iPad Lawyer News – 11/29/2013

Good morning, iPad Lawyer Tribe –

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and you know what that means . . . DEALS. Let’s jump right in.

I’ve talked about Readdle’s Calendars 5 before. I love the user interface and the integration of reminders/tasks with the actual calendar view. My only challenge with this app is the current inability to add invitees. The simple workaround for those of you who need to add invitees is to edit the entry in the native Calendar app. Calendars 5 is normally $6.99. Today it is only $2.99. You save $4.00.

App store link: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/calendars-5-smart-calendar/id697927927?mt=8

Publisher link: http://readdle.com/products/calendars5/

For a more comprehensive task management, calendar, contacts, and notes option, take a look at Pocket Informant Pro. Normally this is $8.99. Today it is only $6.99. You save $2.00.

App store link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocket-informant-pro/id380732176

Publisher link: http://webis.net/pocket-informant-pro/

One of my favorite PDF apps is PDF Expert. In fact, this is the app that I use for my electronic/digital signing needs. Normally, the app is $9.99. Today it is only $4.99. You save $5.00.

App store link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pdf-expert-fill-forms-annotate/id393316844

Publisher link: http://readdle.com/  

If you’re not using some form of relationship management app, you are really missing out on some great opportunities. The only app I use for this is Contacts Journal CRM. Normally, this app is $9.99. Today it is $5.99. You save $4.00.

App store link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/contacts-journal-crm-professional/id327685977?mt=8

Publisher link: http://www.contactsjournal.com/

You’ve already seen two apps from Readdle. Here’s a third – Scanner Pro. For those times when you need to turn your iPad into a scanner, you should check this out. Normally, the app is $6.99. Today it is $2.99. You save $4.00.

App store link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scanner-pro-by-readdle/id333710667

Publisher link: http://readdle.com/

I’ve mentioned Recorder Pro before for those times when you need to turn your iPad into a dictating machine or capture audio. Normally, this app is $1.99. Today it is $.99. You save $1.00.

App store link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/recorder-pro-professional/id573445641?mt=8

Publisher link: http://www.recorderpro.perceptionsystem.com/

There you go . . . $20 in savings today! And all of these are truly great apps.

One more thing, if you haven’t done so already, now’s the perfect time to sign up for my FREE teletraining class that is coming up:

https://theipadlawyer.wordpress.com/free-tele-training/

This will be a 60-90 minute tele-class on December 12, 2013 at 6:00 PM Pacific.

During this groundbreaking call I’ll teach you ALL the latest and greatest in the time we have together, including:

•    The APPS YOU NEED to use to save time and manage your law practice (these are the exact apps that I use)

•    How using social media from your iPad will make you APPROACHABLE and help you STAND OUT from your competition (most attorneys don’t do this!)

•    An overview of my iPad Success System™ (THE FORMULA I USE to determine which apps, accessories, and workflow systems will be put to work for me)
•    My secret to going paperless (this is what has allowed me new FREEDOM and CONNECTION with my office, my clients, and my SANITY)

No go out and make it a marvelously productive day! – Scott

iPad Lawyer News – Some Spectacular Apps on Sale – 11/27/2013

Good morning, iPad Lawyer Tribe –

Happy Wednesday, everyone. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the United States. Thanks to each of you for being part of an amazing journey and for your continued support of my projects.

I’m sure you’re all looking for something to do over the Thanksgiving break, so here are some apps to keep you busy . . .

