Android or iPhone?

Attorneys often find themselves operating in separate camps, such as plaintiff-defendant, prosecution-defense, civil-criminal, private-public and, perhaps most contentiously, Android-iPhone.

While both iPhones and Androids deliver a smartphone experience that keeps attorneys connected wherever they go, each platform takes a unique and sometimes idiosyncratic approach to features and capabilities. These differences have helped build strong user loyalties in both camps.

Yet times are changing. Androids and iPhones have each undergone a series of changes over the past year or so, prompting some users to consider moving to the opposing camp in order to take advantage of one or more improvements, such as a larger display or stronger app security.

Switching smartphone platforms should never be done on a whim, however, since a changeover requires learning how to use a new device as well as building a fresh app collection from scratch. It's also important to have a solid understanding of what each platform offers (or lacks) so that the switch doesn't lead to any unpleasant surprises.

Here's a look at how iPhone and Android phones shape up in several key areas and where both platforms may be headed:

App Selection. Apps are what make a smartphone smart. With its head start into the market, Apple has traditionally held a substantial lead in app selection and over its Android challenger. Yet this dominance is now finally ending.

Apple's App Store and Google's Android marketplace, Google Play, are now essentially tied. Apple offers approximately 800,000-plus apps, while Google lays claim to some 700,000 titles. Google Play is now also growing at a faster rate than Apple's App Store, both in terms if downloads and revenues. In 2013's first quarter, Google Play reached close to 90 percent of the App Store downloads.

Round 1: Android 1, iPhone 1 (winner in bold = 2 points; tie = 1 point).

Screen size. Screen size is simply a matter of mathematics — the bigger the screen, the larger the images. The iPhone 5 features a four-inch display, which marks a significant improvement over its predecessor's 3.5-inch screen. Yet even with its more spacious display area the iPhone 5 still lags behind many Android phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S III, which offers a 4.8-inch screen and the Droid RAZR M with its 4.3-inch screen. A larger screen makes it easier to read text, view photos and videos, and compose email and text messages with an on-screen keyboard (particularly if you have pudgy fingers). The trade-off, however, is that a larger screen also often means a larger phone. You can compare phone and display sizes here.

Round 2: Android 3, iPhone 1.

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Cross This App Off Your To-Do List

App makers think of everything. How about an app for folks who are so retro they write to-do lists by hand, yet appear tech-sharp enough to know there darn well ought to be a digital process to address the perplexing problem of how to cross completed items off paper lists?

Once you've done a handwritten list, things do start to get tricky. While Neanderthals invented hand-scrawled to-do lists — in fact cave drawings were the original task management app, and you bet the cavewomen who drew them sure knew how to prioritize — when it comes to crossing things off lists, such as slaughter a bison, buy soy milk, watch Mad Men, charge cell phones ... you need an app for that.

What's a semi-troglodyte list-making maven to do?

Sure there are zillions of list-making apps. I won't list them here, but go check out any "best list-making apps" list.

But if you meticulously compile to-do lists on paper and find crossing off done items is where you draw the line, Retro List is for you.

Retro List is not judging you for having created the problem in the first place. If you feel absolutely compelled to use dye suspended in solvent and fabricated treeware to make lists, you go for it. One you've written your list the old-fashioned way, whip out your iPhone, open Retro List and take a picture of your opus. Click "manage" to view your digitized list. Then swipe your finger on the screen to cross out completed items. Problem solved!

Black line items as you finish them and save or print and email your paper-born list.

For those lawyers whose lists are throwbacks to the age when technology offered no way of replacing ink-made to-do list without using more ink, you're in luck. Retro List hit the app store this month. But there's a catch. The app costs 99 cents. For that price you can always go to Staples.com and buy another pen. Decide what to do and put it on your list.

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New York's Jesse Londin is a lawyer and freelance writer. Email: buzz@londin.com.

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Epson Releases Meeting Room Productivity Tool

Epson America Inc. BrightLink Pro 1410Wi
Image: Epson America Inc.

