By Brian Malcom
I am "that guy." I bought the iPad, paid Apple's early-adopter tax, and smiled all the way home. Some call it a giant iPod Touch, and they are not too far off...for now. Specially designed apps and Apple's OS upgrades for the device will be what sets the iPad apart from the rest of the iFamily.
So, I have owned it for ten days. I feel like that's a reasonable amount of time to deliver an initial assessment of the iPad's strengths and weaknesses for young lawyers. Here's hoping there are some other fanboys/fangirls out there who care about the practical uses of this seemingly luxurious device. With stuff like this, I like to start with the weaknesses and end on strengths. It's the anti-hype approach to hype.
Weaknesses:
- No stylus. I understand that a stylus would injure the Jobsian ideal of beautiful simplicity. I, however, would like to have a stylus for note taking and markup of PDF documents on the nice, big screen.
- Fingerprints. Oleophobic or not, the screen shows fingerprints. After two days of use, my iPad screen was riddled with fingerprints. The least Apple could have done is include a microfiber cloth for cleaning, like they did with past releases of the iPhone. Luckily, I stock microfiber like Band-Aids at my house.
- Size. I know, I know...the whole point of the device is the larger screen. I get that. I have to nitpick and say the device feels a bit heavier than you would think when you are holding it in your hands. I knew going in that this was not a pocket device, unless you have really large pockets. It is a briefcase or backpack device. If you carry either of those, you'll find that the iPad is very portable--especially if it replaces paper, an iPod, and a laptop.
- Lack of user storage or print . I work with PDFs a good bit. Natively, there is no way to save files to the hard drive of the iPad. A workaround is to simply email yourself the file and download each time you need it. But, that can get old. GoodReader has a good iPad app that allows you to save files via wifi transfer, web downloads, email access, etc. You can even hold down your finger on the icon of an attachment in the native mail app and save the file directly to the file system in GoodReader. Last I checked, GoodReader was reasonably priced, too ($0.99). Third-party apps are also developing that allow printing directly from the iPad via WiFi to a networked printer.
- Keyboard. I am still getting used to the keyboard. The lack of tactile feedback from the keyboard is a bit odd. Then again, it took me a while to become a believer in the iPhone's soft keyboard. Now, I can fly on it. If I prove unable, there is always the option of syncing a Bluetooth keyboard or Apple's cradle and keyboard to get me by. Who wants to tote around one of those, though? The better option may be to use Dragon Dictation's app for the iPad, which is equally as effective as the iPhone application but with a larger visual interface.
- WiFi only. I know I went early and I could have waited for 3G. The truth: I don't want to pay another fee for mobile, digital data. So, why wait for the 3G iPad?! I think the better investment would be to have a mobile WiFi hotspot device for all your computing devices to retrieve digital data, depending on which one you're using that day. It would be really nice if you could tether the iPad through the iPhone, but Steve Jobs has already said that he won't support that.
- Price. This puppy ain't cheap. Technology is my vice. There are more expensive vices, though.
There are some nice uses and features for this device for young lawyers.
Here are the strengths:
- Lightweight/Portable. I know this is a bit of a contradiction from the Weaknesses section, but this device, though it feels heavier than it looks, is still much lighter than a 100-page document or a laptop (unless you own the MacBook Air). With third-party apps, you can store numerous documents on this device for review and editing. If need be, you can even create documents.
- Instant digitization of annotations. Think about it: It is absurd to open a document, print it, make handwritten notes, scan, and then send your edits. Why not just open the document, i.e. PDF, input your annotations or changes and click send? iAnnotate, an iPad app, allows you to do just that. iAnnotate allows you to highlight text, write in the margin, type a note in the margin, underline text, or strike through text with your fingertips--although, ironically, a stylus may feel more natural. One catch: iAnnotate can currently only transfer files within a WiFi network by using it proprietary server software. The developers have promised that the next update will allow users to instantly email the annotated PDF file. I hope they add a print feature, too.
- Full Westlaw. The iPad Safari browser is essentially a fully capable browser, not a lightweight, mobile version like the iPhone's. Thus, you can see "normal" websites instead of being relegated to mobile pages. ESPN is awesome on the device...oh yeah, so is Westlaw. I think the iPad is great for reading materials from a legal research site. (See screenshot below)
- Along the same lines, this device is a terrific reader. If you are a heavy user of Word docs or PDFs, you will enjoy the experience of reviewing a document on the iPad's pretty screen without worrying about those pesky paper cuts or getting your pages out of order. This thing could save a lot of trees, if people adapt.
- E-Mail. There are some small improvements in the native mail application. It allows for a large preview of a message before opening. It is also nice to have a portable device that allows you to quickly review email on a large screen.
- Lots of storage. You can store an entire file's worth of PDFs on the iPad, and still have room for your music and videos. Think about being able to carry an entire case file with you, and not have to worry about dropping that Redweld.
As more apps appear, more uses will emerge. Stay tuned.
