. mentions this feature, but it’s not clear to me if they have a dedicated app or are just sending the realtime transcript to a web browser.  If any of you know anything more about relatime on the iPad, I’d love to hear about it.
• The Lexis Advance app for the iPad (which I reviewed in February) was updated this week to support client-matter requirements.  In the past you could use the app without entering a client or matter number, even if your law firm required these codes when accessing Lexis Advance on the web; now thy are required in the iPad app as well.
• When I need to access the full version of Microsoft Office on my iPad (for example, to view or add redline edits), I usually use the LogMeIn app to connect to my office computer or the Citrix app to connect to a virtual computer on my law firm’s network, but if neither of those options are available to you, you might consider the apps CloudOn and OnLive Desktop.  I’m still trying these out myself, but Harry McCracken of Time wrote a helpful article comparing what these apps can do.
• Speaking of OnLive Dekstop, Paul McDougall notes that Microsoft has recently given OnLive permission to do what it does, except that now the app uses Windows Server 2008 instead of Windows 7, which makes it somewhat less useful.
• Joel Mathis of Macworld reviews Notes Plus, a powerful app for taking notes on an iPad.  I reviewed Notes Plus earlier this year.
• Philip Michaels of Macworld reviews SlideShark, a free app to view PowerPoint presentations on your iPad.  It sounds like an interesting app, but I recommend that you just pay Apple the $10 for its excellent Keynote app.
• Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal praises voice dictation on the iPhone 4S and Android devices.  I’m a huge fan of using my voice, instead of my fingers, to draft e-mails on my iPhone 4S and my third generation iPad.
• Ellis Hamburger of The Verge reviews iPad styluses.  It’s a great, comprehensive review and includes a fantastic video showing all of the devices being used.  Definitely worth a look if you are trying to pick a stylus for your iPad.
• Quickoffice is a nice app for reading Microsoft Office documents on the iPhone or iPad.  It was updated this week to add the ability to edit PowerPoint 2007-2010 files.  
• Greg Buckles of eDiscoveryJournal discusses the discoverability of information on mobile phones.
• King & Spalding law librarian Greg Lambert of the 3 Geeks and a Law Blog makes the case for sticking with his first generation iPad.  He makes some interesting arguments, but I’m sure there are iPhone J.D. readers at K&S with a third generation iPad, and I encourage one of you to loan your device to Lambert for a few minutes; I suspect he’ll change his mind.
• Kevin Tofel of GigaOm runs through the multi-finger gestures on the iPad.  I’m a big fan of the four-finger swipe left / right.
• Attorney Neil Squillante, publisher of the TechnoLawyer newsletters, writes about some unique iPad stands that don’t take up desk space.
• Connecticut attorney Adrian Baron of The Nutmeg Lawyer discusses using a Netzero device as a hotspot for his iPad.
• The iPhoto app on the iPad is incredibly powerful, but because it has so many cool features, it takes some time to learn how to use it.  Leah Yamshon of Macworld writes about the different brushes in the app.
• Better yet, California attorney Katie Floyd of the Mac Power Users podcast recently wrote about SCOTutor for iPhoto on iOS, a $0.99 app that contains a 50 minute video by Don McAlister of ScreenCastsOnline that walks you through all of the features in iPhoto.  I purchased this app this past weekend and I learned a ton from it.  It was definitely worth a buck.  Click here for SCOtutor for iPhoto on iOS ($0.99):

  

• And finally, Rob Schmitz of Marketplace was recently given permission by Apple to take a look inside of the Foxconn factory in Shanghai, China that produces the iPad.  This short video gives you an interesting insight into how your iPad was made:

For most attorneys using an iPad, I have a strong suspicion that PDF is the most important file format.  Rather than lugging boxes full of documents to meetings, courts, trials, etc., it is so much better have everything in PDF format organized in an app on your iPad such as GoodReader, PDFpen or the many other fantastic PDF apps.  But Adobe controls PDF, so when it updates its own PDF software for the computer or other devices, it is worth paying attention to what is new.  I reviewed the free Adobe Reader app for the iPad and iPhone last year, and while the app was limited, it considered it useful.  Everyone once in a while I encounter a file on my iPad or iPhone that only Adobe Reader can handle.

Yesterday, Adobe updated Adobe Reader for the iPad and iPhone to add some great new features.  

