Unlike a graphic designer or an engineer, a typical lawyer’s computing needs are relatively modest. Words and ideas are our stock in trade and PC horsepower (a “truck” as Steve Jobs analogizes) is simply overkill — as is the associated bulk and expense. Instead, post-PC devices for lawyers need to provide efficient and effective ways of capturing, developing, and communicating our ideas with clients, courts, and colleagues.

The above is a snip from a guest commentary piece I wrote that is up over at Law Technology News about what the post-PC era may mean for lawyers. Would love for you to check it out.

The main feature in iPad 2.0 that I’m looking for is the front facing camera and the processor improvements but I don’t think either of these things changes the basic device from a lawyer’s use perspective. I am excited to see what iOS 5 will bring and how app developers will be able to leverage the new OS with the improved power of the next generation iPad

Worth reading in its entirety.

Suggesting that users are finding more ways to incorporate the device into their daily routines, a large majority of users report use of the device increasing after the honeymoon period. I suspect this has a lot to do with the expansion of offerings in the App Store as new things to try continue to appear daily.

Nearly a third of users report that the iPad has become their primary computer. I don’t see this as a trend for lawyers, as the need for desktop horsepower isn’t going away in the law firm anytime soon. I can imagine more lawyers replacing laptops that they now carry as a second machine to and from the office.

A full 40% report downloading between 20-50 apps. I’m certainly in that category, but I don’t think that is necessary to make the iPad a very functional work machine for lawyers. Rather, I think a lawyer would only need 4-6 apps in addition to the stock Apple apps to make the device suitable for day to day use by a lawyer.

The survey also asks some interesting questions comparing the iPad to the new MacBook Air. I have certainly looked closely at the tiny 11 inch model and thought about whether I would be better served by it compared to the iPad. The survey suggests that these are simply different devices. Of those reporting that they own both, only 4.2% report that it has caused them to use the iPad less. Over 75% consider the iPad/MacBook Air not to be an either/or decision. And, of the 25% that do think they serve comparable purposes, 80% would choose the iPad.

While interesting, it is hard to draw many conclusions about these statistics without knowing about the computing needs of these users. The right fit really depends on your workflow. As I’ve mentioned before, I think the core of a lawyer’s computing needs are fairly basic (reading, writing, Internet, mail, calendar) and are easily handled by the iPad.

My iPad use has certainly gone up since my purchase. What about yours?

(via TUAW)

• iPads Are Replacing Laptops. This is fairly unsurprising. Most computer users have a limited list of computing needs, many of which are handled more than adequately by the iPad. When coupled with the added benefits of the iPad (instant on, light weight, long battery, lower cost compared to many laptops, etc.), the replacement phenomenon isn’t surprising. I haven’t seen more than anecdotal evidence of laptop replacement among the lawyer set which is surprising considering the typical short list of lawyer computing needs: reading, writing, email, calendar, contacts, internet. All of these are handled well by the iPad. However, lawyers often deal with lots of files. File management on the iPad is much different than on a PC and does require some extra effort.
• iPads Are Replacing Paper. Again, no real surprise here. The iPad is great way to replace all kinds of materials that would otherwise be printed. In the legal field, I don’t see this attitude among lawyers in large numbers. I know many of my colleagues feel they can only edit or review a document in its printed form. Also, my quick survey reveals few legal treatises available in eReader editions (though ample law school and bar exam study materials are available for the iPad). Perhaps the willingness to abandon paper is an attitude that will grow with the next generation of legal professionals (assuming they can get law jobs).
• iPads Are Creating New Efficiencies. The example in the Forrester report is of the ability of sales personnel to use the device to customize a customer’s order on the showroom floor. There are certainly some legal specific apps and some apps published by law firms, though I don’t see these as yielding huge efficiencies for lawyers (though nice tools, to be sure). Two areas where I do think the iPad offers lawyers huge opportunities for efficiencies is in document review/annotation, particularly of PDF files, and access to legal information (cases, statutes, treatises). As to PDF document review, Both GoodReader (iTunes link) and iAnnotate (iTunes link) offer very good PDF review and annotation tools though they aren’t specifically designed for high volume document review. The iPad offers a way for lawyers to easily bring what otherwise would fill boxes of documents and review those easily. Similarly, with an iPad a lawyer can have volumes worth of books easily accessible at the touch of a button – whether stored locally (though as noted above, this hasn’t appeared yet) or accessible via the Internet. I haven’t yet seen the first story of extensive and comprehensive document review being conducted on iPads, though I am sure the time is coming.