Meeting room technology used to display and share content can rattle the confidence of any legal professional. Even if you master the collaboration technology one day, you may forget it the next. Epson America Inc. aims to make putting on a meeting as easy as using a whiteboard with its new BrightLink Pro 1410Wi projector, a new productivity tool that brings collaboration to any flat surface in a meeting room.

Epson, the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, designed the BrightLink Pro 1410Wi projector to display content in 3100 lumens onto a 100-inch (diagonal) widescreen display. The BrightLink Pro can turn traditional whiteboards and walls into digital whiteboards where content can be viewed, marked up, annotated, and shared as well as saved, printed, or emailed to others — no computer necessary.

WRITING ON THE WALL

Without more, you can turn on the BrightLink Pro, walk up to the projector's native WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution display on a flat surface such as a table or wall, and start writing and drawing in up to 50 pages. An interactive pen, which needs to touch the surface of the display, communicates with the projector to create new content and annotate existing or imported content, move from page to page, and insert basic shapes and images on demand. When you are done, your presentation can be printed or saved as a single .pdf file or multiple .png images onto a USB drive or network share.

The BrightLink Pro projector works with a Control Pad, which supports a USB hub that can be used to connect a variety of devices including tablets, smart phones, cameras, and DVD players, all of which can be used to import content into a presentation. The Pad supports operational modes such as Whiteboard Mode and Source Search (to find content on a USB device or network share) as well as modes to capture, print, and save presentations. Together, the projector and Control Pad form an appliance to create and control collaborative presentations without the aid of a computer.

In addition to its walk-up potential, BrightLink Pro presenters can command and annotate presentations or other content displays (e.g., a document or video review) from a mobile device. Epson's free iProjection App lets you connect iOS (4.2 or later) or Android (2.3 or later) devices to the projector via a local area network. Instead of using the interactive pen, mobile device content is displayed and annotated on the projector using fingers, gestures, or the mobile device's keyboard.

You can interface a PC with the BrightLink Pro using HDMI, VGA, or USB interconnections. Once your PC connects to the projector, the interactive pen becomes a wireless mouse and you can run any PC application, access the web, or edit a document using the BrightLink Pro display.

Epson's EasyMP Network Projection Utility is free software to output a computer's display to the BrightLink projector over the network. In addition to displaying a PC's applications or content, the EasyMP Network Projection software (v2.81 or higher) allows you to share content or a presentation over the network with up to four remote BrightLink Pro projectors. All projectors accept input and annotations from all users that accrete to one display, which is visible on all four locations as well as on the enabling computer. The projector also supports a split screen to provide local or individual content next to the networked, collaborative display.

The BrightLink Pro starts out at $2,999 for a projector and mount (educational price is $2,499). Epson has joined with Chief Milestone AV Technology to offer an all-in-one projector and whiteboard (Da-Lite Projection Screen technology) mounted in a cherry or teak for $4,599 and aluminium for $4,199.

Sean Gunduz, product manager for corporate projectors at Epson America, showed LTN research from Futuresource Consulting Ltd that claimed there are approximately 67 million meeting rooms worldwide, but no adoption of any staple product to display, present, and collaborate around content. This poses a significant opportunity for Epson's BrightLink Pro, said Gunduz. And if the projector is as easy as it appeared in an online demonstration powered by Apple Facebook, it will also have a bright future (pun intended) in courts and law firm meeting rooms, especially with its reasonable base price.

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Attorney Sean Doherty is LTN's technology editor.

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Is Microsoft's Surface Pro Tablet a Game Changer?

What if your laptop was a tablet? Imagine — something sleek and easy to carry that still runs all of the software you need, such as Microsoft's Word and Outlook, as well as your favorite document management software, redlining tools, and templates.

PC manufacturers have been trying this for years, but usually come up with plastic-clad behemoths neither easy to hold nor pleasant to use. It took Apple to show the computer industry what a tablet should look like. Now, Microsoft demonstrates what a tablet should do.

The Surface Pro brings Windows compatibility to a sleek, modern tablet. Debuted in February, it runs the full spectrum of Windows software, giving it a range of abilities unavailable on the iPad. This benefits both the lawyers who use tablets and the IT staff who manage and support the devices. Though not always the best of both worlds, the Surface Pro combines strengths of laptops and tablets, making it a compelling new option for users who value mobility.

