I applauded Avatron, the Portland developer of Air Dictate back in December, for coming up with an innovative app of interest to lawyers, many of whom dictate. If you got it while it was in the App Store, good for you. It should continue to work. If you didn’t get it, then it looks to be too late. Avatron does not plan to update the app to try and comply with Apple’s rules.

A couple days ago I wrote about a new app/cloud service that brings full Microsoft Office functionality to your iPad. A lot has happened since that post and some new information has become available as well. This catches up on what I think is of interest to lawyers about this important app.

• App and Service Status. After briefly pulling CloudOn from the App Store in a move to freeze further sign ups, CloudOn is back in the store but the service sign ups will be handled in waves. According to CloudOn:

There will be a limited number of notifications sent in each wave, and they will be sent on a first come, first serve basis to individuals who have pre-registered for the notification.

During this time, the application will be available in the public app store, and anyone who wishes to download it can do so without having received a notification. We will also provide a status update on a web page that will display whether or not the app is currently available.

To be alerted by email when the service application is available, fill out this form. If you got the app and signed up as part of the initial or follow on signups, you can continue to use the service.

• Version Support. CloudOn documents use the Office 2010 format.
• Privacy. When the app was initially available, I was unable to find CloudOn’s Privacy Policy or Terms of Use. Given that CloudOn requires full access to my Dropbox and that I would like to use the service with confidential client documents, a lawyer’s typical diligence before using a cloud service requires review of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. CloudOn has made links to its Privacy Policy and Terms of Use available.
• Security. Closely related to privacy are the security protocols used by the service. CloudOn reports that:

  From a security standpoint, none of your files are stored permanently on any of our systems. Your files are pulled only when you need them. Once you’ve finished editing them, they are saved back to Dropbox and wiped from our systems. We encrypt your credentials and also have 256-bit encryption between our servers and your client. We take pains to audit our security processes and improve them on a regular basis.

• Internet Access Required. In response to a reader question, yes, an internet connection is required to use the service.
• Cost. The service is still free. It looks like CloudOn is using this free period to gather feedback on how the service is used so it can come up with a pricing plan that fits user needs. At this point, the service remains free and CloudOn says that part of the application will remain free even when pricing tiers are introduced.
• General Usability. I used the service to edit a 15 page shareholder agreement last night. The document was a multi-leveled contract with automatic numbering, cross references and other typical formatting for a detailed agreement. The document appeared and performed just like on my desktop version of Word with the exceptionthat I was unable to add a new sub-level of numbered items (looks like other users have had similar troubles). I especially like how text is selected. Rather than using the typical iOS “handles” to select text, selecting text in CloudOn is very similar to how you would do it on your desktop: click (or in this case, long press) and drag. Text selection shortcuts like triple-click (tap) to select a paragraph work as well. The app is quite slow when scrolling around a document.
• Keyboard Shortcuts. In my limited tests, CloudOn does not appear to support keyboard shortcuts for command access or formatting.
• Auto-Save. CloudOn doesn’t have a “save” feature. Rather, the app auto-saves your work periodically like other iPad apps. This generally worked well for me, though in one instance I was greeted with the unhelpful error to the effect that “There was a network glitch…” which kicked me out of the document I was working on. When I reopened the document, all my changes from that editing session were gone. I’ve taken to manually saving from time to time. I do this by tapping the File tab in the upper left hand corner. This briefly shows me the file browser but also shows “Auto-saving…” in the status bar. From browsing the CloudOn support forum, I don’t see anyone else reporting this problem. I don’t think manual saving is how the app is intended to run. Perhaps it was a one-off.
• Dropbox Versions. One person in the CloudOn support forums reports that the version history for a document edited with Cloudon was lost. I have not experienced this. Again, perhaps a one-off.
• Right Click. To “right-click” something in your document, simply tap and hold. A contextual menu will appear with the typical right-click options.
• No Multitasking. If you switch away from the CloudOn app during an editing session, you will need to reopen the document when you switch back to the app. Changes are saved when you exit the app. Reopening the document returns you to where you were when you exited the app.

