Thank you to Westlaw for sponsoring iPhone J.D. this month. There is some good news for iPhone J.D. readers who use Westlaw: the app now works on iPhone. Westlaw has long worked well with the iPad. The iPad was first introduced in the Spring of 2010, and just a few months later, WestlawNext for iPad was introduced. That app was useful when it was introduced, and has improved substantially over the years, adding new features and improving the interface. Last month, just before ABA TECHSHOW, Thomson Reuters updated the Westlaw app so that it now runs on both the iPad and iPhone.
Even though this is a universal app, when run on the iPhone you see something fairly different than what you see on an iPad. On an iPad, the Westlaw app is a full featured research tool, one that you can use to do virtually all of the same type of research that you might to on a computer. Indeed, when I am at my desk, I will often have Word open on my computer as I am drafting a Memorandum but I will use Westlaw on my iPad to do legal research. I like the clean look of the iPad app, and it is nice to be able to lean back in my chair and do research on my iPad.
The iPhone screen is pretty small to do full legal research (although of course you could do it in a pinch). So instead, the iPhone version of the app focuses on just a few things.
Of course, there is a search feature. You can enter a case citation, or search terms, and quickly see results. So if you are talking to another attorney about a reported decision and you want to look at the language of the opinion, you can just take your iPhone from your pocket and quickly pull up the case and then scroll down to the relevant language. Even better, if you want to re-run a search that you previously did on your computer or on the iPad, your most recent searches are listed so that you can just tap to run them again.
Looking at an opinion on the iPhone is different from the iPad. For one thing, the headnotes are not displayed at first, which makes it faster to scroll down to the text of the opinion. But if you want to see the headnotes, you can just tap the “Related Content” link to see them.
If you tap the three dots at the top right corner, you can email an opinion (in MS Word, PDF, Word Perfect or RTF format), or you can print. (A tip for iPhone 6s owners: tap Prepare to Print, then use 3D touch to push down on the preview of the opinion, and you will see a PDF version of the opinion that you can easily email or open in another app.)
If you use the folders feature of Westlaw, you can see all of your folders on the iPhone app, including all of the items you saved there on your computer or iPad, and you can add a case to a folder.
Searching for opinions and statutes is the most useful part of this app for me, but the app also lets you stay up-to-date with Westlaw alerts, docket updates, and gives you the ability to track companies and follow practice area developments.
One feature I would love to see on the iPhone app is a History button so you can quickly pull up the most recent documents that you viewed on an iPad or computer. A West representative told me that the company is considering adding some limited History functionality such as easier access to recent documents in a future update.
Note that if you want more features, you can still just access Westlaw using the Safari browser on an iPhone, which gives you access to most of the full Westlaw features — including history. The interface of Westlaw in Safari is actually pretty good, but for the functions that are available in the iPhone app, you get an even better experience in the native app.
The iPhone version of Westlaw is a well-designed and useful app for lawyers, providing access to sophisticated legal research tools on the device that is always available whenever you reach into your pocket.
One of the things that I love most about my 12.9" iPad Pro isn’t the iPad itself, but instead the fact that it works so well with the Apple Pencil – one of my all-time favorite accessories for an iOS device. I love using the Apple Pencil to take handwritten notes and to annotate documents. And now that the 9.7" iPad Pro is available, even more people will be using an Apple Pencil. One of the few drawbacks of the Apple Pencil is that, unlike many other pens and styluses, the Apple Pencil lacks a clip. Thus, there isn’t an easy way to carry it around. A few months ago I reviewed the Fisher Chrome Clip which you can add to the Pencil (even though it wasn’t designed for that); it looks good, and it works well. I still enjoy using that clip and I continue to recommend it to others.
RadTech recently sent me a free review unit of a product that it invented called the PencilClipz, a plastic device that gives you two types of clips for an Apple Pencil. First, it has a clip that you can use to attach a Pencil to a shirt pocket (or a pocket in a briefcase or purse). Second, it has a protrusion on the side that easily snaps in to the Lightning port on an iPad so that you can attach an Apple Pencil to the side of an iPad.
RadTech says that the device itself is “made from tough and unbreakable Polycarbonate.” It certainly seems sturdy to me. It is easy to slip it on or off of the Apple Pencil, but it is tight enough that it won’t budge up or down unless you really force it. The product only weighs 3 grams, so it doesn’t add any noticeable weight to the Apple Pencil. And because it is made of plastic, you don’t have to worry about it scratching the Apple Pencil or anything else that it might come in contact with.
The pencil clip part of the PencilClipz works well, securely clipping to a pocket.
The side part of the PencilClipz also does it job, snapping into a Lightning port. It is very secure. Even if I rigorously shake my 12.9" iPad Pro, the PencilClipz stays attached until I pull it off. Unless you somehow hit the side of your iPad Pro as you are carrying it, I cannot imagine the Apple Pencil coming off.
Like any clip that you might attach to an Apple Pencil, another advantage is that it prevents the Apple Pencil from rolling around on a table.
While I consider the PencilClipz to be very clever, there are three reasons that it is not for me. The first is simply that I find it unnecessary to attach my Pencil to my iPad. Whether I am wearing a dress shirt with a suit or something less formal on a Casual Friday, I virtually always wear a shirt with a pocket. Thus, I only need a way to clip my Pencil in my shirt pocket, and the Fisher Chrome Clip works great for that purpose. Depending upon your preferences and your wardrobe, you may see much more of an advantage to attaching a Pencil to the side of an iPad Pro, in which case you’ll be much more interested in this product.
Second, I’m not a big fan of how it looks. They gray color doesn’t match the Pencil at all. And even if this device were as white as snow, I still think it looks somewhat awkward, especially because of the appendage that is necessary to fit into a Lightning port. Perhaps the appearance would not bother me if it were more useful to me, but as noted above, the ability to attach to a Lightning port is interesting but not necessary for me. I far prefer the look of the Fisher Chrome Clip, which matches the chrome band at the top of the Apple Pencil and doesn’t look out of place on a stylus.