Schadler notes that the absence of a native Microsoft Office suite of apps may slow adoption in enterprise. As applied to lawyers, I think this is unquestionably the case. I know that the posts on this blog about Microsoft Word compatibility issues get far and away the most hits, comments and emails.

Word compatibility was a top question I received in a recent presentation to a group of lawyers and CPAs. This surprised me at least as to this particular group of lawyers as I know that all of them use their assistants to finalize and format everything in Word. In actuality, all they really need is a way to get text down on paper (screen) and their assistants handle the rest. Even with this reality, a native Word app is seen as a must by these users (I realize that lawyers that practice without assistants may not be similarly situated).

Any barriers that you see to further penetration of the iPad in the legal market? What type of app or resource could make the iPad as ubiquitous as the yellow pad?

Hammers by doug_bucci on Flickr

It has never made much sense to me to ask whether an iPad can perform laptop functions (or whether a laptop can perform iPad functions). I remember reading this bit from a month or so ago and just recently had a debate about the device with a colleague at work. My colleague maintained since a laptop could do everything an iPad could do (literally untrue, but true insofar as a lawyer’s primary uses are reading, writing, email and Internet), that the iPad was a waste.

The metaphor I use with people is that practicing law is like building a house. There are lots of things to be done and many require different tools. While you could drive all the nails in your new construction with a large framing hammer, really it is best to use the best hammer for each particular job: a framing nailer for the walls, a finishing nailer for the trim, a roofing hammer for shingles, etc.

The iPad is a specialty hammer in the toolbox that fits certain tasks far better than a laptop. The opposite is also true. Some people think it is too much hassle to carry multiple hammers or some people have practices where they can always use a framing nailer (sit at a desk for all tasks and use a desktop). For my workflow, not only is the iPad a far better fit than a laptop for lots of little tasks in my practice, it gives me more flexibility than a laptop in how and when I can perform legal services. That benefits me and my clients.

Generalizations about whether an iPad is a tool or toy for lawyers are just that: generalizations. The better question is whether there is room or need in your particular toolbox, based on your type of work, practice needs and style, for a specialty hammer.

• over two million sold in the first 59 days (that is one every 3 seconds since launch day)
• 8,500 native iPad apps currently in the App Store (unfortunately, 8,400 of them kinda suck, IMO)
• Those native iPad apps have been downloaded 35 million times (17 apps per iPad)
• 5 million iBooks downloaded in first 65 days (22% share of total eBook sales)

So, a successful product by pretty much anyone’s measure. I was hoping to see some data about use in the enterprise – but I think it is still a bit early.

The balance of the keynote was mostly about the new iPhone 4 and its operating system, iOS 4. I thought I’d buzz through the key announced features and consider whether and to what extent we will see these things on the iPad.

