I’ve been searching for the perfect iPad annotation app since my iPad arrived in the mail last spring. Sign My iPad (website) is a good option.Much like Zosh, one of my favorite iPhone apps, the app is created with the intention of allowing people to fill out forms, such as contracts. But it works equally well for the purposes of annotating a document such as a pleading or memorandum of law.

To get documents into the app, you either open a PDF that you’ve already saved to your iPad or open a PDF in your email and then save the PDF using Sign My iPad. You can then add typed text, written comments (using the “signature” option), a check box or the date.

To add handwritten annotations, you use the signature function. Unfortunately, even when using a stylus (I use a BoxWave stylus), it’s still not the same as writing on a piece of paper with a pen. The iPad isn’t as responsive as I’d like and it’s more difficult to write accurately and legibly. Nevertheless, it works good enough and is a good alternative to carrying around large, heavy files or loose pieces of paper everywhere you go. Using the typed notes function is a good option, as well.

(Oh, and by the way, should you need it, there are tons of free online services that allow you to convert Word documents into PDF documents, such as pdfonline.com.)

The app costs only $3.99 and you can buy it here on iTunes.

(The app developers recently contacted me and offered me complimentary access to this app, but I’d already purchased it previously with the intent of reviewing it and just hadn’t gotten around to it. I finally got around to it!;)

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