[UPDATE: John Grzeskowiak of RadTech followed up to tell me the reason for the color of this product. Many of the company’s customers are photographers and videographers, for whom it is often handy to have an object that is 15%-18% gray. That way, they don’t have to also carry a gray card to do white balancing. For that historical reason, the company continues to make many items that are 15% to 18% gray, including this one. It is interesting to know that historical justification, although I must admit that I’m not really thinking about white balance and photography when I am using an Apple Pencil. Nevertheless, if you are curious, that is the reason for the color on this and other products by RadTech.]
Third, sometimes I find that the PencilClipz gets in the way when I am using my Apple Pencil. RadTech considers it an advantage that (depending upon how you grip your Pencil) you can usually feel the PencilClipz. RadTech says on its website: “PencilClipz also provides additional stability in your hand to enhance finely detailed drawing.” I think that is a valid claim, but I myself have never seen the need to make the Pencil even more stable in my hand. Moreover, for me, that advantage is outweighed by the way that it feels against my hand. For example, the Lightning port connector often pokes my index finger or my thumb.
Even though the PencilClipz is not right for me, I really do appreciate what RadTech has done. I hope that RadTech and other companies continue to think of creative ways to improve the Apple Pencil. If attaching a Pencil to an iPad Pro would be useful for you, than you should check out this device. And if you don’t mind the appearance and you like the idea of keeping the Apple Pencil more secure in your hand, this product may be perfect for you. Fortunately, this device is only $8, so if you think that this product might be right for you, it won’t cost you much at all to try it out.
Last month in In the news, I posted a link to a funny Apple commercial starring Cookie Monster. (Worth watching if you missed it!) Yesterday, Apple posted a “behind the scenes” (ahem) look at the making of that video. I think it is even funnier than the commercial itself. I don’t know who came up with the idea of pairing Cookie Monster with Siri, but I hope that they have ideas for additional amusing Apple commercials. And now, the news of note from the past week:
California attorney David Sparks recommends writing emails backwards — starting with attachments and the body and ending with the subject line and recipients. I often write emails this way for the reasons that David notes, although it never occurred to me that I was writing the email backwards.
New York attorney David Lat, founder of AboveTheLaw.com, provides cybersecurity tips for lawyers based upon some of the presentations at ABA TECHSHOW.
Michael Shear of the New York Times reports that tech upgrades at the White House have finally resulted in staffers being able to use iPhones. President Obama is still required to use a specialized modified BlackBerry, but he does use an iPad.
If you are communicating with someone else who uses an iPhone, you can do so using secure end-to-end encryption by texting in iMessage or calling using FaceTime Audio or FaceTime Video. This week, and as reported by Cade Metz in an article for Wired, WhatsApp added end-to-end encryption, so now you can use that free app to make secure calls or texts with almost anyone.
If you have an Apple Watch and try to meet your Activity Circles every day, you need to check out Activity++, a new $3 app by David Smith that provides an alternative interface to the circles, plus a nice iPhone app to monitor your progress. Click here for more information.
I reviewed the Sphero BB-8 last December, a fun droid that works with your iPhone or iPad. Jason Ward of Making Star Wars reports that the device was updated so that BB-8 can watch the new Star Wars movie with you, reacting to what happens on the screen (by listening to the audio). It’s a fun idea, and I look forward to trying it out when my family and I watch the Blu-Ray tonight of Episode VII. (We’ll start out by watching the preview for the upcoming Rogue One Star Wars movie.)
We’ve come a long way from Taylor Swift boycotting Apple Music. She now stars in a funny video for Apple Music.
And finally, for Autism Acceptance Month, Apple produced two videos about a boy named Dillan who uses an iPad to (finally!) communicate with the outside world. Truly inspiring, and both videos are worth watching: (1) Dillan’s Voice and (2) Dillan’s Path:
Ever since I first started using an iPad in 2010, I’ve been moving towards a pure paperless practice. I’m not 100% there yet, but with all federal court documents in PDF form and most of my colleagues and opponents in state court cases emailing scans of documents, I’m mostly there. Whenever I do encounter paper, my #1 priority is to get it in a digital form. We have nice combination copy machine/scanners in my office, and my secretary already knows to scan pretty much every piece of paper sent to me, but sometimes I encounter documents that I want to scan myself, especially when I am out of the office. It has been several years since I have reviewed a scanner app, but as both scanning apps and the camera on the iPhone have improved over the years, it has become really easy to scan documents using an iPhone. In my opinion, for a while now, the top three apps in this category have been Scanner Pro (which I last reviewed in 2012), PDFpen Scan+ (which I last reviewed in 2013), and Scanbot — an app that I have mentioned on iPhone J.D. but never formally reviewed, even though it has been my favorite scanner app for quite some time now. A few weeks ago, Readdle updated Scanner Pro to version 7, and with the new features, it is now my favorite app for scanning on the iPhone.
(And by the way, “Readdle” is pronounced REED-AL, not RE-AH-DAL. I wasn’t really sure about that until I listened to this video from the company.)
The current versions of Scanner Pro, PDFpen Scan+ and Scanbot make it fast and easy to scan. Once you are in the scanning mode, just point your camera at the document. These apps will automatically detect the edges of the document and, once you are holding your hand steady, automatically take a picture of the document. Better yet, in Scanner Pro and Scanbot, you can turn on a setting to automatically start taking a picture when you first launch the app, which makes sense to me because virtually every time I launch a scanner app I do so because I am ready to start scanning.
The edge detection in Scanner Pro is usually quite good, especially if you are scanning a white document against a darker background, such a desk with a dark color. But if you need to adjust the edges, the app makes it easy to find the corners.
You can make a scan black and white, grayscale, or color. If it is color, you have both a color photo option and a color document option. The color document option ensures that all of the background on a white sheet of paper is white, even if the lighting or shadows made one part of the image slightly darker than another part.
In Scanner Pro (just like PDFpen Scan+) it is fast and easy to scan multi-page documents. Just scan the first page, then once the picture is taken move on to the next page. (In Scanbot, you have to manually tap “Add page” to add additional pages, which slows down the process.)
Once you scan your documents, all three apps can perform an OCR of the document to figure out the words on the page. In Scanner Pro and Scanbot, as long as you have the option to do so turned on in preferences, the OCR process starts automatically. In PDFpen Scan+, you need to tap the OCR button to start the OCR process. I prefer having the process start automatically because virtually all scanned documents are easier to work with when the document is OCR’d.
