Don't Buy that iPad Yet!

One of the time-honored traditions of LegalTech New York is the unofficial competition among vendors for the most memorable tchotcke of the year. I can only imagine the conversations of legal technology marketing teams as they try to "outwit, outplay, and outlast" their competitors on the exhibit hall battlefield by offering a giveaway or drawing that becomes the talk of the Hilton.

We got some sneak previews via a highly unscientific poll (two quick Twitter posts and an e-mail query) prompted by JoAnna Forshee's note telling us about RealPractice's offering of free head shots by Joshua Zuckerman Photography (booth #501).

To absolutely no one's surprise, Apple products dominate the LTNY drawings. (Be sure to pick up a copy of the February Law Technology News, and check out our cover story, "Resistance is Futile," about how law firms are finally caving to lawyer demands to use iPads and other "consumer" technology.)

Vendors are offering an iPad (IKON/Ricoh #2014, Aderant #202, MyCase #2406, iConect #1510, Autonomy #110); an Apple Macbook Air (Guidance Software, #220; Digital Reef, #1404); and an iPod nano (Autonomy #110) to entice you to their booths. Already own everything Apple creates? Stop by Wave Software's booth #331 and you'll get a free iPad/iPhone/iPod screen cleaner.

Prefer Kindles? Check out RainMaker Software #130; AlphaLit, #512; or Wave Software #331.

Other freebies (via giveaways or drawings) include:

• "Neat, sturdy foam gliders in celebration of our AirMail2 launch," Doc Solid #315.
• Footballs, eLitigation Solutions,#2105.
• 18 holes of golf at a course of your choice: D4, #1402.
• Bose QuietComfort Headphones, Nexidia, #2221.
• Stuffed monkeys, Business Intelligence Associates, #1301.
• Pez (Star Wars, Toy Story, Disney Fairies, Marvel Heroes, and Homer Simpson), Cole Valley Software, #210.
• Gumballs -- and an Xbox 360 with Kinect, a Flip MinoHD, and a Kindle. Kroll Ontrack #216.
• "Blinky" items (they light up), Edge Legal Marketing -- Monday night cocktail party.

Finally, if you are willing to walk around with a CaseCentral promotional button, you might be picked to win a $100 bill. "Everyone loves Ben Franklin," explains Chris Beahn, director of product marketing for CaseCentral, #307.

 

LegalTech New York: Editors' & Bloggers' Breakfast

Editors' Breakfast: We are happy to announce that we will be hosting our traditional Editors' Breakfast, on Tuesday, Feb. 1, from 8-9 a.m., in the Petit Trianon room of the New York Hilton, as part of LegalTech New York.

It's a great opportunity for vendors, consultants, freelancers, and lawyers with an interest in writing to meet many of ALM's national editors, including many of our Law Technology News team.

Immediately following the editors' fete, Jill Windwer and the Law.com team will welcome legal bloggers (from 9-10 a.m.) for their annual meet-and-greet networking opportunity.

It's free, everyone is welcome. We hope to see you there!

One Laptop Per Child

Consultant Anne Kershaw, a co-founder of the e-Discovery Institute, is raising support for "what was once a radical idea for eliminating poverty -- portable education in a box, called One Laptop per Child."

OLPC distributes rugged, internet-connected, educational laptops (that don't need electricity) to kids. (Check out this video.) "Education is key to the elimination of poverty, and providing these laptops to poor children is an ingenuous and effective way to provide education in environments that otherwise have no access to books, research materials, or even classrooms or teachers," says Kershaw. "When children have access to this type of tool, they get engaged in their own education. They learn, share, create, and collaborate. They become connected to each other, to the world, and to a brighter future."

To learn more or contribute, visit www.laptop.org.

Check out Kershaw's recent article, "Crash or Soar," in LTN, and an LTN Video about the new publication, the "Judges' Guide to Cost-Effective E-Discovery."

Windows 8?

More reports about the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, from my colleague Brendan McKenna, LTN's news editor (while I'm hunkered down with the LTN magazine launch):

Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO, described what some are calling "Windows 8" (O.K., everyone is calling it that but the CEO himself, who referred to it as "the next generation of Windows"), according to the Forward Thinking blog from PC Mag.com.

  Ballmer (right)  highlighted some of the planned features of Windows 8, saying that it "would support ARM-based chips from Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments; as well as traditional and SOC versions of chips from Intel and AMD" and will run "on ARM-based chips for the first time (as well as on x86 cores from Intel and ARM)."