• FaceTime (Hardware/OS). This was Steve’s “one more thing,” and it is an new open standard protocol for video chat/phone calls. While we don’t have a front facing camera in the iPad yet, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one in the next version of the iPad (indeed, the frame seems ready for one). I think video conferencing would be a natural use for the iPad.
• Cameras (hardware). This is subsumed into the prior point somewhat, but I think a front facing camera on the iPad makes sense. Note that the cameras going into iPhone 4 have a backside illuminated sensor. Without getting into a bunch of camera geekiness, suffice to say that this is more important than megapixels. I would happily take a sensor with greater light sensitivity over more megapixels anyday (you should too). Also, they didn’t shrink the size of the megapixels – which is a good thing. A bigger pixel can absorb more light. So, your 5 MP picture of your friend at the dimly lit bar will look way better than the 8 or 10 MP picture taken with a camera without these features. Yeah, the camera companies really focus on megapixels because they are easy to advertise…but just trust me on this one. I’ve never thought a rear facing camera makes sense for the iPad, but it seems easy enough to include (EDIT: after thinking about iMovie for iPad, this makes more sense now). I’ll go out on a limb and say we’ll see better versions of both cameras in the next version of the iPad. LED flash too.
• Thinner (hardware). iPhone 4 is 24% thinner than iPhone 3. While impressive, I don’t think the iPad will get much thinner. I think the iPad’s thickness is important for its structural integrity. A thinner device might be less rigid which could lead to a somewhat flimsy feeling device. If the iPad gets thinner, it won’t be materially so.
• iMovie (app). So, they are cramming a version of iMovie onto the iPhone. I’ve shot and edited a couple movies with my iPhone using ReelDirector. While fun, I wouldn’t make a habit of it. Just too small of an interface to work with video. By contrast, the iPad would be an ideal tableau for compiling a quick movie. Enough space to manage clips, build transitions, manage projects, etc. I think iMovie for iPad is an almost certainty. In fact, it might even arrive in advance of the next version of the iPad.
• Retina Display (hardware). They’ve crammed a ton of pixels into the screen of the new iPhone: 326 per inch (the human eye can detect 300 ppi from 10-12 inches away). That is four times the number of pixels on the same size screen. The iPhone 4 will have 78% of the pixels as the iPad. By way of comparison, the current iPad has 132 pixels per inch. I fully expect this new display technology in the next version of the iPad. Note that a better screen means apps can display more intricate images. Those pdf files with even the smallest text will look great on screen. May also mean more precise input.
• Better Glass (hardware). This is related to Retina Display. Lots of adjectives for this new aluminosilicate glass: 20 times stiffer than plastic, 30 times harder than plastic, more scratch resistant, more oil resistant…John Gruber says the new manufacturing process effectively fuses the screen and the glass making the display look like it is painted on the glass rather than resting under it. You’ll see this in the next iPad I suspect.
• Gyroscope (hardware). Will make games cooler. Yeah, they’ll stick this in the iPad as well.
• Ambient Light Sensor (hardware). I don’t think this got much mention at the keynote, but I saw it mentioned on one of Steve’s slides. An ambient light sensor would automatically scale down brightness when you are in a dark room, scale up when outside, etc. Good for power management and matching what the user expects. No reason this won’t make it to the next version of the iPad as well.

Many of the new iOS features will work just fine on the iPad. The iPhone 4 gets them this month while the iPad has to wait until this fall. Nothing lawyer specific here, but at least the first 3 promise to be key improvements that all users will enjoy. The features getting most the ink include:

• Unified Inbox.
• Folders for apps
• Multitasking
• Bing as search option in Safari
• iAds

Two features will be hitting the iPad later this month in the form of improvements to the iBooks app. While small, these are actually very usable improvements for lawyers who use pdf files a lot. Those are:

• pdf support
• highlighting, notes and better bookmark support

While this won’t replace GoodReader for me, I may move some of my “permanent collection” (e.g., key statute chapters) into the shelves of iBooks and use GoodReader and the like for the files moving in-and-out.

Looks like a great revision of the product. Sadly, I’m not eligible for a regular price upgrade until May of 2011. For full consideration of the iPhone announcement from the iPhone perspective, be sure to check out Jeff’s post over at iPhone J.D. For those with two hours to kill, enjoy the full keynote below.

My iPad scored big as my new travel machine. I needed it for basic word processing, downloading and viewing business documents (like the PPT presentation), web, and email. It did those tasks perfectly. The lack of third-party multi-tasking was at most a mild-annoyance, as I had no problem switching between Tweetdeck and whatever other task I was working on at the time. On my laptop, I can switch between apps near instantaneously. On the iPad, it might take 4-5 seconds, and that mild annoyance will be gone with the new OS upgrade this fall.

Will this work for you? Beats the shit out of me. It depends on what your job is, whether there are apps that fill your needs, whether you’re happy or not with an on-screen keyboard, and whether you care enough about “open versus closed” systems to let Apple’s heavy-handed control over the device’s hardware and software bother you.

For me, all I care is whether a device makes my life easier. I could give a shit about whether the hackers love or hate it, or how much hype something has. The iPad filled my needs seamlessly, with only minor hassles. It was better than a laptop, allowing me to travel more efficiently.

Key takeaway here is really figuring out what you need. I think the use case Kos describes is pretty typical of most lawyers. Add that to the “family friendly” features that many people use at home (photos, music, videos, games, internet, etc.) and the iPad becomes a pretty compelling tool.

1.  LogMeIn Ignition (iPhone app | iTunes Link). Allows you to access and control your computer as though you were sitting in front of it.  This killer app was recently discussed at the 2010 ABA TechShow and mentioned in the ABA’s Law Practice magazine. The app works on the small iPhone screen by allowing scrolling and zooming into particular areas of the remote screen. While zooming and scrolling are what make remote access possible, it is also what would make a long session of remote access difficult. The larger iPad screen should simply scale your desktop screen to netbook size – more than usable for longer sessions.

