Most lawyers today know what BlackBerrys and equivalent smartphones are, but the vast majority ignore

This paper is a supplement to Dave Bilinsky’s article “10 Critical Issues for the Legal Profession” that appeared in the Summer 2008 issue of LAWPRO Magazine. This paper, the article, and other supplemental content is available for download at www.practicepro.ca/criticalissues1Ubiquity is near by Domenic JaarToday, most lawyers and professionals know what BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm and other equivalent smartphones are. However, the majority ignore the possibilities inherent in these devices. Most use only the basics that come bundled with them: phone, email, calendar, contact, an 80’s arcade game and maybe some cheesy ringtones. In fact, nowadays, smartphones are almost like computers. However, contrary to Windows that provides you with a basic version of most software you need to use on your computer, smartphones makers don’t provide you with document editing, presentation, spreadsheet or remote desktop software. On the other hand, many third parties have created applications that do just that! Before looking at the software you want on your smartphone, let’s make sure you have the smartphone you really need and the necessary peripherals. What hardware do you need? 1. The Smartphone Basically, a smartphone is a marriage between a classic cell phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA), i.e. an email client, a calendar, a contacts list and an internet browser. The most well-known smartphones run operating systems from Palm, Microsoft (Windows ...