The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/27607
“iOS does not support the Flash Video player, which is used to stream deposition video on-demand.” Samsung’s Galaxy Tab is smaller, lighter and has an entirely different form factor from the iPad — and a good form it is. It seems much better suited to a two-handed grasp for “thumb typing,” which is possible on the much heavier iPad only if you have fairly large hand mitts on and you rest the device on your lap. As far as speed, memory, brightness, battery life and Wi-Fi-cellular capabilities, the two are more- or-less comparable. Showtime? When considering using a device for live presentations, there are a number of software options including PowerPoint and Keynote for graphics, GoodReader for storing and displaying PDFs, and Evidence and Trial Pad for making presentations. But software isn’t the issue right now in presentation. Getting these tablets to throw a video signal consistently is the main concern. Apple makes a VGA “out” connector for the iPad, but beware; iOS4 does not provide full mirroring. It does support a video signal out via API handler that must be written into specific applications. Keynote, for example, has one that works well. And while the Samsung supports 720p out via composite, I couldn’t find a standard VGA connector out, so seemingly the configuration to make it work is to get the Galaxy keyboard dock with and HDMI port, but I cannot confirm this actually works. There is clearly a demand from presenters who have gotten used to watching the CNN-style touch and swipe, but the tablet is not yet the way to achieve that. Apps and Software: Get To The Cloud! To legitimately consider these tablets for business purposes, Cloud-based (Internet) applications are a must. I tested a wide variety of productivity applications, including Nextpoint’s own products, and one thing became increasingly clear; Internet- based SaaS applications, many optimized for mobile devices, outdid all comers. 48 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer If you’re not already using Cloud-based applications, realizing the efficiencies of a tablet is difficult, if not impossible. Some of the legal-focused applications that are Cloud-based and can run on tablet devices include: timekeeping and invoicing, marketing and CRM (Total Attorneys and Salesforce), document management (NetDocuments, Box.net, and Dropdox), deposition transcript applications (Trial Cloud), review and litigation databases (Lexbe, Discovery Cloud), trial presentation (PowerPoint Live, SlideRocket, and Trial Cloud) and general business productivity including word processing and spreadsheet. If you’re not currently on the Cloud, true productivity choices are limited at best. Microsoft compatibility, such as you would expect from operating systems from Apple and Google, isn’t ideal. Apps in Action Applications on the devices can be accessed in two ways: launched via individual apps downloads from the “apps markets” popularized by the iPhone, or SaaS applications accessed via the built-in browsers (Safari for iOS4, and a WebKit-based browser for Android). Apple support for iOS is great in the iWork suite and the same is true of Android support for Google Apps. Something to note is that if your firm is using Google Apps, support is better in iOS than Android’s support for the iWork suite, which is practically non-existent. I tested Trial Cloud’s deposition transcript, video, and document review tools and was very impressed with the results. Reading documents and executing keyword searches of depositions were a snap, and scrolling dynamically through multipage documents worked well. A significant issue to note is that iOS does not support the Flash Video player, which is used to stream deposition video on-demand. Flash, however, is supported in the Android OS, where you can use a Wi-Fi connection to stream deposition video to the tablet. You can see my test at www.youtube.com/ Nextpoint12.