1Password is THE password manager and secure personal information storage app that I use all the time. Normally, this app is $17.99. Today, it is $9.99. You save $8.00.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/1password-password-manager/id568903335

Publisher Link – https://agilebits.com/onepassword

Noteshelf is still my favorite handwriting capture app for the iPad. It’s elegant, easy to use, creates great looking digital notes, and the resulting PDFs are small in size. Noteshelf is normally $8.99. Today, it is $4.99. You save $4.00.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/noteshelf-notes-pdf/id392188745?mt=8

Publisher Link – http://www.fluidtouch.biz/noteshelf/

If you’ve been to one of my recent live events, you’ve heard me rave about and demonstrate Prizmo. This app is a universal photo-based scanner app that lets you scan and recognize text documents, business cards, and images, and then export them as PDF/Text, vCard, or JPEG/PNG. And it will read text to you! Normally, this app is $9.99. Today, it is $4.99. You save $5.00.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prizmo-scanning-ocr-speech/id366791896?mt=8

Publisher Link – http://www.creaceed.com/iprizmo/about

There you go . . . $17.00 in savings!

And in case you haven’t done so already, remember to sign-up for my upcoming, complimentary teletraining. Here’s the link: https://theipadlawyer.wordpress.com/free-tele-training/

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. – Scott

iPad Lawyer News – FREE Teletraining and App Updates – 11/26/2013

Good morning, iPad Lawyer Tribe –

Happy Tuesday, everyone. We’re coming up on the holiday season and everyone’s busy. Let’s jump right in with some important news and app information.

POWERFUL FREE iPAD TELETRAINING

Just a reminder that I have a FREE teletraining class – “Stop Losing Time and Money – MASTER Your iPad and Take Your Law Practice to THE NEXT LEVEL!” – coming up DECEMBER 12, 2013 AT 6:00 PM PACIFIC | 9:00 PM EASTERN.

During this groundbreaking call I’ll teach you ALL the latest and greatest in the time we have together, including:

•    The APPS YOU NEED to use to save time and manage your law practice (these are the exact apps that I use)

•    How using social media from your iPad will make you APPROACHABLE and help you STAND OUT from your competition (most attorneys don’t do this!)

•    An overview of my iPad Success System™ (THE FORMULA I USE to determine which apps, accessories, and workflow systems will be put to work for me)

•    My secret to going paperless (this is what has allowed me new FREEDOM and CONNECTION with my office, my clients, and my SANITY)

You must sign up in order to get the call-in information. Here’s the link:

https://theipadlawyer.wordpress.com/free-tele-training/

FREE MICRO-TRAINING

The FREE MICRO-TRAINING tab on The iPad Lawyer blog site enables you to get 12 FREE iPad training videos just for being a subscriber to this blog. If you’re not a subscriber, you won’t be able to access the free videos. To subscribe, just look at the top left portion of any page on https://theipadlawyer.wordpress.com and you’ll see a place to sign-up. If you’ve received this blog article in your email inbox, don’t worry, you’re already a subscriber.

APP NEWS

I’ve mentioned Sketchbook Pro before. It’s one of my favorite drawing apps for the iPad. Normally, the app is $4.99. Today, it is $3.99. You save $1.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sketchbook-pro-for-ipad/id364253478

Publisher Link – http://www.sketchbook.com/

There are a couple of audio/recording apps to mention today. The first, is AudioNote. This app lets you synchronize both your typed/handwritten notes and audio so you can return to a specific part of a recording by going to the written note, itself. In other words, each note is linked directly to the point at which it was recorded (and you can add notes later). You can also watch and listen as your text, drawings, and photos highlight play back. AudioNote is normally $4.99. Today, it is $1.99. You save $3.00.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audionote-notepad-voice-recorder/id369820957

Publisher Link – http://luminantsoftware.com/

Our second recording app is Recording Pro. Of most importance for me, this app lets you record in MP3 format. You can also share your recording by email. The app is normally $1.99. Today it is FREE. You save nearly $2.00.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/recording-pro/id523581445?mt=8

Publisher Link – http://www.atwin.cn/

That’s it for today. Remember to sign-up for my upcoming, complimentary teletraining. Here’s that link again: https://theipadlawyer.wordpress.com/free-tele-training/

And have fun with the apps I highlighted as you continue to take your iPad use to the next level!

