Technology

Apple's iPad Brainwashing Spell Seems To Be Wearing Off

Here is a rundown of the pros and cons of different tablet devices for lawyers, from tech columnist Jeff Bennion.

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I was helping out a friend the other day pick out a tablet for work. She just wanted to be able to read PDFs and e-mail on it. She didn’t want to spend a lot of money. I told her to get a 7” Android tablet for $150 or possibly a Windows 8 tablet for $250 that has an active stylus that docks in the device. Someone else told her that she had to get an iPad. They are great for lawyers and very easy to use. When she asked him what it does that the Android at one-third the cost does not do, he had no answer. Then he chimed in that iPads are just very easy to use and they are great for lawyers. My friend ended up going with the iPad, because how can you argue with that logic?

I was an early adopter of tablet computers. I think I bought my first one in 2003. I could never really get into the iPad, though. After I wrote an article about the life cycle of technology, Cracked.com Editor-in-Chief Jack O’Brien asked me to co-write an article with him about the iPad release. As I’ve written here before, it’s just always seemed like a mediocre device. When it first came out, it was probably the best tablet available. Now, five years after its debut, that is clearly not the case. Wired.com recently posted two articles about how unimpressive iPads are: “How the iPad Went From Massive to ‘Meh’ in 5 Short Years” and “Nobody Knows What an iPad Is Good for Anymore.” The one thing iPads are good at now is being middle-of-the-road devices. There are certainly much cheaper devices without all of the bells and whistles, and there are much more powerful tablets with a lot more practical uses than an iPad.

I realize that different tablets are good for different groups, so here is a rundown of the pros and cons of different tablet devices for lawyers:

What’s Out There

iPads: They run about $400 to $500.

Android Tablets: They range anywhere from $49 with 7” screens to almost $700 with 12” screens.

Windows 8 tablets: These range anywhere from $199 up to $1,700. The high-end tablets, like the Surface Pro 3, can be full desktop computer replacements.

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iPads – For Lawyers Who Consume Info on the Go

Every tablet is going to let you read e-mail and view PDFs. iPads differ because they have a great selection of legal apps, such as Black’s Law Dictionary, TrialPad (trial presenation software), JuryPad (to help in voir dire), and E-discovery Assistant (an excellent resource for e-discovery laws, local rules, and rulings by specific judges on e-discovery issues).

iPads also have great hardware. They are fast and responsive. The problem with iPads is that they have limited options to connect to other devices. There is no USB port, so you cannot plug it into a printer or a scanner. You cannot connect an external hard drive to it or even a flash drive. There are no external memory cards. Having a USB port is also handy if you want to charge a phone while you are traveling or somewhere without an outlet.

In sum, iPads are great for reading things, but have limited options for connectivity and storage.

Android and Window tablets – For Lawyers Who Need More Options

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I have a Surface Pro 3. It is a very powerful tablet that is a replacement for a full desktop computer. It has all of the processing power of a desktop computer, but the size and convenience of an iPad. Since it has external ports, I can connect external monitors and devices to it.

If I were just using a tablet as a quick, on-the-go reader, I could go with a much cheaper tablet running either Windows 8 or Android. I would use the Adobe Reader app and transfer files either using a thumb drive or Dropbox. The bottom line is that you have hundreds of options with Windows 8 and Android devices depending on how big of a screen you need and how powerful of a processor. With iPads, you basically only have a choice between the big one or the small one. If you don’t need the specific legal apps that are available only on an iPad, get a much cheaper Android or Windows 8 tablet.

Conclusion

Having just returned from LegalTech New York, I saw a lot of neat advancements for using tablets in the law office. If you are thinking about getting a tablet or upgrading your current tablet, be aware that there are many options these days other than iPads.

Jeff Bennion is a solo practitioner from San Diego. When not handling his own cases, he’s consulting lawyers on how to use technology to not be boring in trial or managing e-discovery projects in mass torts/complex litigation cases. If you want to be disappointed in a lack of posts, you can follow him on Twitter or on Facebook. If you have any ideas of things you want him to cover, email Jeff at jeff@trial.technology.

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