If you have a decent quality original, all three apps are excellent, but not perfect, when it comes to reading words. In the pictures in this post, you can see that I scanned a document that I first created back in 2012 when I first reviewed Scanner Pro. In my numerous tests, all three apps got almost every word right. Scanner Pro was almost always confused by the word “thereof” followed by a semicolon in the second paragraph, thinking that it said “thereofi” or “thereo,f'” or something like that. Scanbot and PDFpen Scan+ had no trouble with “thereof” but did stumble on the phrase “attorney-client” at the end of the first paragraph. Both of those apps thought that “attorney” was “attomey,” even though Scanner Pro had no trouble with “attorney.” I point all of this out merely to show that while you cannot count on the OCR being 100% perfect in these apps, it is going to be darn close, and I didn’t find any one app all that much better than the others.
Where Scanner Pro really shines is in the quality of its scans. I’ve always found Scanner Pro and Scanbot scans to be slightly better quality than PDFpen Scan+ scans. The words in the scans made with PDFpen Scan+ have more jagged edges, looking slightly more like a fax. Click here to download an example of a PDF file created using Scanner Pro 7.
With Scanner Pro 7, Readdle made the scans even better when you are scanning a page in a book. The problem with scanning books is that there is a curve on the page from the spine to the edge. That’s why when you put a book on a copy machine / scanner, you often push down hard on the book to try to make it flat. Scanner Pro has a new feature that automatically senses the curve of a book page and makes corrections to the distortion to straighten out each line of text — almost as if you had pushed the book down flat on a copy machine. While not 100% perfect, it is always vastly better than the results I see when scanning a book page with Scanbot or PDFpen Scan+.
Scanner Pro also has a new workflow feature that you can use to automate what happens to a scan. Once you scan a document, if you tap the share button, you will see a button for any workflow that you have previously created. Just tap that workflow button, and the workflow starts. You can set the workflow to do things like change the title of the file, automatically upload to a specific folder on a service like Dropbox, automatically email the scan to a certain person, etc. So if you frequently scan a receipt and email a copy to your secretary to create a request for reimbursement, when Scanner Pro you can now do that with fewer taps once you set up the process once.
I find myself wishing that the workflow functions were more sophisticated. For example, there is no option for text input, so while you can automatically rename a file to put the year-month-day at the start of the file name, you cannot then have the app ask you for words to put after that such as “Motion for Summary Judgment” or “Exhibit A” or “Affidavit” etc. After using the impressive Workflow app for some time now, I find myself wanting to create more powerful workflows in this app. But this is only the first version of the workflow feature, and hopefully Readdle will make workflows more robust in future updates. Even in its current version, having this feature in Scanner Pro gives the app another leg up over Scanbot or PDFpen Scan+.
I prefer to scan documents using my iPhone, but Scanner Pro 7 is a universal app so it works on your iPad too. If you have the iCloud function turned on, the app will share scans between multiple devices, so you can use the better camera on your iPhone to scan documents but then you can view you scans on your larger iPad screen.
Scanner Pro always did a great job with the basic functions of scanning a document. But now that version 7 adds OCR — a feature that had already been in Scanbot and PDFpen Scan+ — as well as the book scanning and workflow features that are not offered in other scanning apps, Scanner Pro is now once again my favorite scanning app for the iPhone. The app is quick and easy to use, it is either as good as or better than other scanning apps on all of the standard features, and it has some nice new bells and whistles for when you want to use them. I recommend that all attorneys get a scanning app so that it is on your iPhone the next time that you need to scan a document, and with the latest update to Scanner Pro, this is now the app that I recommend.
Click here to get Scanner Pro 7 from Readdle ($3.99): Scanner Pro
The first time I heard mention of a Bluetooth speaker for a shower, it struck me as funny enough that I featured it as an “And finally…” item at the end of a Friday post back in 2012. But then I tried out the iShower, and I actually found it sort of nice to have a Bluetooth speaker that I could use to listen to podcasts while in the shower, as I noted in my 2013 review. My iShower lasted for about two years and then stopped working. After a few months of not having a speaker in my shower, I decided to buy another one, and I purchased an Aukey Rugged Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker on Amazon. It works okay, and the price was right (I paid $20; it currently sells for $22), but the tire design is a little too cute — especially because it results in buttons that are very difficult to find. A few weeks ago, iClever sent me a free review unit of its iClever IC-BTS03 Waterproof Outdoor/Shower Bluetooth Speaker, which only costs $29.99 on Amazon. I’ve been using it for a few weeks, and I like it.
Design
As you can see, the unit itself is a thick rectangle, almost a square. It is 3.75" across, 3.5" from top to bottom, and 2" thick. The front and back are hard plastic. The edges are a hard rubber, and the buttons on top are molded into the rubber. A blue LED light on the front illuminates when the unit is on. If powered off and charging, the LED is red, and it turns green when finished charging. If powered on and charging, both the blue and red LEDs light up, producing sort of a purple color.
A rubber handle on the top right makes it easy to carry this speaker.
If you lift a tab on the left side of the speaker, you will see two ports: a micro USB port for charging, and an AUX port. I didn’t use the AUX port, and instead relied on its Bluetooth, version 3.0+EDR, to connect to my iPhone.
The button of the speaker has a screw hole that you could use to mount the speaker to a tripod or something similar.
iClever says that the 2000 mAh battery works for 8 to 10 hours on a single charge, which seems about right in my tests. It takes 3 to 4 hours to charge the speaker.
Dust Proof and Waterproof
The key feature of this speaker is that it is waterproof. It is rated IP65, which is a rating on the Ingress Protection scale established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The first of the two digits after the “IP” refers to the protection against solid objects getting inside of the device on a 0 to 6 scale, and the second digit refers to the protection against liquids getting in to the device on a 0 to 9K scale. You can see the full scale here on Wikipedia.
For this device the “6" is the highest level, meaning complete protection against dust getting inside of the device. So you can use this device outside without fear of sand or dirt getting inside and damaging the electronics.
