tech tip

Essential smartphone apps for lawyers

It seems like only yesterday that lawyers one time plus $3.99 per month for Maps and mobile apps who frequently travelled outside their synchronization: www.xobni.com) • Google Maps and Google Latitude offices were beginning to appreciate how (BB, iP, And): Google Maps is better much of an essential tool a cellphone could Lawyer tools than the BlackBerry Maps app and be. And now, smartphones allow lawyers • Documents To Go (BB, iP, And, Pre): helps you find your locations, get to do just about everything they already On top of letting you view PDF files, directions, see traffic and use your do on their laptop or desktop computers. this app makes your BlackBerry a mini smartphone like a GPS. And if you install and enable Latitude, you can The BlackBerry is currently the most computer by allowing you to view, edit track a smartphone user online. popular smartphone for lawyers, although and create Word, Excel and Where is that darn associate? (Free: it is facing stiff competition from the PowerPoint files. While possible, it www.google.com/mobile/maps/) iPhone. However, the Android and PalmPre is just not practical to create long are also viable options and offer apps that documents on tiny screens and • Opera Browsers (BB, iP, And, Pre): The are not available on their more popular keyboards, but it can be a lifesaver if BB browser is slow, clunky and often brethren. you need to make minor edits. The doesn’t render sites properly. Opera is newest Blackberry version has a file one of the more popular alternatives. Out of the box, most smartphones include synchronization feature that lets you (Free: www.opera.com) powerful , contact and calendaring move documents from your computer functionality. But there are thousands of onto and off of your Blackberry. • Dial2Do (BB, iP, And, Pre): Not really a other available smartphone apps, including ($49.99 www.dataviz.com ) phone app per se, but you do use your a broad selection of lawyer-specific apps phone! Set up an account and then that can help with productivity and just • Scan2PDF (iP, And): Take a picture of call Dial2Do. The service allows you to about everything else lawyers might want a document or photo and have it dictate a short message which is to do while away from their desk. converted to a PDF file via the web. Not transcribed and sent to email contacts, for confidential documents, but a great , rememberthemilk and Google Some of the apps are available in versions way to grab a copy of something you calendar. (Free Dial2Do reminders that will run on different types of smart- find. ($14.99 www.burrotech.com) only, or $39.00/year or $3.99/month for phones; others are only available for a the full service: www.dial2do.com) single type. The following is a list of my • RememberTheMilk (BB, iP, And): favourite smartphone apps available as Never forget anything again with this • Skype (iP): Make free or very cheap noted for the BlackBerry (BB), iPhone (iP), amazing free online to-do list that can calls on your iPhone using VOIP (voice Android (And) and/or Palm Pre (Pre): be updated and accessed from the web over Internet protocol). It is particular- or your smartphone. Get reminders by ly useful when you are traveling email, SMS or umpteen other ways and E-mail apps internationally and have Wi-Fi access share your to-do lists with others (Free: • Gmail (BB, iP, And, Pre): The Gmail as you can talk to any user on Skype www.rememberthemilk.com) smartphone app is simple to use and for free to landlines for pennies per gives you full access to your Gmail • Timr (BB, iP, And): Nice little online minute. This is also currently available account, including all your contacts and time tracking and driving log applica- on Blackberries on the U.S. Verizon attachments. (Free: mail.google.com) tion. The app connects to your online network – hopefully it will come to account where you can set up multiple Canada soon. (Free: iTunes) • Xobni (BB): Xobni is a popular MS users, multiple clients with multiple Outlook plugin that is now available • FedEx Mobile (BB, iP, And, Pre): Do “projects” or files and multiple tasks. for the BB. It gives you a completely you need to create a shipping label When you “start” an event on your different view of your contacts list by while you are away from your desk or phone, the system starts tracking your ranking them by the frequency that out of the office? How about find the time and mileage until you stop it. You e-mail, SMS or call them. For an nearest FedEx Office? With FedEx can edit the information afterwards. additional subscription fee, you can also Mobile, it’s all just a click away! The (Free to $215 for enterprise version: synchronize the mobile app with your FedEx Mobile website can be accessed www.timr.com) Outlook Xobni contacts. ($9.99 for at mobile.fedex.com on your mobile non-synchronization version or $6.99 browser. There is a FedEx app for iPhone users only. (Free: iTunes) © 2010 Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company. This article originally appeared in LAWPRO Magazine 2“20098 in Review,” May/June 2010 (Vol. 9 no. 1). It is available at www.lawpro.ca/magazinearchives tech tip

