iPad Apps: How TabletLegal Surfs the App Store

I was just responding to a reader e-mail and thought the question and my (non-)answer would be worth sharing here. Reader Tom asks:

Do you know of any reviews of iPad time tracking apps? I cannot remember if I have seen any, and I am interested in looking into one for my practice. I searched the 3 iPad law blogs I know and I didn’t find anything so I thought I would sent you a quick mail to ask.

Thanks,
Tom

Because of the systems my firm uses to track time, this hasn’t been a need for me. As a result, I haven’t investigated this very legitimate use for the iPad. Like any good lawyer, I turned the question into one I could respond to:

Tom

Hey, thanks for your e-mail. I don’t know of time tracking apps off the top of my head. Good idea of something for me to explore and report on. The great iPhone blog, iPhone JD, has covered a number of time tracking apps in this post (which links to a bunch more as well). Of course, those will all be functional on the iPad.

I did a quick search of the store and see a few apps that look interesting. A few notes about what I’m seeing and how I cull through choices on the App Store.

One thing I look for in apps is the frequency of updates. For example, TDF Tracker (iTunes link) is on version 1.5 and was last updated August 20. That is a good sign. Similarly, QuickTimer (iTunes link) was recently updated to version 1.9.4 on August 4.

I also look at the comments. What I’m particularly looking for is evidence that the app developers are reading and responding to comments. For example, on the TDF Tracker I mentioned, looks like a recent update specifically added the ability to track time in tenths of an hour based on an attorney-user comment.

I like apps that provide a Lite or free version. Some of the time tracking apps are close to $10. Not enough to break you, but too much to be able to buy 4-5 to try them out. I see that QuickTimer has a Lite version (iTunes link).

I do look at the customer ratings, but I take them with a grain of salt. You can usually suss out which are shills or complainers to get a better sense of what is worth trying.

I’m an interface snob. I really closely review the screenies and any additional interface hints given at the developer’s website. For example, Time Master + Billing (iTunes link) has some additional screens at its website.

Hope that gives you some guidance. I’ll dig into a couple of these and consider for more in depth reviews

Josh

Two other items worth considering that I didn’t mention to Tom:

• Always check out the developer website if you can. This gives me a better sense of what kind of folks are developing an app and what kind of community the app has behind it. If the developer has a user run help forum on the web, even better
• If an app doesn’t work for you, check back in 3 months to see if there have been any updates. Early versions of iPad software are still routinely a mess even though the device has been out for 6 months now. I had this exact experience with iAnnotate, the pdf annotation tool (iTunes link). pdf annotation is a critical tool for mobile lawyers. Even though iAnnotate had a version in the app store very early on, it had a lot of flaws. A large number of these flaws were addressed in the first major update of the app and additional features and fixes have been added since. It is now on my home screen and a frequently used tool.