However, despite murmurings from the press, it seems unlikely that Windows 8 will see the light of day in 2011. So for now, Ballmer also went out of his way to extol the virtues of  Microsoft's current operating system, Windows 7. He again repeated the oft-heard refrain that it was one the most successful launches in history, and continued by cheering that "20 million people are running the Internet Explorer 9 beta; 500 million people have now downloaded the latest version of Windows Live; and 20 million people have used the Office Live applications."

Ballmer also took some time to discuss future upgrades to the new Windows phone, and said it was faster than any other platform. But, he continued, "Microsoft's biggest challenge was showing the phone to more people ... 9 out of 10 Windows Phone customers say they would recommend the phone." The blog post goes into much more detail about where things stand for Microsoft at the beginning of 2011, but in summary: Windows 7 is a hit, Windows 8 may be on its way in 2012, and the new phone has visibility issues.

Ballmer's CES keynote video

Here Comes Verizon (Whooppeee!)

Because I've been immersed up to my eyeballs in deadlines for the soon-to-be-unveiled revamped and redesigned Law Technology News magazine, I haven't had a moment to post. But I was very happy to FINALLY hear that Verizon will soon sell iPhones. I've been coveting iPhones for years (my entire family, including my 83-year-old mom has one) but ALM is a Verizon customer — and I don't want a fifth phone number, so I have resisted. However, once I got my iPad late last year, my tech lust kicked into high gear! 

So I turn the mic over to my colleague, LTN's news editor Brendan McKenna, who's got the exciting news:

Verizon announced Tuesday that it will begin selling the iPhone 4 on Feb. 3 for current customers and on Feb. 10 for new Verizon subscribers. The price for the device appears to match that of rival AT&T — $199 for a 16 GB iPhone, $299 for the 32 GB version.

There are differences between iPhones sold at the two companies. For one, at Verizon, the phone will run on the CDMA network vs. AT&T's GSM network. The CDMA network doesn't allow access to the data plan during calls. The significance of that missing capability may be lost on some folks; the most common gripes with AT&T seem to be about call quality and browsing speed. It's also curious that the phone is not LTE — which stands for Long Term Evolution, as in the effort to develop a 4G network standard — considering the December announcement that LTE phones were coming to Verizon in 2011.

Another potentially significant difference, according to commentators during the Verizon launch announcement, is the antenna design. Jason Chen of Gizmodo.com wondered if the infamous iPhone antenna problem would be resolved in the Verizon version, and asked, "Verizon employees, or anyone with the phone this week, please try the death grip ASAP and let us know." We will have to wait and see.

Interestingly, the Verizon version of iPhone can serve as a portable wi-fi hotspot, as well, and can link up to five devices. This means it also comes with built-in Verizon apps, a state of affairs some users may find unfortunate.

Data plans and other details have not yet been announced, but one thing is certain — the bitter battle for cell phone supremacy continues between AT&T and Verizon, and time will tell who the victor is for Apple's affections -- and customers. And what will happen to phones operating on Google's Android operating system: Will they be overshadowed by the Verizon iPhone or will they continue to thrive?

More iPhone Verizon coverage:

Will the iPhone Crush Verizon's Network? - Gizmodo.com

Verizon Will Offer the iPhone Next Month - The New York Times

Will Verizon's iPhone end up ruling the market at the expense of Google's Android operating system? The idea that Android acquired some market share only because Apple limited the sale of iPhone to AT&T is an interesting, but evidence seems to suggest that Android will continue its upward trajectory. For example, Google and Android were everywhere at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

One paragraph, from ars technica story, really caught my eye:

Android's maturity as a smartphone operating system and relatively ubiquitous availability on comparable hardware from a wide range of manufacturers is starting to make it difficult to produce truly distinctive Android handsets. Hardware makers will have to start looking for new angles and new areas where they can innovate around the platform in order to continue differentiating their Android-based phones.

What the article seems to suggest is that Android itself is fueling competition among the dozens of manufacturers of phones that run that operating system. It's not just about the phones anymore, but rather, how the handsets can be manipulated to maximize Android. It has become an industry in its own right — no doubt this will continue to fuel app growth, and the more competition means that Apple could one day be left behind on the cutting-edge technology front.