Now go out and make it a powerfully productive day! – Scott

Creating To-Dos that Actually Work: An Email to Evernote Workflow (Part 1)

Creating To-Dos that Actually Work: An Email to Evernote Workflow (Part 1)

by

Scott J. Grossberg, Esq.

Imagine, for a moment, receiving an email, finding a bit of web research or information, or coming up with a brainstorm idea and you want to turn that data into an instant reminder that you’ll actually look at later. What do you do now? Well, most of you (1) flag the email note or (2) create a separate task item in your Outlook program or (3) write something down on paper. My own research has shown that most of you, after doing one of these three things, then forget about what you flagged, entered, or jotted down. What you’re doing now is neither effective nor efficient. What if, instead, you had a way to take any information and create a to-do item that compels you to follow up? And what if you could do so with a simple email? In fact, you can even create the to-do item at the same time you are replying or forwarding an email to someone else.

Many of you who have attended my live iPad events have heard me talk about my workflow for creating massively powerful to-do lists. Today, I’m going to walk you through the precise technique. Before we actually get into the technique, you will need two apps for your iPad. One you already have – your email program. The other is Evernote. Don’t worry. You can get a free account at http://evernote.com. For those of you who might have visited Evernote in the past, Evernote released Evernote Reminders in May and it now allows you to create in-app and email alarms, note-based to-do lists, and you can pin a note to the top of the program’s note list. It is this powerful Evernote update that we will be using.

So . . . on to the BASIC SETUP . . . and don’t worry, this only needs to be done once (and if you want to take this to the next level, let me know because there’s even more that can be done with this type of programming).

STEP ONE. Sign up for Evernote. It’s free.

STEP TWO. Download the Evernote app at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/evernote/id281796108. It, too, is free.

STEP THREE. Log in to Evernote from your desktop version or using your browser on your desktop or iPad. If you are using the desktop app, go to ACCOUNT INFO. If you are using the web version, go to SETTINGS. Locate your private Evernote email address.

STEP FOUR. Create a contact entry for your Evernote email. For example, in Contacts create the following: FIRST NAME: Evernote-John LAST NAME: Doe. Under the email address, enter the information from Step Two.

STEP FIVE. On your iPad, you will be creating a keyboard shortcut that looks like this “@fu.” That shortcut will create the following expanded text entry: “! @Follow-Up.” I’ll explain how to use all this later. For the moment, just create the shortcut by doing the following:

(1) Open SETTINGS
(2) Tap on GENERAL
(3) Tap on KEYBOARD
(4) Tap on SHORTCUTS
(5) Tap on the plus sign (+) at the top of the screen
(6) Under Phrase, type “! @Follow-Up” (without the quotation marks)
(7) Under Shortcut, type “@fu” (without the quotation marks)
(8) Tap SAVE.

STEP SIX. Now you are going to create a Notebook in Evernote called, “Follow-Up.” While you can create a Notebook from the iPad app, it’s actually easier to do so by using your desktop program or the web application. Let’s use the web application for this.

(1) Open EVERNOTE
(2) Find the tab on the left that says, “NOTEBOOKS”
(3) Click on the small DOWN-ARROW ICON just to the right of that title and a “New Notebook . . .” message will appear
(4) Click on NEW NOTEBOOK
(5) When the “Create a New Notebook” screen appears, type in “Follow-Up” under the Notebook Name box
(6) Click SAVE.

STEP SEVEN. You don’t have to do this, but you can also set up TAGS in Evernote so that you can actually organize/filter/access your Follow-Up notes with even more precision. For example, you could create a tag for each employee in your office, a particular case, or create distinctions between personal and work entries. To create a Tag of your choosing:

(1) Open EVERNOTE
(2) Find the tab on the left that says, “TAGS”
(3) Click on the small DOWN-ARROW ICON just to the right of that title and a “New Tag . . .” message will appear
(4) Click on NEW TAG
(5) When the “Create a New Tag” screen appears, type in the name you would like to use
(6) Click SAVE.