CloudOn appears to host a cloud-based version of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint. After creating a (currently) free CloudOn account and linking your Dropbox, you can access, edit and create Microsoft Office files. In my brief tests, all the formatting tools worked as expected.

The screen shot below reflects my edits to a Word document created on my desktop. Using CloudOn I accessed the file in my Dropbox, created the tracked changes you see in the screen shot, and saved the file. The file when viewed on my desktop reflects all the changes, including the tracked changes, that I created on my iPad.

Hey look, tracked changes on my iPad.

CloudOn’s website doesn’t explain how the app works. I can’t tell if CloudOn is hosting its own version of these apps or a version licensed from Microsoft. The menus are similarly configured to the products offered in Microsoft’s Office 365 suite, but not identical. In either case, based on my short test, the features work the same as your desktop version.

CloudOn is similarly silent about development plans. From poking around the support website, I see that a PDF viewer is planned for inclusion in 2012. A couple features described as “under review” include the ability to access files from your PC and to have the app open at the last document you were using. Google Docs support is described as “Planned”.

Finally, things are also cloudy about CloudOn’s pricing structure. At this point, all the features are available and free. I suspect that CloudOn will soon limit free access and require a paid subscription based on the amount of access time desired. Each time I start the app, a timer in the settings menu begins to count down from 2 hours.

Probably the number one question / comment I get somehow involves lawyers wanting to use Microsoft Word documents on the iPad and many of those are questions / comments about tracked changes. For those users, this could be a great tool. Looking forward to more from CloudOn about how the service works and pricing.

CloudOn is a free download in the App Store (iTunes link).

HT (Justin Kahn, iPad Notebook)

I’d summarize the pricing structure choices on the iOS side like this: If you previously purchased LogMeIn Ignition, then you are good to go for all of its Pro features. If you haven’t previously purchased LogMeIn, you can try out the new free product (iTunes link). If you find you want access on your iOS device to the Pro features like HD video, file management and cloud storage access, you can upgrade within the app for $39.99 per year for each computer you want those features for. If you don’t want to subscribe on a periodic per computer basis, you can purchase LogMeIn Ignition for a one time fee of $99.99 (iTunes link) and access all your remote computers from your iPad or iPhone. Note that LogMeIn offers a different and confusingly titled PC/Mac based “Pro” product to give you extended features when accessing one desktop from a different desktop or for system administrators. The above discussion only applies to the iOS app products.

Remote access is an important tool for lawyers as many firms utilize software that is server based and only available when sitting in front of your PC. I don’t think remote access is something to skimp on either. When you need access to your server based time/billing software or documents back on the server, you can’t afford to have something not work or have configuration difficulties. While there are other remote access apps out there, I’ve not found any as easy to configure and use as the LogMeIn products. Also, as Jeff mentions, LogMeIn has a long history with security and remote access products. I know firms that will only allow remote access via LogMeIn products so that the IT department only has to support and verify one vendor. That said, $99.99 for the Ignition app (or even $39.99 per year per computer subscription) is steep. Many people won’t need the full feature set of the Ignition app and now have access to the easy-to-use and reliable basic LogMeIn remote access app for free.

Old school users of dictation (dictators?) may need to adjust some habits in using Air Dictate. You can’t “rewind” to edit over previously dictated text. Also, Air Dictate transcribes what you say faithfully which can be a setback if you are used to dictating instructions to your assistant. My old dictation habit of saying “strike that…” quickly reemerged while I was using Air Dictate (I haven’t dictated in years).

That said, being able to see the results of your dictation on screen immediately made composing the rest of my dictation much easier. Using Air Dictate I was able to walk around while dictating and see the results on my large computer screen while I worked. While you can capture your dictation on the iPhone 4S using any app that accepts text input, Air Dictate puts your dictation where you want it the first time be it a text editor, Pages, Microsoft Word, Excel, Firefox, OmniFocus or other Mac app.