Social networking apps Utility and hardware apps • (BB, iP, And, Pre): The • AppBoxPro (iP): An amazing multi- Facebook mobile website isn’t too bad, function app that includes a currency but the Facebook app is much better converter, date calculator, translator and is a must for anyone who needs to (text), tip calculator, international keep up with all their Facebook friends. holiday calendar, unit converter, battery (Free: www.facebook.com/mobile ) life meter, and 10 more functions. I wish it would run on my BlackBerry. • OpenBeak , formerly TwitterBerry ($0.99: iTunes ) (BB) and UberTwitter (BB): For BlackBerry users, both are decent • Dragon Dictation (BB, iP). The magic tools for keeping up with tweets of Dragon comes to your smartphone. and sending a few of your own. Dictate some text and Dragon will UberTwitter has many more features, transcribe it into an email message, but will only download a handful of tweet or other text field. Accuracy • UPS Mobile (BB, iP, And, Pre): Track tweets at time. OpenBeak is simpler, is surprisingly good and errors are your courier packages even when you but will download all tweets since the easy to correct. are moving around as much as they last update allowing you to read them on (Free: www.dragonmobileapps.com ) are. (Free: www.ups.com/mobile ) a subway or airplane. (Both are free: • Smrtguard (BB, And): Ever misplace • Poynt (BB) A neat little local search http://orangatame.com/products/ your phone? Smrtguard tracks the app that, based on your location, openbeak and www.ubertwitter.com ) location of your phone and allows you provides a directory search of local • Twitterific (iP): While there are actu - to locate your phone online, send an businesses and people, a list of ally many Twitter apps for the iPhone, audio ping that will make your phone restaurants with links to reviews, and Twitterific is the most popular because ring and lock it remotely – all in the movie listings and reviews. Poynt it has a simple-to-use interface and free version. The pay version will information is available for Canada, advanced functions for power users. additionally allow you to back up and the U.S. (Free: www.poynt.com ). ($14.95: www.iconfactory.com ) to wipe data from your phone remotely. • Cortado Flight Mode (BB): Get your (Free and $44.99 a year for pay version: • Twidroid (And): The best Android app BlackBerry ready for take-off with just www.smrtguard.com ) for posting tweets, following your one click. Turn this app on and it groups and accessing Twitter. (Free and • Berryweather (BB): In addition to downloads all message texts that have Pro $4.99: www.twidroid.com ). the standard current conditions and not yet been completely retrieved, and forecasts, it allows you to see weather then turns off all your wireless connec - • Vlingo (BB, iP, And, Pre): Instantly info from multiple locations, set up tions. This puts all your e-mails in their send a text or email message, call a custom radar maps and create a full length at your disposal during friend, search the Web, update your “homepage” that will display current flight so you can effectively use the time Facebook or Twitter status, create a weather conditions. (Free and $6.99 for to work. After landing, the deactivated “note to self” and more by speaking to more features: www.bellshare.com ) connections are just as easily re-estab - your smartphone. Vlingo Everywhere, lished. (www.cortado.com , $2.99) a new feature of Vlingo 4.0, lets you use • CarFinder (BB, iP): Yes, because your voice to add text anywhere you’d sometimes you just can’t remember • Viigo (BB): Bring the world to your normally type, including instant where you parked the car. (Free for BB: BlackBerry. If information is out there messaging, calendar entry, adding $0.99 for the iP at www.neosistec.com ) on the Web, Viigo will collect and contacts, getting directions and more. download it to your BlackBerry. The It also recently added a “Safereader” list goes on and on: Weather, sports, function that reads incoming to business & finance, local interest, you. Great if you are waiting for a shopping, social networks, entertain - particular email while you are driving. ment , flights & travel, audio & podcasts (Free for basic and $9.99 for more and so on. (Free: www.viigo.com ) advanced features: www.vlingo.com ) 29