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Here’s an aggregation of my tweets about iPads with links to all sorts of interesting articles and blog posts:

• Gizmodo: Expensive Newspaper iPad Apps Not Selling All That Well [Newspapers] http://tinyurl.com/yzy3rab
• First iPad app I paid for: “WolframAlpha – Now 96% Off!” via @advocatesstudio | http://bit.ly/cJqRwj
• ReadWriteWeb: E-Books on the iPad: iBooks vs. Kindle for iPad http://tinyurl.com/ykeoqpp
• Engadget: Apple iPad charging woes: USB hubs, non-Macs and weak ports not rejuvenating http://tinyurl.com/yk8yjmx
• TechCrunch: Sentiment Is Split On The iPad: People Either Love It, Or Hate Others For Not Shutting Up About It http://tinyurl.com/y8uw2ux
• Gizmodo: The Six Types of iPad Fans and Critics [Tgif] http://tinyurl.com/ylr36qj
• iPad Gets a Split Screen Browser http://bit.ly/bz6EYU
• Rave reviews. I’m so excited! “Apple, Mac, iPod and iPhone News: First iPad reviews hit the web” http://tinyurl.com/ya5rchv

In this recent article, published on March 29, 2010, I discuss how I envision lawyers using the iPad

Many …attorneys…have expressed frustration at having to carry around large stacks of documents while commuting or traveling, and have indicated the iPad would hold far more appeal if they could annotate and edit documents on it.

For that group of lawyers, the ability to reduce the amount of paperwork and quickly and easily edit and annotate documents, as if writing on an electronic document, would be a deal breaker.

Those lawyers do not envision creating documents on the iPad, but rather marking up a pleading or contract, making notations in the margins to a draft appellate brief, or commenting on an internal memorandum. Such tasks, currently, are not accomplished easily while on the road, since neither lap- tops nor smart phones are well suited to those types of document annotations.

In the article I mention a number of apps, including two promising apps for annotating .pdfs: Zosh and Aji. I recently advised by Zosh’s CEO that an iPad app is in the works and that they’ll soon be adding additional annotation features, including the ability to highlight documents. And, Josh Barrett of the Tablet Legal blog just advised me on Twitter of this new app, WritePad, which allows you to annotate any document on Twitter using a stylus or your finger.

I just learned of a great tool (via Finis Price in a post at MILO) that will make annotating documents on the iPad all the more easier—the Pogo Sketch—a stylus designed to be used on iPhones and iPads. Seems to me this would work perfectly for most lawyers in this context.

Although it normally costs ~$20 at the product website, I discovered a different website that offers it for only $9.95.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

In this prior post I mentioned how lawyers can use the iPad to annotate .pdf documents.

Since that time I’ve learned (via the MILO forum—a great resource for Mac-loving and iPad-using lawyers) of a number of styluses available for use on an iPad that have the potential to make annotating documents on the iPad all the more easier:

• the Pogo Sketch  (some say the tip is too “spongy” for decent annotation)
• a universal touch screen stylus for iPhone
• the DAGI stylus, which can only be purchased on eBay at this point since it’s not yet available in the US

As more and more third party developers release news apps and new styluses are created, I think that the businesses uses for the iPad will become more evident. At this point, the iPad is really just a huge, gorgeous hunk of unrealized potential, in my humble opinion.

The Desktop iPad app was just re-approved by Apple after initially being rejected. This app allows you multi-task, to a limited extent. While in the app you work in a split screen environment that allows you to surf the web and send an email, among other things.

It’s better than nothing for now—at least until true multi-tasking for the iPad becomes available in the fall.

It’s on sale for $0.99 until April 23d, so grab it now at that price while you still can.