Air Dictate faithfully dictates small and large blocks of text. The delay in transcribing the text onto your Mac is very short. In the amount of time you would stop to compose your next thought, Air Dictate has transcribed your previous thoughts on screen. You can dictate into any text field whether the open page of a text editor or the search box in your browser. Air Dictate seems like a must have app for any lawyer who uses a Mac and an iPhone 4S.

Air Dictate is currently $.99 in the App Store. Highly recommended.

TouchBase puts tools for connecting with people and places right in your calendar. For example, say I have an appointment for “Lunch with Jeff Richardson at Babbo” TouchBase gives me one tap shortcuts to confirm my lunch with Jeff, tell him I am running late, ask to postpone or send a custom message of my own by text or email.

Connect directly through calendar by text, email or phone.

The predefined “running late” buttons adjust based on context. If an appointment is in the next few minutes, the buttons offer 5, 10 or 20 minute delays. If the appointment is a few hours or more off, the time frames are longer, 15, 30 or 60 minute delays. The option to postpone a meeting is always available as is the ability to create a custom message. The custom messages can also be edited to reflect the text of your choosing.

Customize predefined messages.

The work of associating an appointment with a contact is partially on the user and partially handled by TouchBase. If your appointment is “Lunch with Jim”, TouchBase will ask which Jim in you contacts you are meeting with (if there is only one Jim in your contacts, it will be associated). If your appointment says “Lunch with Jim Smith”, TouchBase will associate all of Jim’s contact info with the appointment. The more detail you add when you create an appointment the more useful TouchBase will be to you. In my tests, TouchBase struggled with location data but always offered me the ability to do a one Map search based on the location name or address.

The app is very tastefully designed but only has a list view of appointments. There is no week, month or day view. While I think that the list view is best for when you have lots of appointments, I wish these other views were available for planning purposes.

At this writing, TouchBase is on sale in the App Store for $2.99. If you have a very busy schedule and you are constantly touching base with those in your agenda, this might be a useful app for you.

The .doc and .docx file formats are nearly universal among law firms and their clients. While Pages is an amazingly good iPad word processor, it simply doesn’t convert the .doc/.docx files used by lawyers sufficiently well to make it good enough for day to day use by lawyers. If Redmond can create an app with a simple file manager, support for the paragraph numbering/styles used by lawyers and the ability to create/display tracked changes, it will quickly become the leading iPad word processor for lawyers.

I think LogMeIn’s file manager is its most underappreciated feature, especially for confidentiality conscious counsel. Using LogMeIn’s file manager, a lawyer can securely move files to and from an iPad without lay-over in a cloud service. Files are transmitted to the lawyer’s iPad from the lawyer’s desktop computer via encrypted connection (more about LogMeIn’s security here). While there are plenty of remote desktop apps out there, none are as fully featured or as drop-dead simple to use as LogMeIn. I love it.

• PDF Expert
• PDF Converter
• ReaddleDocs
• 1Password Pro

Word Processing. Compatibility with Microsoft Word is still king. From my past tests (general formatting, pleading formatting, business agreemetn formatting), only two of the four major contenders in this area are worthy of consideration. Your choice between the two really comes down to your workflow needs.

• Documents to Go. A key differentiator of this app is its support for footnotes. It also has some decent bullet and numbered list options in the app. My main gripe is that the interface is unattractive and file management is a bit difficult.
• QuickOffice. Where Documents to Go wanes, QuickOffice shines with an easy to use file manager.

My workflow doesn’t depend on footnotes. So, I prefer QuickOffice because the easy to use file manager saves me taps and I feel more comfortable saving and moving files. That said, if I needed bulleted list creation tools or footnote compatibility, Documents to Go would be the only way to go.

Calendars. Lawyers live by their calendars. While the calendar app built into the iPad is OK, developers have come up with some great alternatives. We covered to in the CLE and both are worth looking at.