The second number is a “5" which means protection against water jets aimed at the device for at least three minutes. This is lower than a “6" which would be protection against powerful jets, and is less than a “7" which means that it can go 1 meter underwater for 30 minutes. The Apple Watch has IP7 water protection, which is why it will continue to work even if you dunk your wrist in water while wearing the watch — and why some people go swimming with an Apple Watch on, although I wouldn’t recommend that.
So with a “5" rating, you are not going to want to drop the iClever speaker into your tub, although if you drop it in and pick it up quickly you might be OK. But if this speaker sits on a ledge in your shower and jets of water spray it from time to time, it will be fine because it is designed to handle that.
Note that if you use the AUX port to play music using a cord instead of Bluetooth, I doubt that the unit remains water resistant because you have to open the protective flap to access that port.
Music / Podcasts
There are four buttons on the top of the device: power, volume down, play/pause and volume up. The way that I use the device is I start playing something, typically a podcast, on my iPhone. Then once in the shower I hold down the power button to turn on the speaker. The unit turns on and automatically pairs with my iPhone and then continues to play whatever my iPhone was playing.
The volume buttons are independent of the volume buttons on the iPhone — it is not a remote control for the iPhone’s volume. Thus, if your iPhone volume is turned all the way up, then you can get the loudest possible sound on this speaker. But if your iPhone volume is set to around 25%, then the volume buttons on the speaker will just go between 0% and 25%.
You can also long press on the volume up or volume down buttons to advance to the next or previous track.
The quality of the speaker is fine, but nothing special. The sound is clear, but I in a quiet room when I can really hear the quality of music, I find it a little tinny with certain songs, although to be fair with other songs it sounds perfectly fine. But in the shower, when the music is competing with the sound of a shower anyway, it is more than fine. And since I virtually always use this speaker to listen to podcasts that I play on my iPhone using the Overcast app, most of my use of this device over the last few weeks has been with voices, which sound great.
I’ve been mostly using this as a speaker in the shower, but you could also use it as a portable outdoor speaker, and you don’t have to worry about it getting wet from rain or splashes. It can get reasonably loud — not loud enough for a big party, but it would be fine for a smaller gathering, especially if you are just looking for background music. The specifications say that the speaker is 50mm diameter with 5W RMS.
Phone calls
You can also use this speaker to answer the phone and serve as a speakerphone. I cannot begin to imagine using it for this function while in the shower — and hopefully you don’t take many phone calls in the shower either. But if you are using this as an outside speaker, perhaps next to a pool while you are swimming and your iPhone is located in a safe location on a table, it is nice that you can answer calls using this device. When the phone rings, you just long press on the play/pause button. The other caller will definitely be able to tell from the sound quality that you are speaking on an inexpensive speakerphone, but it works.
You can also place a phone call from this speaker, but in a limited way. If you long press on the play/pause button, the speaker will make your iPhone redial the last number that you called. I suppose that this feature could be useful in some situations. For me, this function just made me cautious that I was pressing the right button while using the speaker in the shower. I was afraid that I would intend to long-press on the + button to advance to the next track, but instead I would long-press on the play/pause button and I’d call someone from my shower.
Conclusion
This is a nice, durable, inexpensive speaker that can work even when exposed to jets of water. I’ll admit that listening to music or podcasts in the shower is an extravagance, but for only $30 it is an extravagance that you can afford. And it works well as a portable outdoor speaker because you don’t have to worry about dust or splashes. I see that there are other speakers for sale on Amazon that cost about the same and that are similarly resistant to water (although some are only rated IP54, not IP65) and I haven’t done a broad test of waterproof speakers. But I can say that I like the design of this speaker better than the more expensive iShower that I reviewed in 2013 because it is more compact and the rubber and hard plastic makes it more durable. I also like it better than the an Aukey Rugged Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker that I have been using since last November because the buttons are easier to press and the square shape makes it more sturdy.
Apple is 40 years old today. No other company has been selling personal computers for that long, and with its Mac, iPad and iPhone, Apple pushes the envelope on what it even means to be a “computer.” As Apple celebrates its 40th, one of its newest devices, the 9.7" iPad Pro, is now available in stores. One of my law partners bought one, and I got a chance to spend a few minutes with it yesterday afternoon. While I prefer the larger screen of my 12.9" iPad Pro for viewing documents, I have to admit that the 9.7" version has a lot going for it. Most importantly for me, that classic iPad size is easier and lighter to hold. The True-Tone display, available only on this model (for now), does a great job of adjusting the color balance automatically based upon the light that is around you. I put the 9.7" model next to my 12.9" iPad Pro, and the color on my iPad looked great — until I looked at the color-balanced 9.7" model. Then when I looked back at my iPad, the white areas seemed too blue under the fluorescent lights in my office. I’m sure that this feature will eventually be on all of the high-end iPads. If you are now in the market for a new iPad, choosing between the two iPad Pro sizes will likely be difficult for many of you. Some of the articles that I have linked below may help you to make your decision. And now, the recent news of note:
Florida attorney Katie Floyd tried the 12.9" iPad Pro, but it wasn’t for her. She has since ordered a 9.7" iPad Pro (which she got yesterday), and I look forward to hearing Katie’s thoughts to get her perspective after using both versions of the iPad Pro in her law practice. (Note that if you click that “got yesterday” link you can also read Katie’s review of the new Amazon Echo Dot.)
Yesterday, Apple released iOS 9.3.1, which contains all of the features of iOS 9.3, released on March 21, but fixes an obscure bug that could cause your iPhone to crash if certain third party apps were installed, such as the Booking.com app.
John Gruber of Daring Fireball reviews the new iPhone SE. It is an excellent review, that points out that Apple is once again forcing you to make difficult choices, just like it does with the 9.7" vs. 12.9" iPad Pro: “The iPhone 6S and iPhone SE are both great products, and both have great sizes — but for entirely different reasons. The SE is easier to pocket, easier to hold, and easier to use one-handed. The 6S displays more content, and is better for two-handed use — particularly when it comes to thumb-typing. Judging between these two devices, with no consideration for future devices, I personally am completely torn. I really can’t decide which set of trade-offs to make.”
The tip on my Apple Pencil appears to be holding up just fine even with a lot of use, but Chance Miller of 9to5Mac notes that you can now buy replacement Apple Pencil tips in packs of four for $19.