Highrise

2.  Highrise (web app). I think the folks at 37Signals are simply geniuses and use many of the online tools they create. Highrise  is a web based CRM app that I use to manage my business development. While they just released a very nice iPhone app (iTunes link), I’m mostly looking foward to using Highrise in mobile Safari. While it works on the iPhone’s mobile Safari, there is a lot of panning and zooming. The iPad should make this webapp as easy to use as when I’m sitting at my desk.

Backpack

3.  Backpack (web app). Another webapp from 37Signals. While Backpack is very versatile, as a advocate and user of GTD, I use Backpack mostly for my numerous work and personal to do lists. Again, while it works on the iPhone both in mobile Safari (and in great apps like Satchel – iTunes link).

4.  Google Reader (web app). I use Google Reader on my desktop to manage my RSS feeds. I also use a weblink to Google’s mobile version of Google Reader on the iPhone (yes, I hear that Reeder is the best and I mean to try it out, haven’t gotten there yet). But I’m not interested in the mobile version of Google Reader on my iPad, I want to try out the desktop version in mobile Safari. Like many of Google’s mobile apps, you can opt out of the mobile formatting and get the regular desktop interface. I can consume my feeds much more quickly in the fullscreen web app mostly due to the keyboard shortcuts built into Reader (if you use Google Reader and don’t know these shortcuts, learning just the “j” and “k” commands will change your game – go do it). Will these shortcuts be available on the iPad without a keyboard connected?

Dropbox

5.  Dropbox (web app).  These guys already have a killer iPhone app (iTunes link) to let me have all my files with me on all my computers at all times without a USB stick.  This is another one where I want to see how the web version performs in mobile Safari because of the additional features available.

6.  Documents To Go Premium (iPhone app | iTunes link) and QuickOffice Connect Mobile Suite (iPhone app | iTunes link). Both of these are apps for accessing, editing and sending Microsoft Office compatible documents. Each program has its strengths and weaknesses as excellently documented over at iPhone J.D. I expect the iPhone based navigation systems to be a bit weak on the iPad. I’m mostly curious about text entry and document viewing. I worry that the document scaling built into these iPhone apps won’t be able to take advantage of the iPad screen as currently coded.

Zosh Signature Pad

7.  Zosh (iPhone app | iTunes link). I discussed this app just the other day. This app allows you to access, electronically sign and deliver documents from your iPhone and has made my day on more than one occasion. I fully expect the app to have the same functionality on the iPad but with better document viewing, manipulation and editing. The magic of this application is its “signature pad” feature which I predict will not translate terribly well onto the iPad as it will take up the entire screen rather than a more natural signature sized piece of the screen. Already looking forward to the iPad version of this app that (I hope) they are developing.

8.  RightSignature (web app). I also just covered this app. Another tool for managing, signing and delivering signatures on contracts and forms. RightSignature tackles the signature process via SaaS tool – a completely different approach than that taken by Zosh. At present, accessing RightSignature on an iPhone presents users with the mobile version of the webapp. My understanding is that the version of mobile Safari on the iPad is the same as that on the iPhone. As a result, visiting a website that automatically detects and displays a “mobile” version for the iPhone will do the same thing on the iPad. I’m hopeful I’ll be able to bypass the mobile version of the website on the iPad (like is possible on the Google apps) so I can use all the features of the product.

Annotate, share, copy and more in Stanza

9.  Stanza (iPhone app | iTunes link). This is an excellent eBook reader. But I don’t use it to read books. No, I use it to quickly and easily create ebooks out of the statutory compilations I use frequetly. Using the Stanza Desktop application, you simply input a url and the application generates an eBook version of the website. Like many states, Oregon publishes its statutes online – each chapter separately. I’m a business lawyer so I like to have the corporations code, the LLC statute, etc. with me at all times. Stanza allows me to easily turn these into ebooks I can read, search, copy, annotate, share, etc.  Sure, the iPad will have its iBooks application that reads the open ePub format. But, as far as I know, it doesn’t have the copy, annotation and sharing features built into Stanza. Stanza has a brilliant text scaling feature that should translate well to the iPad allowing users to take full advantage of the larger screen with just the iPhone app.

Text Entry in Pages

10.  iWork Suite (iPad app). This is the big one. On the release date, I think these will be the only iPad specific productivity/work  applications that have been developed with the benefit of having an actual iPad in hand. Ostensibly, these are apps developed by the folks who know the device the best, who have had it in hand the longest and know how to take advantage of its features. Looking at the Guided Tours Apple posted yesterday, the iWork apps demo well and seem to have a ton of features.

