LapWorks provided me with this nifty, complimentary iPad stand:

I’ve lived with it for a few days and wanted to share my thoughts.

The best feature about this stand is that it allows you to adjust the angle to virtually any position. So, your iPad can stand straight up, lay nearly horizontal, or anywhere in between.

It’s easy to adjust—you simply loosen this knob on the back and slide the stand up or down. In the photo below, the knob is set at the very bottom of the stand:

In the next photo, I’ve set it to recline, which is how I use it when I read through my RSS feeds in the morning while I eat breakfast:

All in all, I like Lapworks iPad stand. It’s an attractive stand and provides you with a large choice of settings. It’s easy to adjust and is a great alternative to propping it on a book, as I’ve been known to do in the past.

It’s bulky though. This is not a traveling stand—rather, it’s more like your iPad’s “home base.”

The only real complaint I have really is more of a reflection on my anal retentiveness than a critique of the stand. This stand gives you so many options that I find I feel the need to constantly adjust it until the angle is perfect, whereas when I resorted to propping it on a nearby object, I wasn’t nearly as picky.

All in all, it’s a nice iPad stand—and one that I recommend. You can buy it here. It normally costs $44.95 but is on sale right now for $34.95.

While I’m finishing up my book about cloud computing for lawyers this summer, I’ll be posting only intermittently here. However, rest assured, regular posting will resume in September!

Image via CrunchBase

Here’s a round up of my recent iPad tweets:

• Wired Top Stories: 10 Stellar iPad Apps That Will Blow You Away http://tinyurl.com/2efaubq
• “Apple, AT&T sued over iPad data plan change” TUAW |http://bit.ly/aERIre
• “Gourmet Magazine Revived for the iPad” NYT | http://bit.ly/brHbTz
• Experts: iPad, tablet rivals will kill netbooks http://bit.ly/cbafif
• kottke.org: Toddler mode for the iPad http://tinyurl.com/2499fxt

You can find a post I recently wrote about iPad apps for lawyers over at the Firmex blog: “iPad apps for attorneys.”

Image via CrunchBase

Here’s a round up of my recent iPad tweets:

• Forget an iPad with 3G. Get a MiFi router instead. - Fortune Tech http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010…
• Can You Work From an iPad? http://tinyurl.com/3afslsr
• Your iPad Is Going to Look Pretty Ancient One Day, Too http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/2010060..
• Hello iPad, goodbye netbook (Philip Elmer-DeWitt/Fortune) http://tinyurl.com/25bk3ha - http://twitter.com/nikibla…
• My iPad? A Great Bundle of Sticks http://bit.ly/ddmeOC
• “iPad Pulse Reader app goes from keynote hero to App Store zero thanks to NYT” http://www.engadget.com/2010…

If you’d like to comment on this post, you can do so on at the Legal iPad Facebook page.

Image by alancleaver_2000 via Flickr

A reader emailed me and asked if I knew of any statistics regarding how many lawyers actually used their iPads in their law practice. I hadn’t seen any, so I figured I’d conduct an informal poll.

So, please let me know how you’re using your iPad by voting in this poll and providing specifics information as to how you use the iPad, whether in your practice or otherwise, in the comments that follow the poll.

Image via Wikipedia

So last week, after much research, I ordered the Power Support anti-glare iPad screen protector. Alice, my iPad, already had a small scratch on the screen and I figured it was high time I protected it, since I only expected more scratches to appear over time if I didn’t do so.

I chose the Power Support anti-glare film since I figured it would kill three birds with one stone. My hope was that it would: 1) protect the screen 2) reduce the glare and 3) reduce the oh-so-annoying smudgy fingerprints that were constantly all over my screen.

The good news: the film performed swimmingly on all fronts. The bad news: it wasn’t easy applying the film to the screen. Not easy at all.

Of course, it was partly my fault. I’m one of those types who stubbornly refuses to read directions. In this case, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I’d read more than just the first paragraph of the instructions.

My sage advice to you is: 1) read the instructions first 2) do not—I repeat—DO NOT touch anything to the sticky side of the film, other than scotch tape or the like, which you use to remove lint and/or dust from both the film and your iPad, 3) definitely DO NOT allow a lint free cloth to touch the sticky side of the film—trust me, that would be a really BAD idea,  and 4) read the directions FIRST!