If you are in the market for an Apple Watch, Apple now has a cool interactive gallery that lets you see what different case and band combinations look like.
Julia Love of Reuters describes the privacy czars at Apple who help the company make decisions regarding how to make use of (and not make use of) private information.
I still enjoy subscribing to Apple Music, especially the recommended playlists. Steven Levy wrote a great article about what makes Apple playlists so good — especially when it comes to smoking substances legal in only a few states.
Rene Ritchie of iMore notes that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now available on iTunes. Click here to purchase ($19.99 in HD, $14.99 in SD). I pre-ordered the Blu-Ray on Amazon ($19.99) which is available on April 5, so I’ll have to wait a few more days to see it on my TV. Even though I saw the movie twice in the theaters, I’m really looking forward to watching it again at home, especially so that I can pause as certain points to see more of what is going on. And completely unsolicited, my ten-year old son mentioned to me a few days ago that he really wants to watch the movie again on our TV for the same reason — which I consider proof positive that I’m doing something right in the parenting department.
I really love using my 12.9" iPad Pro in my office. I use it to review and edit documents, to do legal research, and to manage email — sometimes in connection with the computer on my desk, sometimes instead of using the computer. The battery in the larger iPad Pro lasts a long time, but sometimes after using it all morning and then into the afternoon, I notice that I am starting to run a little low. With prior models of the iPad, this was not a problem because I had a Lightning cable on my desk plugged in to a USB power adapter next to the desk, so I could just plug in the iPad and continue to use it, restoring power as I was using the iPad. For the 12.9" iPad Pro, however, that isn’t a great solution because the 12W USB Power Adapter that Apple includes with the 12.9" iPad Pro just barely puts out enough power to keep a 12.9" iPad Pro going, unless the screen brightness is turned down. So if you plug in when you are at 17% and continue to use the iPad Pro, you are not going to get much higher than 17%. Last week, Apple introduced a solution to this problem: Apple’s USB-C to Lightning Cable, to work with the Apple’s USB-C Power Adapter.
A little iPad power history
When Apple first released the iPad in 2010, it included a 10 watt (10W) power adapter along with a USB to 30-pin cable. In October of 2012, Apple introduced the iPad 4 and iPad mini, the first iPads to use a Lightning connector instead of the old 30-pin connector, and Apple included a USB to Lightning cable and a new 12W USB power adapter — a slight increase to keep up with the additional power needs of newer iPads. Since that time, Apple has included 10W or 12W USB power adapter with every iPad.
The 12.9" iPad Pro introduced in September of 2015 was the first iPad to support a feature called fast charging, the ability to charge more quickly by using a power adapter with more oomph than 12W. It is still the only iPad to support this feature; even the 9.7" iPad Pro introduced last week doesn’t support fast charging. But for 12.9" iPad Pro users, the fast charging feature was inaccessible because there wasn’t yet a way to get more than 12W of power to the 12.9" iPad Pro. Sure, Apple sold a USB-C Power Adapter with 29W of output, but it could only be used with Apple’s MacBook laptop (which has a USB-C port) via a USB-C to USB-C cable.
Last week, Apple announced its new USB-C to Lightning Cable, a way to use that 29W USB-C Power Adapter with a 12.9" iPad Pro. Apple currently sells two versions of the cable: a $25 1 meter version, and a $35 2 meter version. I bought the 2 meter version from Apple, and I also purchased one of the Apple USB-C Power Adapters that have been available on Amazon for a while now for $49. (Although I paid $49 on Amazon last week, I see that they are currently selling for $58 on Amazon; I presume that the price will soon return to $49, or you can just buy it for $49 from Apple.)
USB-C Power Adapter
The 29W USB-C Power Adapter is square, just like the 12W USB Power Adapter, but is slightly bigger — about 2 1/8" on each side instead of about 1 3/4" on each side. The thickness stays the same, about an inch.
Just like the old power adapter, the prongs on the new power adapter retract, making it easier to carry around without scratching something.
The main difference, of course, is the support for USB-C instead of USB. I’ve never considered USB to be a big connector, but it is huge compared to the tiny slot required for USB-C.
USB-C to Lightning Cable
The new USB-C to Lightning Cable has on one end the Lightning connector that we’ve been using since 2012, and on the other end has the USB-C connector. Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector is a little bit smaller than the non-proprietary USB-C connector, but the size is similar.
Like the Lightning connector (and unlike traditional USB), you can plug a USB-C connector in either way, which is big improvement over normal USB.
Performance
The reason that many 12.9" iPad Pro users will want to use the USB-C Power Adapter along with the USB-C to Lightning Cable is performance. The 29W of power makes a big difference.
As I noted above, with the 12W adapter, and with my screen brightness at 100% or something close to that, I barely noticed any charging at all while I was using my 12.9" iPad Pro. Thus, the only way to increase the battery percentage was to either (1) turn down the brightness quite a bit, which still only increased the charge marginally if you were still using the iPad while charging it or (2) turn off the screen completely, and then wait almost five hours to go from 0% to 100%. This was one of my biggest gripes with the 12.9" iPad Pro. If I used my 12.9" iPad Pro for much of the day on Monday and forgot to recharge it overnight, it was almost impossible for me to increase the battery percentage on Tuesday while I was also using the iPad Pro.
With the 29W USB-C Power Adapter and the USB-C Lightning Cable, I don’t have this problem anymore. I can use my 12.9" iPad Pro with the brightness is at 100% and I’ll still see about a 2-3% battery increase about every five minutes that it is plugged in. This means that in about an hour, I can get about an extra 25% or so of power added to my 12.9" iPad Pro, even if I have been using the iPad Pro during that entire hour. I can then pick up my iPad Pro to go work in a partner’s office or in a conference room and have enough additional power to go for hours.
The performance increase that I saw is confirmed by a test performed by Federico Viticci over at MacStories, described in this report which is a must-read for anyone considering buying these products. Using special software that measures iPad charging, Viticci found that a 12’9" iPad Pro that is in use with 100% brightness takes over 12 hours to go from 0 to 80% with the 12W charger, but only 107 minutes with the 29W charger. With the screen turned off, charging from 0 to 80% went from about 3.5 hours with 12W charger to about 1.5 hours with the 29W charger.