That’s it. You’re all set up to work some magic . . . which I’ll share with you next time!

If you enjoyed this, I’d be grateful if you share this with others. That’s right, go ahead and help spread this information by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. And, if you’re interested in finding out how I can make a presentation to your law firm or association, please contact me at 909-483-1850 or email me at sgrossberg@cgclaw.com.

© 2013 by Scott Grossberg. All Rights Reserved.

Mr. Grossberg is a founding partner of the Southern California law firm of Cihigoyenetche, Grossberg & Clouse. He is a featured speaker and published author on numerous topics including media relations, social media, technology, public speaking, memory, and various other cutting edge concepts. Mr. Grossberg’s “iPad Lawyer” and “Million Dollar iPad” seminars provide business professionals with the ability to truly harness the potential of Apple’s tablet. He is regularly called upon to address the impact of emerging technology and social media, suggest policies and procedures that should be in place, and to discuss liability exposure for this new way of doing business. He can be reached at sgrossberg@cgclaw.com.

iPad Lawyer News – 11/20/2013

Good morning, iPad Lawyer Tribe –

I’ve hinted at this for some time. Now, it’s FINALLY time for you to have the news ahead of the rest of the world. So . . . if you take a look at the top menu bar you will see a tab entitled *FREE TELETRAINING* – “Stop Losing Time and Money – MASTER Your iPad and Take Your Law Practice to THE NEXT LEVEL!” – that I want you to click on. You get to be one of the first to sign up to join me for a FREE 60-90 teletraining event on December 12, 2013 at 6:00 PM Pacific | 9:00 PM Eastern. This is going to be some amazing FREE training filled with iPad tips, tricks, and techniques that will help you be massively SUCCESSFUL with Apple’s magical tablet.

Moving on to apps, for those of you who want to take your audio recording on the iPad to a more professional level, take a look at Recorder Pro: Professional Voice Recording On-The-Go. Normally, the app is $1.99. Today it is only $.99. You save $1.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/recorder-pro-professional/id573445641?mt=8

Publisher Link – http://www.recorderpro.perceptionsystem.com/

Finally, for those of you who want to explore an alternative office suite for wordprocessing, spreadsheets, and other types of document handling, you might want to look at Documents 2. It’s not as full-featured as other apps. But, today it is FREE. You save nearly $4.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/documents-2/id313005710

Publisher Link – http://www.savysoda.com/

Now go out and make it a powerfully productive day! – Scott

iPad Lawyer News – 11/8/2013

Good morning, iPad Lawyer Tribe –

There are two exciting app deals for you TODAY and one update to an app I use all the time! Let’s get started . . .

There are ONLY two handwriting apps that I use on my iPad and Noteshelf is one of them. Of the two I use, Noteshelf’s user interface is my favorite. And, from what I have been able to test, the PDF that is created from any of your notes in this app is actually smaller in size than the other option. Normally, Noteshelf is $8.99. Today it is only $4.99. That’s nearly a 50% reduction and $4.o0 savings for you.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/noteshelf-notes-pdf/id392188745?mt=8

App Publisher Site – http://www.fluidtouch.biz/noteshelf

Do you ever need to sketch, draw, or paint something? Well, Sketchbook Pro is THE app for you. Many of you at my live events have seen some of the creations I’ve made with this app. Normally, Sketchbook Pro is $4.99. Today it is reduced to $3.99. That’s a $1 savings for you.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sketchbook-pro-for-ipad/id364253478

App Publisher Site – http://www.sketchbook.com/

I know that I usually post about apps that have gone free or have reduced prices, but I wanted you to also know about a new version of the project management app that I use – SG Project. It is $9.99. Here are some of the features of the program:

• Create multiple projects quickly and switch between them
• Create tasks with a start date and duration for each
• Schedule projects using 3 built-in work schedules
• Rearrange project and task rows using standard iPad gestures
• Set Start Date, Duration, People, and Percent Done for each task
• Table and Gantt task schedule views with zooming and scrolling
• Share and back up data easily using Dropbox

For those of you who need to carefully manage the details of any goal, I heartily recommend this app. (How much do I rely on this app? Well, this is THE ONLY APP I use to schedule all my litigation cases going to Trial.)