The Surface Pro’s ability to run any Windows program makes it easier to use and more reliable than other tablets. Many lawyers rely on specialized, proprietary software that exists only for Microsoft Windows. On tablets, lawyers have to seek out iPad- or Android-friendly replacements that might not work the same as — or even connect with — desktop programs.

Imagine a colleague emails you a document, but sends you a link to your document management system instead of the file itself. Can you open that link on an iPad? Can you edit the document on an Android tablet? Sure, some systems have tablet-friendly apps, but can they provide the same experience and tools as a desktop PC? The Surface Pro is intended to do exactly this. You can assume that if it works on a PC, it will work on the Surface Pro.

SECURITY AND MANAGEMENT

The Surface Pro also benefits from security features that are well-known on PCs but less common on tablets. For instance, Windows 8 Pro’s built-in BitLocker feature can encrypt the Surface Pro’s hard drive. If the device is lost or stolen, encryption greatly reduces the chance of someone extracting sensitive data.

The Surface Pro also works with centrally-managed security utilities such as virus scanners, metadata cleaners, and data management apps that integrate with Outlook. Many of these tools are incompatible with iOS and Android, which forces iPad users and their IT departments to seek out replacements. By contrast, with Windows 8, firms can secure tablets with the same tools and policies they already use for Windows desktops.

Windows 8 tablets, like the Surface Pro, are easier to administer than iPads and Androids because they are compatible with the PC management tools IT departments typically use. Firms can deploy security and software updates to the tablets via tools like Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager. IT administrators can also use Active Directory and Group Policy to manage settings for tablet users and grant them permission to access particular applications and files. The upshot is that a Surface Pro can be secured and managed with as much IT attention as a desktop and far less than an iPad.

COMPETITORS

The Surface Pro’s security and compatibility strengths owe to its Windows 8 Pro operating system, and while other tablets can run Windows few are as well-reviewed. The Surface Pro is easily confused with the Surface RT, which is less expensive and less powerful. The RT comes with a stripped-down version of Microsoft Office, missing Outlook. It is also unable to run the add-ins that connect Office with document management systems and metadata cleaning utilities, making the RT unappealing for most attorneys.

Other Windows 8 Pro tablets exist from makers like Lenovo and Dell, but they tend to be clunkier than the Surface Pro. The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 and the Dell XPS 12 both weigh about 3.4 pounds versus two pounds for the Surface Pro, making them less appealing for mobile users. The Surface Pro also won favorable comparisons with these devices regarding design. C|net declared it “the best high-end Windows 8 tablet,” citing “its compact form and excellent little Type Cover.” (Its keyboard doubles as a screen protector.)

CONVERGENCE OR COMPROMISE?

As with any new gadget, the Surface Pro is by no means perfect. Poor battery life has been a common complaint. The New York Times' David Pogue reported that his machine lasted 3.5 hours on battery power — a reasonable lifespan for a laptop but much less than expected for a tablet. (See also, PCMag.com's review.) The discrepancy arises from the fact that Windows 8 tablets require stronger, more power-hungry processors than the less feature-rich iOS and Android operating systems. Nonetheless, this limitation could prove irksome to former iPad and Android tablet users.

Former iPad and Android users may also miss using their old apps. Though a new tablet user will likely appreciate using the same apps on tablet and desktop, lawyers already using the iPad, say, have probably adapted to its quirks. Different tablet platforms are not compatible with each other’s apps, so a former iPad user may have to re-download, or even repurchase, familiar apps for the Surface Pro.

Moreover, the Windows Store, a source for Windows 8 apps, is relatively new and does not offer as many recreational apps as Apple’s App Store does, meaning that many iOS apps will not have exact Windows 8 equivalents. This limitation should be mitigated, though, by the Surface Pro’s ability to run standard Windows programs, of which there are many.

THE BOTTOM LINE

In spite of its limited battery life, Microsoft’s Surface Pro offers features that are missing in the mainstream tablet market. Being able to run familiar desktop programs on a tablet-sized device gives users the option of replacing two devices, the tablet and the laptop, with one. This is a convenience worth considering, and law firms that value mobility should investigate whether the Surface Pro meets their needs.