Viticci also found that, at 100% brightness, the 12W charger charged the 12.9" iPad Pro by 1.1% every 10 minutes, but that was when the iPad was just on the Home Screen. As indicated above, if I am actually doing something with my iPad Pro while plugged in to the 12 W charger, I don’t see any battery increase at all. He also found a 7.5% increase every 10 minutes on the Home Screen. In my tests where I was actually doing something with the iPad Pro such as read PDF documents in GoodReader, I saw about a 4 to 6% increase every 10 minutes.
Other devices
By the way, you can use Apple’s USB-C Power Adapter and USB-C to Lightning Cable to charge other devices, such as an iPhone. They won’t charge any faster than they would with the older 12W charger, but they will charge. So if you purchase this as a solution for your 12.9" iPad Pro, you will also be able to charge your other devices with Lightning connectors.
Conclusion
The 29W charger is nice if your screen is turned off. You can charge your 12.9" iPad Pro more than twice as fast, useful if you are charging your iPad Pro while you are at lunch. But where you really see the performance increase is when you are both charging and using the iPad Pro at the same time.
If you own the 12.9" iPad Pro, should you spend $49 on the USB-C Power Adapter plus another $25 or $35 for the cable, depending upon the length? I think that the answer depends upon how you currently find yourself charging your iPad Pro. If your solution is to charge every night and that works for you, then you won’t really care whether it takes five hours or three hours to charge. You are sleeping anyway. But if you want to be able to charge during the day, Apple’s USB-C Power Adapter and USB-C to Lightning Cable are an incredibly useful duo, and it was definitely worth $85 to me. Hopefully, in the future, Apple will include these products in the box with the 12.9" iPad Pro.
Thank you to Drobo for sponsoring iPhone J.D. this month. Drobo appears to your computer to be a single external hard drive, but it actually has multiple hard drives inside of it, and it can continue to operate even if a hard drive fails. You can also swap out the hard drives to larger versions, making it easy to expand your storage. To read more about why I love using my own Drobo, check out what I wrote in December of 2015.
I got to experience the value of my Drobo just a few weeks ago. I noticed that a hard drive inside of my Drobo was making a strange noise. So I removed the front of the Drobo — it is just attached by magnets to make it easy to remove — and touched each of the hard drives. Sure enough, I could tell by feeling it that one of my hard drives was shaking a little.
So I did something that made me nervous, even though I know that the Drobo is made for it. I ejected the troublesome hard drive and yanked it out, without even turning off the Drobo. The Drobo immediately sensed that I had done so, and busily started working with the other drives to make sure that all of my data was still protected. The Drobo didn’t miss a beat and didn’t lose a file, even though it was suddenly missing 1/4 of its storage space.
If that drive had died, I could have just replaced it with a new one. In this case, though, all I needed to do was put it back into place and snap it in more snugly. It stopped making the noise, and the Drobo immediately started copying back the necessary data to that fourth drive.
Yanking out a hard drive from a connected device made me feel like I was performing brain surgery, but from my Drobo’s perspective the whole thing was rather uneventful. The Drobo is made to keep on working even if a hard drive fails. And even though in this case the hard drive did not fail but instead just got a little loose, I was glad to go through this fire drill so that I could see how the process works whenever I do have a hard drive fail. And remember, all hard drives will fail at some point … the only question is, when will it happen.
My Drobo holds tons of large files that I don’t want taking up space on the internal drive of my iMac — such as home movies of my kids filmed in 4K video. The Drobo gives me the security of knowing that these irreplaceable files are protected from a hard drive failure.
The model of the Drobo that I use, the Drobo 4 Bay, costs $299 if you get it with no hard drives included, handy if you already have some SATA drives that you want to use. I bought it with four 1 TB drives included, and that model costs $549. There are other sizes available if that one doesn’t seem right for your needs. And for a limited time, if you buy a Drobo 4-bay, Drobo 5D, or Drobo 5N on the online Drobo Store, and use coupon code Jeff100, you’ll get $100 off. So it will only cost you $449 to get the same configuration that I have, or only $199 to get that same Drobo with no hard drives included.
Last week I attended ABA TECHSHOW, the ABA’s legal technology conference held in Chicago every Spring. It was great to learn how other lawyers are using technology in ways that I had not yet thought of, or in ways that I knew about but had not yet taken the time to appreciate. I’ll be sharing specific examples in upcoming posts on iPhone J.D. Today, I am sharing some more general thoughts.
Whenever I attend TECHSHOW, my main interest is mobile technology. Even though the conference did not have a dedicated mobile track this year — a strange omission that I hope to see remedied next year — the iPhone and iPad were a central focus of many aspects of the conference. Indeed, the biggest theme of the conference this year was mobile security, a topic that could not have been more timely with the current FBI vs. Apple showdown over the government’s demand that Apple create a backdoor that would let someone bypass encryption on an iPhone. Those proceedings are currently on ice for a few weeks; the judge granted the FBI’s request for a last-minute continuance after receiving a tip from an unidentified third party on a possible way to access the iPhone without Apple’s help — even though the government’s brief filed on March 10, 2016 asserted: “Without Apple’s assistance, the government cannot carry out the search of Farook’s iPhone authorized by the search warrant.” Of course, if the tip doesn’t pan out, the hearing may rescheduled. And even if FBI stops pressuring Apple on this specific iPhone, there could be yet another request by a state or federal government with respect to another iPhone.
The keynote speaker was Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit organization aimed at protecting civil liberties in the digital world. About half of her speach was focused on the FBI vs. Apple case, and she did a great job explaining the flaws in the government’s arguments. I didn’t take notes, but I sat next to Victor Li of the ABA Journal who did, and he wrote this report on the speech. For example, Li quotes this smart statement by Cohn: “This isn’t really a question of privacy versus security. It’s really about security versus security. The question is whether security that keeps you protected but is flummoxing the FBI needs to be downgraded.”