My other piece of advice is to really try to press out the air bubbles before deciding that a particular air bubble was caused by a piece of dust. More likely than not, if you thoroughly cleaned off your iPad’s screen with a lint-free cloth before attempting to apply the film, it’s just a plain old air bubble. So, really try to press out the air bubbles before you decide a particular bubble was caused by a piece of dust that needs to be removed via the sticky side of a piece of tape. The dust removal process can be quite tedious, especially if you have to do it repeatedly.

That being said, your hard work will be well worth it. I’m quite happy with the end result. The film does affect the image quality ever-so-slightly, but I find that it’s hardly noticeable.

You can purchase the Power Support anti-glare film for your iPad here for $24.95.

Image via CrunchBase

Here’s a round up of my recent iPad tweets:

• WestlawNext Loves the iPad - http://bit.ly/bWCjqi (expand) | WLN bets that iPad and other tablets have big effect over next 24 mths
• “iPad Use Case for Lawyers: Lunch Meeting” TabletLegal - http://bit.ly/aDE1DG
• Great example of what ipad will be/is: A VC: I’ve Changed My Mind About The iPad http://tinyurl.com/36oajag
• 5 Great Excuses to Buy an iPad for Your Business  — http://www.entrepreneur.com/technol…

If you’d like to comment on this post, you can do so on at the Legal iPad Facebook page.

Last week, I learned that Barnes & Noble had released its eReader app for the iPad and iPhone. I wasn’t planning to download it since I’m so happy with the Kindle app, but was enticed by their “free book” promotion.

Simply put, as described here, B&N is offering 5 free eBooks if you download their free app. At first I thought that I could choose any book, but realized after I’d downloaded the app that B&N was offering 5 specific fiction novels and was releasing a different one each week over a five week period.

At that point I’d already downloaded the app and figured I’d collect my freebie, on the off-chance that the book was any good. And, surprise, surprise—it turned out to be great! I’ve now found a new series to read for the rest of the summer.

But, first things first—you have to actually go into a Barnes & Noble store to obtain a pamphlet that has your free eBook access code—for each book. Definitely inconvenient. Then you have to find the appropriate link via the B&N website on your iPad, which takes a few minutes to locate—I’ll save you the trouble. Just go here.

The eBook that I downloaded last week was Storm Front by Jim Butcher. I haven’t read any of the other books yet-I missed the first one—but I absolutely loved this book. Here’s a basic description of the premise of this series, taken from a review of this book:

Beginning an unusually successful adaptation, this volume covers the first part of the book that introduced Harry Dresden, a modern wizard who’s set up shop in downtown Chicago. Unlike Hellblazer ‘sJohn Constantine, Dresden is unambiguously heroic, cooperating with the police to solve gruesome magical murderers while also working solo as a supernatural PI.

It reminds me a bit of the Sue Grafton PI series beginning with “A is for Alibi” (another one of my favorites), except with a science fiction twist—perfect for a geek like me.

Even if you don’t download the B&N eReader app, I highly recommend this book. I already bought the second book in the series and am halfway done with it.

As for the B&N eReader app, I still like Kindle’s better. The B&N app feels clunkier to me and I don’t like the interface nearly as much as Kindle. But, for a few free books, it’s worth it to deal with the less-than-ideal interface.

Image via CrunchBase

Here’s a round up of my recent iPad Tweets:

• The iPad Is Such A Great Travel Computer I’m Selling My Laptop http://m.gizmodo.com/5541821… on Fluent News
• RT @StephKimbro: Reading “iPad Interface and Court Records” http://www.wisecwa.com/digital…
• iPad User Guide – Free eBook from Apple http://ipadnotebook.wordpress.com/2010…
• Is the iPad Cannibalizing Mac Sales? Not Really. [Digital Daily] http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/2010051…
• General Practice Section: Review: Travels with my iPad http://nysbar.com/blogs…
• MacRumors: iPad Users Interested in Productivity Apps, iPhone and iPod Users in Games http://www.macrumors.com/2010…

If you’d like to comment on this post, you can do so on at the Legal iPad Facebook page.