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Thomas Carroll (carroll@kraftkennedy.com) is a business analyst and Marcus Bluestein (bluestein@kraftkennedy.com) is CTO at Kraft Kennedy Inc., in New York.

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Is the Apple iPad Mini Ready for Business?

Apple's iPad Mini is a classic example of that old saying, first impressions can be misleading. At a quick glance, the smaller version of Apple's now-iconic tablet hardly looks like a business tool. The screen is just shy of 8 inches, and as anyone who has ever used a similarly sized Samsung Galaxy Tab, Google Nexus 7, or Amazon Kindle Fire knows — all too well — smaller tablets haven't really cut it as serious productivity devices.

Sure, they make for handy e-readers, email-checkers, and media players. And they suffice for occasional web surfing. But their reduced screen size, typically in a widescreen format better-suited for movies and games than documents, is a real limitation doing serious work, like composing and marking up PDF and Word files.

The real strength — and differentiator — of the iPad Mini is that it changes this status quo. Here is a tablet that brings the key advantages of being small and suitable for business use. I picked up the Mini not expecting much. I had used the Tab, Nexus, and Kindle and loved them — for reading books on airplanes and playing Angry Birds. In two years I had yet to do anything more substantial on these devices than read the occasional Office document — too much scrolling, zooming, and squinting. After a week with the iPad Mini, however, I was using it instead of my full-size iPad for two reasons.

First, the Mini is remarkably comfortable to handle. It weighs just under 11 ounces, less than half the full-size iPad. But it's also startlingly thin — barely a quarter of an inch deep. That combination not only makes it easy to carry around but means you can hold it for long stretches without your hand tiring. For the many of us who don't use a tablet while sitting at a desk — where it can be placed on a hard surface or held in place with a stand — this is an ideal design.

Lawyers who tend to use their tablets while standing before a jury box during voir dire, for example, will quickly appreciate the Mini's uber-mobility. The smaller size — ironically — also lends itself to rapid, accurate typing. While virtual keys are spaced closer together than on the regular iPad, I found that by holding the device in landscape mode, with a hand on each side, I could quickly thumb-type without any uncomfortable stretching.

Second, the Mini is a real game changer for smaller-size tablets. It forgoes the usual widescreen display for one that is, simply, a smaller version of the iPad's "squarer" screen. (Indeed, the iPad Mini's display is about 80 percent the size of its sibling's.) Movie fans have long taken issue with Apple's insistence for using an old-school-television 4:3 aspect ratio; too much black space when watching modern TV and movies designed for 16:9 screens. But for documents on a sub 8-inch display, 4:3 is a revelation.

The made-for-TV aspect ratio affords the Mini more surface area for documents than other sub-eight-inch tablets. Documents can be viewed, composed, and edited on the Mini with far less user manipulation — and far less frustration — than on its rivals with smaller footprints. Annotating and note-taking work surprisingly well on the Mini (another plus is that apps originally designed for the full-size iPad all look right on the smaller version, with no weird formatting or glitches in the couple of dozen programs I tried).

Keep in mind, though, that at the end of the day, a smaller screen means smaller text. So while you will see more of your documents and web pages on the Mini's screen, you might not find them as easy to read as on a full-size iPad. Compounding matters: The current Mini lacks Apple's razor-sharp Retina display technology. So text isn't as crisp as it is on the bigger tablet (the difference will be more apparent to those who have used the iPad 3 and iPad 4). With my own 20-20 vision days long past, I did find the Mini to require more of an effort while reading. I suspect many lawyers will find this the case, as well. But for the way I use tablets — largely on the go and rarely at a desk — the ease of holding the device, combined with its ability to get 'real' work done, more than make up for a bit of squinting. Attorneys who use their tablets similarly may find that the balance works out that way for them too.