I also enjoyed a security-related session that was moderated by David Lat (the founder and managing editor of the popular site Above the Law) with panel members Ben Wizner and Chris Soghoian of the ACLU (who represent Edward Snowden) and Marcia Hoffman, who used work for the EFF and now works in private practice focusing on electronic privacy. Victor Li of the ABA Journal wrote a great summary of that presentation. For example, while the panel recommended using the Signal app to text and make secure calls to clients. That’s the app that they use to communicate with Snowden; I can think of no better recommendation for a secure communications app than to know that the ACLU uses it for attorney-client communications with Snowden. They also noted that if you and your client both have an iOS device, the built-in FaceTime service also provides secure, encrypted communications. Remember that FaceTime doesn’t have to mean a video call; you can also use FaceTime Audio to make what is essentially an encrypted phone call.
On the Expo floor, I got to talk with representatives from lots of companies developing interesting software for the iPhone and iPad. I’ll be reviewing some of these products in the future, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one particular effort that a vendor used to attract people to its booth. Sure, lots of booths offered pens, mints and lip balm with logos on them. Westlaw had an artist using an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil to sketch caricatures of attorneys — such as this one, which I’m picking at random of course. But the award for most creative marketing has to go to the website HowToManageASmallLawFirm.com which brought puppies to their booth that you could pet and hold. I’ve never even worked for a small law firm, and yet even I visited that booth several times last week.
For a look at some of the best swag from the exhibitor booths, check out this slideshow by Molly McDonough of the ABA Journal.
On Friday night, I hosted a Taste of TECHSHOW dinner and had a great time enjoying some wine and Italian food with others who use the iPhone and/or iPad. The ABA kept these dinners smaller this year; unfortunately that meant that only a few folks could attend, but it did make the event more intimate, and I really enjoyed the evening with those who were able to attend: Prof. Kenton Brice of the University of Oklahoma College of Law (who is doing a great job teaching law students how to use technology in their practice), Houston attorney Sally Andrews, my co-host Brett Burney (a litigation support consultant who was Chair of TECHSHOW 2015), California attorney Sean Cowdrey, Chicago attorney Lynn Ostfeld, Ian O’Flaherty (the founder of Lit Software which sells TrialPad, TranscriptPad and DocReviewPad), Kentucky attorney Beverly Burden, and Virginia (and Korean) attorney Hae-Chan Park. We shared numerous interesting stories and had a lot of laughs.
On Saturday morning, I presented a session on recommended mobile apps along with Dallas attorney Tom Mighell (the author of many books including iPad Apps in One Hour) and Brian Focht (the publisher of The Cyber Advocate) in a session moderated by Natalie Kelly (of the State Bar of Georgia, who was the chair of TECHSHOW 2014). This was a combined iOS and Android session, but the primary iOS apps that we discussed included (all links go to the App Store):
Those are not all of the apps that we mentioned. For example, after Tom discussed PocketCasts, I mentioned that my favorite app for listening to podcasts is Overcast, and other scanner apps that we discussed included Scanner Pro and Scanbot. Nevertheless, that list gives you a sense of the types of apps that we discussed. If you were there at the session, here is what you looked like from the front of the room:
My favorite part of TECHSHOW was catching up with iPhone J.D. readers from around the country. I met some people who I already “knew” from email, others who I had met at prior TECHSHOWs, and many who I met for the first time. Thanks for all of the suggestions on topics to explore on iPhone J.D. I hope to see you again next year!
Apple made a number of interesting announcements yesterday, but today I want to focus on just two product announcements: the new 9.7" version of the iPad Pro and iPhone SE. Both of these offer the power of Apple’s top-of-the-line 12.9" iPad Pro and iPhone 6s, but put that power in smaller packages, a size that many lawyers will find more attractive.
The 9.7" iPad Pro
Before yesterday, the name “iPad Pro” was often considered synonymous with a large 12.9" device. But there was more to the iPad Pro than just the size, even if that was its most obvious feature.
Most notably, there was support for the Apple Pencil. I’ve only used the Pencil for a few months, but it has already become an important part in my law practice. I use it to take handwritten notes during meetings, and it is far better than any other stylus that I have every used. (No surprise, since Apple designed it to work perfectly with the iPad Pro.) I use it to highlight cases and annotate pleadings, contracts, and other documents. And sometimes I just use it to flick the screen to scroll through depositions. I love that the Pencil is so precise, making it easier to tap a specific part of the screen. And I love that digital ink appears instantly on the screen as I write. Even before I got used to the larger size of the 12.9" iPad Pro, it was the Apple Pencil that made me a huge fan.
I have also loved that the 12.9" iPad Pro includes a very fast processor that Apple calls the A9X. It makes the iPad Pro significantly faster than any prior iPad. This is the first iPad that I have ever used that virtually never seems slow. The responsiveness makes you more productive, and adds to the delight that you get when you use this device.
The new 9.7" iPad Pro announced yesterday lacks the larger screen, but includes the other advantages of the 12.9" iPad Pro, including the fast A9X processor and support for the Apple Pencil. And while I don’t use Apple’s Smart Keyboard — a case that includes a thin keys covered with fabric — Apple is also introducing a smaller version of the Smart Keyboard for the 9.7" iPad Pro.
It took me a while to get used to the 12.9" iPad Pro, and I still find it heavier to hold than I would like. But I have grown so attached to the large, bright screen that now I would never consider returning to a smaller iPad. I love that I can hold the 12.9" iPad Pro in portrait mode and letter-sized documents essentially appear full size, so I can easily browse the entire page at one time. I also love that I can hold the iPad Pro in landscape mode and exhibits, transcripts, pleadings, and other documents are larger and easier to read than they would be if I was dealing with the paper versions.
But again … that weight can be a drag. At ABA TECHSHOW last week, I spoke with Florida attorney Katie Floyd — who many of you know from her Mac Power Users podcast — about the 12.9" iPad Pro. She bought one and tried it for two weeks, but then returned it because it was just too big. She wrote extensively about her reasons in this post. Note that Katie had been using an iPad mini, so it isn’t that surprising that the jump from a light 7.9" device that fit in her purse to a huge 12.9" iPad Pro was just too much. But I’ve talked to other lawyers who own an older 9.7" iPad and who looked at the 12.9" iPad Pro in a store and just couldn’t imagine carrying around something that size — especially if they already carry around a laptop of similar size like the MacBook Air. The 9.7" iPad Pro is the same size and weight as the 9.7" iPad Air and iPad Air 2, so if you like the size and weight of the previous mainstream iPads, you’ll like the size and weight of the 9.7" iPad Pro.