• Agenda Calendar.
• Calvetica.

Both of these universal apps offer navigation and event imput advantages (fewer taps) over the default Calendar app. I prefer the how the design Agenda is designed to be used with one thumb while holding your iPhone. I also think Agenda is faster than Calvetica when you have multiple calendars displayed (Home, Work, Kids, Soccer, etc.).

Here’s a tip. If you aren’t using multiple calendars to manage the different contexts of your life, consider giving it a go. At the very minimum, the different colors associated with your calendar gives you extra data about your day with just a glance (I know when there is a light blue blob in the middle of my afternoon, that means I am picking up the kids that day). Calendars can also be turned on and off for different views. For example, my wife and I share a couple calendars that appear on both of our iPads but my client related calendar is only visible on my devices.

PDF Tools. This area has really grown since the iPad was introduced. I think every iPad toting lawyer needs two PDF related tools : a PDF annotation app and a PDF creation app. My two favorites in these categories come from the same developer, Readdle:

• PDF Expert. This annotation app recently stepped up to 3.0 with a bunch of new features that bring it on par with the features I use in my desktop PDF annotation application.
• PDF Converter. While there are a number of apps that can create PDF from other file formats, this one does it simply through the “Open in…” button available in any app that uses files.

Whatever your preferred PDF annotation and creation combo, I think they must include the following features to meet a typical lawyer’s needs:

• basic annotations include highlighting, strikethrough, underline and notes
• integration with Dropbox
• ability to act as wi-fi USB drive
• interface for signing documents and managing frequently used signatures
• rearrange, rotate, delete and insert pages
• ability to create bookmarks and tables of contents
• makes “flattened” PDFs so annotations can’t be changed
• will generate an annotation summary
• attractive and easy to use interface

I’ve closed business transactions with this combo of documents. Word files attached to an email were converted to PDF using PDF Converter. Once those new PDF files were opened in PDF Expert, the parties could review and sign the documents. With multiple contracts reaching into 100s of pages, I didn’t want to email the full document set. PDF Expert allowed me to extract the signature pages only from the various contracts and send them along via email.

Touch is Better than Mouse. Two productivity apps come to mind as amazing examples of how the touch interface is sometimes better than a mouse and keyboard.

• Keynote. This presentation creation and delivery app is on another world compared to the PowerPoint compatible apps in the App Store. Tons of power just a few taps away.I think using your hands to manipulate text and images simply results in better designs and better presentations. I create all my presentations on Keynote for iPad even when I have my computer available. With a VGA or HDMI dongle and Keynote Remote on your iPhone, you are ready to present from any conference hall or courtroom.
• iThoughts HD. Like Keynote, this mindmapping application allows you to get hands-on with your ideas. Your freeform mindmap can then be exported in a truckload of different formats – with more being added all the time – so you can continue working on your ideas in another mindmapping app or your favorite word processor.

Sometimes a mouse and keyboard is better, sometimes not so much.

A Few More. A couple more of my favorites from the 60 in 60 CLE.

• JotNot. This iPhone app is like having a flatbed scanner in your pocket. Quickly convert paper to PDF files and then email to colleagues or upload to the service of your choice.
• Reeder. My preferred RSS browsing app. The quick and clean interface lets you consume hundreds of your selected news articles in minutes.
• LogMeIn Ignition. Pair this app with a free download to each of your computers and then travel in confidence knowing that all your Mac or PC files and applications are a tap away with this remote desktop client. I also like the file manager which allows transfer of confidential client files to your iPad from your work computer without using cloud services.
• PlainText. A text editor for when you want to write. Save the formatting for when you are back at your desk and use apps like PlainText to write.
• PhotoSync. Use this app to quickly move photos from one of your devices to another via wifi or bluetooth. Sync entire albums or just move a single picture from your phone to your iPad quickly and easily.

That’s it. Thanks to my co-presenters for another successful webcast!