A word about the 'lower-muscle' CPU found in the Mini, which sports the same Apple A5 chip as the iPad 2 instead of the more potent A6X chip found in the iPad 4. Yes, it's not quite as powerful. But a lot of the faster chip's brawn is needed to power the bigger iPad's Retina display. I did not notice any noticeable slowdown on the iPad Mini — web pages, for example, were rendered with perfectly adequate speed. One area that did lag, however, was battery life. While Apple claims a 10-hour life — same as on the full-size iPad — I got more like 6 hours using it in my real-world conditions (Wi-Fi on, full brightness, using the device sporadically over a couple of days instead of in one marathon session). That's about an hour or so less than I get with my larger iPad.

Currently there is much speculation about the next iPad Mini, one that is widely expected to feature a Retina display. I don't know if Apple can pull that off while improving battery life. But I know this: I'll be looking at that Mini in a whole new light, knowing that smaller tablets, done right, do fit in the workplace.

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Alan Cohen is a New York-based freelance reporter. Email: alanc31@yahoo.com.

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Swingline Shredder Aims to Follow the Stapler Into the Office

Swingline Stack-and-Shred Red 60-Sheet Shredder

The Swingline Stapler became an office staple in the 20th Century for its stylish look and ease of operation to clip together paper sheets into a contiguous document at the flick of a wrist. And apparently, the iconic Red Stapler continues to adorn many desks, but just not the desks of our Law Technology News' staff in San Francisco. Now ACCO Brands Corp. hopes the Swingline Stack-and-Shred 60-Sheet Shredder follows its stapler into every office.

I admit that one of my favorite devices in the office is a shredder, but my least favorite chore is standing in front of one and feeding it paper. So I look for a shredder that supports a fast, simultaneous, multi-sheet input with an industrial-sized motor that does not easily overheat from continuous use. Then someone brought the Swingline Stack-and-Shred to my attention.

TEST DRIVE

I confronted a Swingline Stack-and-Shred Red 60-sheet personal shredder, opened the top lid of the shredder as if I was opening a cooler of beer, and placed 60 sheets of paper onto a flat surface that fits up to 60 sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper. The flat surface is broken with sheet rollers that pull paper along a path to the shredder. I closed the lid and the Swingline rollers brought the sheets of paper into contact with the shredder. I walked away and let the shredder do its business. No more standing and feeding a shredder for me. See Figure 1.

Figure 1:The Swingline Stack-and-Shred Red shredder shown here has a top-loading design and easily fits beneath a desk; the 4-gallon waste bin has a clear window in the front of the unit to view shred capacity.

It took the Swingline shredder approximately 15 minutes to shred the 60 pages in a cross-cutting motion that resulted in 300 shreds per sheet, which filled up the 4-gallon receptacle beneath the shredder. After eleven minutes of continuous operation from the automatic top-loader, the shredder stopped once to cool its motor for 2 to 3 minutes. When I tested the shredder's speed, it dispatched between 9 (8.25 feet per minute) and 10 (9.16 feet per minute) sheets of 20 lb. paper per minute. Your mileage may vary depending on paper size and weight.

The shredder has a published duty cycle of ten minutes of continuous use, then 40 minutes to cool before it continues operation. When I tested the unit's continuous operation from the manual feed, the shredder overheated after approximately 5 minutes, stopped to cool in two minutes and then resumed operation for another three minutes before it seized up for over 60 minutes. The motor, however, had been previously working and the unit was not tested from a cold start. I only give my car the benefit of a cold start nowadays.

The Swingline has a manual feed input atop the shredder, but it is limited to 5 sheets of paper or one credit card at a time. CD or DVD discs are not supported, and neither are heavy-duty staples. So if you shred more than documents or credit cards, you will need to seek a more robust shredder.

The automatic top-loading feature is the reason to purchase the Stack-and-Shred, but it too has some limitations. The top loader supports 8.5 x 11-inch paper or smaller, so if your law office uses legal-size paper this is not your shredder. The top-loader also jams when I attempted to shred folded or crinkled paper, but it handled a mix of paper sizes, from 8.5 x 11- to 6 x 9-inch steno paper to 4 x 8-inch sheets from a reporter's notebook without jamming. And that included some sheets that were affixed with staples and paperclips.

The personal shredder is quiet when in operation. I could shred documents without interrupting a conversation. But when I did, the top-loading feature of the Swingline became the topic of conversation.

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