So, that’s my list. Do you have an app or service you are looking forward to try? Let us know in the comments!

I’m assuming that money is a factor insofar as you don’t want to pay for something you don’t think you’ll use. If you can spend $829 for the top of the line model as easy as spending $499 for the entry level model, stop reading here and go buy the big guy.  Otherwise, read on…

The most important part of the analysis is assessing your typical use case. With a mobile device, where you expect to use it is just as important as what you plan to do with it.

First, let’s talk about the where. The differentiator of course is the availability of wifi. If you think you will use your iPad predominantly at your home, office, nicer hotel, convention center or local wifi enabled coffee shop, then 3G may not be that important. If you typically or would rather work in the park, at the soccer field watching the kid’s game, in your car, in the airport, or if wifi isn’t prevalent in your town, then a 3G model makes a lot more sense. No rocket science here except taking the time to really think about how you work or want to work. If your DNA requires a quiet office-like environment to work, then the ability to check emails at a kid soccer game isn’t terribly important.

Next, let’s talk about the what. Are you grinding through huge pdf doc reviews? Dashing off quick e-mails once or twice over the weekend? Heavy writing? As I’ve maintained, the typical use case for lawyers involves e-mail (viewing and responding), reading documents (pdf and spreadsheets), and writing documents (mostly word processing with occasional spreadsheets and presentations). While certainly dozens of other uses exist, I think for deciding which model to get, the focus should be on the typical use case.

Let’s apply the where and the what to my situation. Yours will almost certainly be different but the exercise is instructive. First the where. I live and work in Portland, Oregon. Wifi is like rain, coffee and bicycles here and very often free. I expect my heavy iPad use to look a lot like my iPhone use: in the office, at work, at home and at a coffee shop. All of these places have wifi. Though I do use 3G on my iPhone, those uses are typically to grab a quick map while driving or to deal with recent e-mails. While I’d love driving directions on the larger iPad device (a rare need), I’ll still have my iPhone for these purposes.

Now the what. My iPhone usage is probably a pretty good model. I use my iPhone to take care of the pesky bits of my practice from a place or at a time of my choosing rather than being chained to my desk. So, like the iPhone, I expect to use the iPad to process a lot of email, write short documents and to review files (mainly pdf and MSWord documents). I use a number of SaaS tools as part of my work including Highrise and Backpack. On my iPhone, I access these tools using apps rather than mobile Safari as the apps are much quicker and offer offline functionality. I consume a lot of news via RSS and prefer Google Reader for this. I blog using WordPress and while the WordPress iPhone app will do in a pinch, I typically need a keyboard and a large blank screen to cobble together anything. While doing all of this, I also often listen to music. On the non-work side, I like to share my photos with friends. I also like to game. Watching a video is a rarity except for a couple video podcasts I subscribe to (though I usually have one or two feature films the iPhone to entertain the kids if necessary).

Taking my where and what together, I don’t see a compelling need for 3G considering my expected use. Sure, there will be times I wish I had it. But, I think it is a pretty safe bet that my iPhone will carry the load in those instances. As far as storage, I was very close to grabbing the low end 16GB. I ultimately concluded that I’ll be able to get more done with documents on the iPad simply due to its larger screen and its on-board file storage, I decided I would prefer some flexibility in what files to have on board. 16GB requires some management and I didn’t want to have to pick and choose among what I thought I might need. 32 GB seemed like the right balance. Enough room that I could toss in anything I thought I might want along for the ride without feeling like I was paying for something I wouldn’t use (I also wanted to be judicious because I may in fact end up buying another one at some point – as a service to my readership, of course.

So there you have it. Close to 1,000 words on why I chose a 32 GB wifi iPad. Probably 900 words too many, but I think the value here is in forcing yourself to really think about how you plan and want to use the device. The right choice is the right device for your needs. But, if my excess words saves you a couple hundred bucks, then my job here is done.

The first round of iPad apps will be extremely interesting to experience. Many will feel strangely sparse. Others will attempt to compensate with freakishly oversized controls. Others will go off the deep end and become cluttered and confusing.

As I’ve said before, I think a limited feature set is an advantage for users, like lawyers, whose typical use case is fairly limited: reading text, writing text, using the Internet.