First, Adobe added simple annotation capabilities including highlighting, strike-through and underlining for readable files.  You can access these features from a menu at the top, or by simply selecting text and choosing the option from a pop-up menu.

For all files, including those that are not readable, you can add a note or you can draw on the document using a simple pen tool.

[UPDATE 12/1/2012:  Be sure to read Ernie Svenson’s comment to this post about what happens to annotations when you export a PDF file.]

This version also adds a nice signature feature.  Select the signature tool and tap on the spot in the document where you want to sign.  A screen then appears where you can sign your name. 

The app then adds that signature to your document, where you can resize it to make it fit and edit the thickness, color or opacity of the lines.  In the future, just tap the signature button to add your previous signature again, or you can choose to edit your saved signature.

The update also adds the ability to fill out forms, although I haven’t tried that feature yet.

The first time that you make an annotation, the app asks for your name.  In the future, you can change your identity by going to the iPad’s Settings app and selecting Adobe Reader.

All of the features mentioned above also work on the iPhone, although annotating and signing a document on the iPhone’s tiny screen can be a challenge.

The annotation features in Adobe Reader are simple and do not hold a candle to more sophisticated apps such as PDFpen.  I recommend that most attorneys use more sophisticated PDF apps, especially on an iPad, to gain more features such as the ability to store files in folders, sync, make advanced edits, etc.  On the other hand, the features Adobe just added to the Adobe Reader app are well implemented and make this an app that I would recommend to anyone looking for a quick and easy way to annotate a document.

Click here for Adobe Reader (free): 

This is a short week with the Easter holiday, and it has been a busy week for me as a return to my practice after TECHSHOW.  Here are the iPhone and iPad news items that caught my attention this week and might be of interest to you:

• Florida attorney Katie Floyd of the Mac Power Users podcast has been shopping for an external keyboard for her new iPad.  In this post, she explains why she tried the Apple Wireless Keyboard but ultimately opted for the ZAGGkeys Flex.
• New York attorney Niki Black writes about last week’s ABA TECHSHOW for The Daily Record.  I was honored to see that she wrote:  “My favorite session was the ’60 iOS Apps for Lawyers in 60 Minutes’ given by attorneys Josh Barrett, Brett Burney and Jeffrey Richardson. This presentation stood out due to the quality of the content and the beautifully designed slides.  The speakers presented the material with ease and humor and obviously knew their stuff. The apps discussed were highly relevant to lawyers who use iPhones and iPads in their practices.”  Thanks!  We had a blast putting together and presenting the session.
• South Carolina attorney Jim Dedman of Abnormal Use tried to depose Siri.
• Have you ever wondered why, when you travel with an iPad instead of a laptop computer, you don’t need to remove the iPad to go through TSA?  Matt Richtel of the New York Times researched the reason for the distinction, and apparently there isn’t much of an answer.  Regardless, I love this policy so I hope that TSA doesn’t change it.
• Jim Tanous of The Mac Observer analyzes the change in iOS 5.1 that causes an iPhone 4S on AT&T to say that it has 4G instead of 3G.
• ExhibitView is powerful app that you can use to give presentations in court or in a meeting using an iPad.  It was recently updated to version 2.0, and then 2.1, and is dedicated to the memory of Finis Price, author of the great TechnoEsq. blog who recently passed away.  (When the ABA Journal ran its Droid vs. iPhone feature back in 2010, Finis Price argued for the iPhone.)
• Brian Malcom has tips for litigators using an iPad in this article for Law Technology News.
• Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Sun-Times provides more thoughts on the new iPad.
• Glenn Fleishman of TidBITS explains that Apple’s success comes from releasing products like the new iPad with important, albeit only incremental, changes.
• Ben Bajarin of Time explains why America needs Apple.
• If you upgraded to the new third generation iPad, you now have an extra iPad.  If you want to pass your old iPad along to a child, Christopher Breen of Macworld has tips for doing so.
• And finally, I recently had an opportunity to see Walter Isaacson, author of the Steve Jobs book, speak about the book and his time with Steve Jobs.  On April 2, Isaacson gave a 20 minute presentation at the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam and then had an hour-long Q and A session.  The session was recorded, and if you are interested in Steve Jobs and you haven’t had an opportunity to see Isaacon speak over the last few months as he has toured the country (and apparently, the world), I recommend that you set aside 90 minutes to watch the video.  You can watch it below, but unfortunately it is in Flash format so you cannot view it on an iPad or iPhone.