For attorneys who want a top-0f-the-line iPad, with the fastest processor and support for the excellent Apple Pencil, but who don’t want something as large as the 12.9" iPad Pro, now they have the perfect solution. Indeed, notwithstanding Katie Floyd’s preference for the iPad mini, I am convinced that the iPad Pro is the best iPad for most attorneys to use today; they simply need to decide whether they want the “normal” sized 9.7" model or the bigger 12.9" model.
There are actually a few unique (for now) advantages to the 9.7" model besides size. First, it includes what Apple calls a True Tone display, which uses sensors to measure ambient light in the room to adjust the color temperature of the screen. In other words, white will look white, regardless of whether you are in an area with more yellow light or more blue light. Second, it has a camera similar to what is included with the iPhone 6s, a 12-megapixel camera that can take 4K video versus the 12.9" iPad Pro’s 8-megapixel camera that takes 1080p HD video. And the front-facing camera that you use for video conferencing or taking a selfie-picture is 5-megapixel, versus the 1.2-megapixel camera on the 12.9" model. The 9.7" model can also take Live Photos, just like the iPhone 6s. I rarely use the camera on my 12.9" iPad Pro and I’m not sure how much I would notice the True Tone display — like most attorneys, I spend a lot of time just reading black-and-white documents; I’m not creating art that needs to be Pantone-perfect. But I’m sure that these features will eventually make their way to the 12.9" model, and for now they give the 9.7" model something special.
Finally, the 9.7" model comes in the same Silver, Gold and Space Gray colors as the 12.9" model, but also offers a Rose Gold option — perfect if you have the same fashion preferences of Massachusetts attorney Julie Tolek of the Think Pink Law firm.
So as I said before, for most attorneys I think it really just comes down to size. Do you want a larger screen for viewing documents and web pages, or do you want a traditional-size screen and less weight. And if you do want to use a Smart Keyboard, do you want a full-sized keyboard, which the 12.9" model offers, or can you live with a more cramped model that fits in the cover for the 9.7" model.
The larger model is best for me, but I know it won’t be the best choice for others, and it is great that you now have a choice. The 9.7" version sells for $599 for 32GB, $749 for 128GB, or $899 for 256GB — plus add $130 to any of those if you want to add built-in 3G LTE.
The iPad Pro 12.9" also got … bigger
Apple also made one small improvement to the 12.9" version of the iPad Pro. Previously you had to choose between a $799 32GB version or a $949 128GB version (plus another $130 for cellular). But yesterday, Apple announced a new 256GB version of the 12.9" model that costs $1,099 (plus another $130 for cellular). I love the extra space that a 128GB iPad provides, but at this point 256GB seems like too much space even for someone like me who carries around lots of videos and photographs, not to mention a larger number of pleadings, exhibits and other huge documents from my case files. But for those who want even more, now you can get it.
The iPhone SE
The iPhone has increased in size over the years. From the first 2007 model to the iPhone 4s released in 2011, the screen size was 3.5" diagonal. The iPhone 5 released in 2012 kept the width the same but increased the height so that the screen was 4" diagonal. The iPhone 6 released in 2014 increased both the width and height to include a 4.7" display (or 5.5" if you went with the iPhone 6 Plus), and those same sizes are used today on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
I know that many people miss the iPhone with the 4" display. The smaller phone is even easier to grip in your hand, and your thumb can more easily reach all four corners of the screen with a 4" display. With my iPhone 6s, I need to hold my iPhone in my left hand if I want to tap the top left corner with a finger on my right hand — and that is even more essential for the largest Plus model. Yes, it does mean that the screen is smaller, so you may need to squint more to see things or hold the iPhone a little closer to your face, but for some folks this trade-off of a 4" screen is worth it. Indeed, while I have grown to love the larger screen on my iPhone 6s, if you were ask me to pick my favorite iPhone to hold, without regard to how large objects appear on the screen, I’d pick the iPhone 5 design over the iPhone 6 design every single time.
So now with the iPhone SE, Apple is offering the wonderful design of the iPhone 5 combined with the insides of the iPhone 6s. There are a few things that you don’t get with the iPhone SE, like 3D Touch (an iPhone 6s feature that I use all the time), the better front-facing camera, and the second-generation (faster) Touch ID fingerprint reader. But you do get the same faster A9 processor as the iPhone 6s, support for Apple Pay, the same fantastic 12-megapixel camera on the back, the ability to film 4K video, Live Photos support, etc.
The iPhone SE is also the least expensive iPhone, costing only $399 for the 16GB version or $499 for the 64GB version. And those are off-contract prices, so with a carrier contract you can likely get at least the first model for “free” — or you could finance the iPhone SE for $13.30 a month (16GB) or $16.64 a month (64GB).
I doubt that the technical differences between the iPhone SE and the iPhone 6s will be of much consequence for most attorneys. Thus, once again, the decision on which iPhone to get will for most come down to a personal preference on size. If you want a 64GB iPhone (which seems to be the current sweet spot), do you want a 4" iPhone SE for $499, or a 4.7" iPhone 6s for $749, or a 5.5" iPhone 6s Plus for $849 — or cheaper prices if you are on contract or use financing. There really is no one right answer to that question. It all comes down to your personal preference, bigger and better screen versus easier and lighter to hold.
Conclusion
By introducing the 9.7" iPad Pro and the iPhone SE, Apple is now letting its customers decide whether bigger is better. You no longer have to opt for largest models just to get the latest features, such as Apple Pencil support on an iPad or the better processor and camera on the iPhone. Now, you can chose the best size for you.
Note that having that choice isn’t inherently a benefit; it makes it harder on you. One of the things that I don’t like about the Android market is that there are too many choices, the market seems chaotic and it can be difficult to choose a model. This past Fall, if I had been presented with two sizes of the iPad Pro, I would have faced a very difficult decision. I can now look back with 20-20 hindsight and say that the 12.9" model was the best one for me because larger documents are so much easier to read, but I only know that by living with the 12.9" model for many months. You’ll have to draw on your own experiences with smartphones and tablets to decide whether a larger iPad or iPhone is right for you.