You can learn more about the app here:

• Desktop for iPad plays some ‘multitasking’ tricks that are useful (tuaw.com)

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

Image via CrunchBase

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

• NYT > Technology: For the iPad, Accessories Arrive on the Market http://tinyurl.com/25f6u3j
• Gizmodo: The Best iPad Apps for Babies, Toddlers and Sanity-Loving Parents [Ipad] http://tinyurl.com/23yz8lr
• The Social Networking Blog: iPad Brings the Growth of Netbooks to a Halt [CHART] http://tinyurl.com/2ft4qu6
• Engadget: Apple promises to fix iPad WiFi issues in future software update http://tinyurl.com/29rpfs6
• The Raw Feed: Computerworld column sparks iPad rage http://therawfeed.com/computerworld-column-sparks-ipad-rage
• MacRumors: iPad Users Interested in Productivity Apps, iPhone and iPod Users in Games http://tinyurl.com/2dsl6oz

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

Image by Old Shoe Woman via Flickr

A few weeks ago I ordered the Verizon MiFi—a wireless hotspot that allows 5 users to connect to it—for my iPad and other computers. I’ve been meaning to report on my experiences with it but am just getting around to it.

First off—my reasoning for choosing the MiFi rather than the 3G iPad, Sprint’s similar service or jail breaking my iPhone and using it to tether the iPhone’s 3G signal to my iPad.

I expected that I’d be using my iPad in 2 situations where I wouldn’t have wifi access: 1) while traveling and at conferences and 2) in my house in places where out wireless signal doesn’t reach.

First, traveling and conferences. I’ve noticed at conferences, many of which seem to be held larger metro areas in basements of large hotel chains like the Hilton, that iPhone users like myself have difficulty getting a signal while Blackberry users have no problem getting a Verizon signal. This is likely due to AT&T’s notorious problem of having network issues in larger cities. In larger metropolitan areas, I frequently experience weak signals and dropped calls, while in Rochester, that rarely happens. Accordingly, this is an issue that I only experience with my iPhone when traveling and access to Verizon’s network would solve this problem.

Second, the wireless signal in our house emanates from the basement. We have a 3 story home, including the finished basement, and wireless signals rarely travel well through floors. Thus, I have problems getting a signal on the top floor of our house.

Rather than reconfigure the wireless network in our house and having to shell out money to the cable company to install new cable access points, I figured it made more sense to buy a Verizon MiFi, since that would solve both my home wireless issue and my travel 3G access issue.

A 3G iPad wouldn’t work since I’d be still be stuck with AT&T’s wireless network, Sprint’s network is not nearly as reliable as Verizon’s, and jail breaking wasn’t something I wanted to do at this point—and I’d still be stuck with AT&T’s network, in any event.

So, when I learned (and blogged) that the Verizon MiFi was just 1 cent at Amazon with a 2 year contract (vs. the normal online price of ~$60) I jumped at the chance to buy it.

It was delivered quickly and was much smaller than I’d expected. I did, however, encounter some issues activating it. I was able to install the activation software on my Macbook, but when I attempted to connect the MiFi to the Internet to activate it, I was unsuccessful and kept encountering the same error message.

After doing some online research, I noticed that a lot of people using Macbooks, Macbook Pros and Macbook Airs had similar issues. So, I decided to use my iMac instead, and it activated without a hitch. Once activated, there’s no need to use the computer again, since you can simply access it using its wifi signal.

Now that’s it’s activated, it works great. The only downside to not being able to access it via a wired connection is that I can’t check my usage information to ensure that I’m not going over my monthly limit. I figure if I think I’m close, I can always walk a few extra hundred feet and connect it to my iMac or just call Verizon.

My only tip is to make sure that both the power light and the wireless signal light are both illuminated when activating it and when trying to use it once activated. The manual isn’t very clear on the locations of both lights (or that two different lights exist), and for a while, I was trying to activate it when it was powered up, but wasn’t emitting a wireless signal.

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

Image by bump via Flickr

One of the reasons I created this blog was to help lawyers and other professionals figure out how the iPad can be used in their day-to-day business. To that end, I’ve collected a series of posts and article about how lawyers and courts are using the iPad.