This past Saturday morning at ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago, Josh Barrett, Brett Burney and I presented the 2012 installment of 60 Apps in 60 Minutes.  We highlighted some of the best new apps for attorneys as well as old favorites that cannot live without, plus a few others just for fun.  Here is a list of the apps that we discussed this year.  I put links on the names of the apps that have received a formal review here on iPhone J.D.  I think that you will find that this is a good, diverse list of apps for you to explore.

1. Agenda – calendar ($0.99): 

   

2. Instacast – podcast organizer and player ($1.99): 

   

3. Conference Pad – presentations ($4.99): 

   

4. GoodReader – store documents, annotate PDFs ($4.99): 

   

5. PDFpen – PDF editor ($9.99): 

   

6. Adobe Reader – PDF reader (free): 

   

7. PDF PROvider – convert to PDF ($6.99): 

   

8. PDF Expert – PDF editor ($9.99): 

   

9. Mr. Reader – RSS reader ($3.99): 

   

10. PaperKarma – reduce junk mail (free): 

    

11. Voice Brief – read your email, calendar, etc. out loud ($3.99): 

    

12. Cards – create and mail cards (free): 

    

13. TranscriptPad – annotate transcripts ($49.99): 

    

14. Documents to Go – view and edit Microsoft Word docs ($9.99): 

    

15. WordPerfect Viewer – view WordPerfect files ($5.99): 

    

16. CloudOn – virtualized version of Microsoft Office (free): 

    

17. Phraseology – text editor ($3.99): 

    

18. DayOne – diary ($2.99): 

    

19. Picture it Settled Lite – mediation analysis (free): 

    

20. Note Taker HD – handwritten notes ($4.99): 

    

21. Notes Plus – handwritten notes ($6.99): 

    

22. Notability – handwritten notes ($3.99): 

    

23. SoundNote – take notes and record ($4.99): 

    

24. Air Display – iPad as a second monitor ($9.99): 

    

25. PhotoSync – transfer photos from iPhone to iPad ($1.99): 

    

26. AutoStitch – create panorama ($1.99): 

    

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27. GroupShot – merge photos of a group of people ($0.99): 

    

28. iPhoto – photo editor ($4.99): 

    

29. Photoshop Touch – photo editor ($9.99): 

    

30. Reminders – to do list (free) (included with iOS 5)
31. Scanner Pro – scan to PDF ($6.99): 

    

32. DocScanner – scan to PDF ($3.99): 

    

33. Print Central – print from iPad or iPhone ($3.99): 

    

34. Toodledo – task manager ($1.99): 

    

35. Timeli – project manager (free): 

    

36. OmniFocus – task manager ($39.99): 

    

37. Launch Center – shortcuts ($0.99): 

    

38. LogMeIn – remote access (free):  #

    

39. Business Card Reader – card scanner ($4.99): 

    

40. CardMunch – card scanner (free): 

    

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41. GateGuru – airport inforation (free):

    

42. Hipmunk – plan flights (free): 

    

43. SitOrSquat – find and rate bathrooms (free): 

    

44. Sparrow – e-mail client ($2.99): 

    

45. Office Time – timekeeper ($7.99): 

    

46. WestlawNext – legal research (free): 

    

47. Lexis Advance – legal research (free): 

    

48. Fastcase – legal research (free): 

    

49. Klammer – view Outlook attachments ($0.99): 

    

50. PST Mail – view Outlook .pst files ($9.99): 

    

51. GoToMeeting – attend online meetings (free): 

    

52. AppStart – app suggestions (free): 

    

53. 1Password Pro – password manager ($14.99): 

    

54. DaysFrom – date calculator ($0.99): 

    

55. Do Date – daily reminders ($0.99): 

    

56. Tweetbot – Twitter client ($2.99): 

    

57. Keynote – presentations ($9.99): 

    

58. Keynote Remote – presentations ($0.99): 

    

59. Google Translate – translations (free): 

    

60. Infinity Blade II – game ($5.99): 

    

61. Action Movie FX – add special effects to movies (free): 

    

I created a short live demonstration of that last app, Action Movie FX, during our presentation.  Here is that video.  For those of you who attended, you can see yourself being crushed by a helicopter:

I enjoyed talking to many of you after this session and throughout the conference.  I hope to see you next year at ABA TECHSHOW 2013 in Chicago, April 4-6, 2013.

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)