The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/4983
www.iltanet.org 54 Peer to Peer The Pure, being WM, has a large application base, though it tends to be more on the expensive side and not necessarily very accessible. I will say that the apps written for WM devices are polished and stable. I have seen very few truly horrible, third- party apps for the WM platform. Like the WM platform, the BlackBerry offers a number of available applications. The recent release of the App World has tried to copy the iPhone App Store, but the number of apps in the App World is nothing compared to the App Store. The BlackBerry applications are fairly stable. Going back to the Java OS, you'll get the occasional script error, but when you incorporate professionally created applications, the BlackBerry remains solid. Overall, the type of application is very important in this category. The open systems aspect of the Android platform has many thinking that the potential is limitless. What the iPhone has proven is the market demand drives the development. With Apple selling nearly four million devices in less than a month and Android numbers in the thousands, would developers really spend time to create an app to support both? From an ROI discussion, it makes sense to focus on the iPhone. This is the same problem that affects the BlackBerry. Development began slowly, primarily due to the developers' kit being clunky. Again, this is where Apple was smart. Development for the iPhone is simple to learn, and even a beginner can have a basic app ready to go in about an hour. Palm offers the developers' kit and, considering the webOS, promises to be as easy to deploy as iPhone apps. Palm also offers an Apps Store–like environment. In the end, it will all come down to demand. The iPhone has the upper hand in this area, and a firm competitor is nowhere in sight. There are apps from Autonomy iManage, LexisNexis, Carpe Diem and numerous case file and statute apps are available and specifically focused on legal enterprise applications. In addition to these obvious apps, there are a number of simple productivity apps. A great resource for apps, as they apply to the legal world, is Jeff Richardson's blog www.iphonejd.com. Jeff is an attorney with Adams and Reese LLP. His blog focuses on lawyers using the iPhone in their lives and business. While I have not been able to find a similar resource for any of the other devices that specifically targets the legal world, there are many sites dedicated to specific applications for legal use. Just google "BlackBerry lawyer," and you'll see many choices. Most legal specific vendors offer BlackBerry options exclusively for the time being. The client-server construct provides a much more robust capability for data availability and operability.