• How One Firm Implemented the iPad (The Mac Lawyer)
• Lawyers with iPads: Steven Butler (iPad4Legal)
• iPad Interface and Court Records (Digital Office Blog)

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

Within the next week or so I’ll be posting about .pdf annotation apps. There are a bunch of new apps that were recently released that I’ve been testing and a few of them look very promising.

In the meantime I wanted to share a new iPhone app with you that I stumbled across last night. It’s called Yap Voicemail. Yap essentially “Google Voiceifies” your iPhone’s voicemail.

Voice messages are transcribed using their speech recognition system, and you also receive an audio file of the message. The transcribed messages and audio file arrive within a minute or so and you can then forward the transcription and audio file of the message via email. 

You can choose to be notified of new mesages via email or an iPhone notification.

Because the messages are transcribed, they’re easily searchable as well.

I like this app because I keep my Google Voice and cell phone numbers separate. I use my Google Voice phone number as my contact number for my online presence and use my cell phone number for business and personal use. For sometime now I’ve thought how great it would be if my iPhone voice mail system had the functionality of my Google Voice system. And, now, with this app, it does!

I highly recommend this app. It makes the iPhone’s voicemail system more flexible and accessible. And, best of all, it’s free. You can access it in iTunes here.

Related articles

• Yap Converts Voicemails to Text for iPhone (eon.businesswire.com)
• Yap Transcribes Voicemails On Your iPhone For Free (techcrunch.com)
• Yap Brings Free Voicemail Transcription to iPhone (gigaom.com)
• Yap Brings Free Voicemail Transcription to iPhone (nytimes.com)

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If you’re a frequent flier, Gate Guru is a must-have iPhone app. I just downloaded it, used it when I flew to Denver last week, and am not sure how I managed without it.

Before I had this app, I used to get frustrated when I traveled since it was next to impossible to determine which restaurants and stores were located close to my gate. This was particularly problematic when I was short on time and needed food before the next leg of my trip. And, unfortunately, most airport maps inexplicably provide only terminal and gate information.

Enter Gate Guru. This app provides you with information about the closest restaurants, ATMs, bathrooms and shops. It also offers other travelers reviews of the different businesses located in a given airport.

It’s an extremely useful app and, best of all, it’s free. So, if you’re a frequent flier, you need to add this app to your repertoire.

Image via CrunchBase

Somehow I missed this. Tell me I’m not the only one? Apparently you can now take out eBooks on loan from your local library. At least you can in Monroe County, where I live. (My library allows you to rent 8 eBooks at a time, 3 weeks per book.)

So that means, for those of you toting iPads like my trusty Alice, you can loan eBooks and read them right on your iPad. At my library, all you need is the OverDrive app and an Adobe account, which you are prompted to create once you attempt to download your first eBook.

It’s not exactly the simplest process when you first try to use the app, but once you’re over the initial road bumps, it works quite well. You can download the book directly from the library’s website right to your iPad in one fell swoop.

Right now it seems there’s no OverDrive app developed specifically for the iPad, so you have to use the iPhone app on your iPad. That means that you have to enlarge the app to fit your screen, so it’s somewhat pixelated. But, it’s not that bad, all things considered, given how easy it is to download the book—and given that the book is free.

An alternative is to use the Bluefire Reader App, which is designed for the iPad. But, the download process is not as simple. You have to download the book to your computer and then transfer it to your iPad using iTunes.

Related articles

• OverDrive eReader Guide Helps Libraries Manage eBook Checkouts (suite101.com)
• OverDrive Helps Connect Libraries and Users with eBooks (appscout.com)
• eBook Checkouts at Libraries Up 200 Percent in 2010, according to OverDrive (teleread.com)
• Embracing the New Format: 7 Apps To Buy, Read and Convert eBooks (mac.appstorm.net)