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sg-project/id373004554?mt=8

App Publisher Site – http://www.simplegeniussoftware.com/sg-project-ipad.html

Now go out and make it a powerfully productive day! – Scott

iPad Lawyer News – Apps | Apple Seminars – 11/7/2013

Good afternoon, iPad Lawyer Tribe –

I know that many of you love to use OneNote for capturing and creating notes on your desktop. Well . . . the app version is available today for a $14 discount. That’s right. Outline+ is only $.99 TODAY! I’ve had this app on my iPad for quite some time. Now it’s your turn.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/outline+/id538029496

Publisher’s Link – http://outline.ws/

I’ve talked about inShort before. The publisher describes this as: “This program allows you to build diagrams of processes and monitor their execution. As a rule, tasks do not exist on their own, they are usually interrelated, and the best way to show this is to build a diagram of processes.” For me, inShort allows me to create a very visual way of explaining how things have to happen and options that are available. It’s kind of like a flowchart on steroids. Usually inShort is $8.99. Today it is $6.99. A $2 savings.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inshort/id423213182

Publisher Link – http://www.shortki.com/

Connection Storymaker app fascinates me. It is a way to kickstart your storytelling (presentation). For me, this is a way to give some structure to a thought or overall persuasive argument that I might not otherwise have considered. Ordinarily, this app is $.99. Today it is FREE.

App Store Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/connection-storymaker/id697184730?mt=8

Publisher Link – http://www.cnxnstory.com/

On the seminar front, it looks like I will be appearing for Apple in Newport Beach at its Fashion Island Briefing Center again in the second week of February. The week following that I will be up in San Francisco and Palo Alto for Apple, as well.

Finally, just a little teaser . . .  and I’m REALLY excited about this. I have a new tele-training coming out in December. It’s going to be 60-90 minutes with you and me on the phone and we’ll talk about nothing but making the iPad an immediate and necessary part of your success toolkit. I’ve never offered this before. But, it will be right around Thanksgiving and it’s my way of saying “thanks” to  all of you and giving back. Did I mention it’s going to be FREE? Stay tuned . . . .

Now go out and make it a powerfully productive day! – Scott

iPad Lawyer News – iPad Air Review | Apps | Apple Seminar Update – 11/3/2013

Good afternoon, iPad Lawyer Tribe –

For those who missed my prior comments on the new iPad Air, here they are in ONE place:

iPad Air First Impressions – This is incredibly lightweight and sleek. It has a smaller footprint than older models. So, in addition to being thinner (you’ve probably seen the “Hide Behind a Pencil” video), it is also about 3/4 inch shorter in width. The length remains the same. What this means for those of you who are upgrading from prior models: you will need a new cover, folio, or keyboard. I got the the space grey/black color scheme and LOVE IT. I have told many of you, in my live events, that I have moved to the iPad Mini for my reading because of weight and size. The iPad Air will likely move me back to using the iPad Air for EVERYTHING! Very impressed so far. Thanks to the Apple Business Team for ALL your hospitality and customer service this morning!
Here is a picture of the width difference between new (top) and old (bottom).

iPad Air Further Impressions – This is incredibly lightweight and sleek. It has a smaller footprint than older models. So, in addition to being thinner (you’ve probably seen the “Hide Behind a Pencil” video), it is also about 3/4 inch shorter in width. The length remains the same. What this means for those of you who are upgrading from prior models: you will need a new cover, folio, or keyboard. I got the the space grey/black color scheme and LOVE IT. I have told many of you, in my live events, that I have moved to the iPad Mini for my reading because of weight and size. The iPad Air will likely move me back to using the iPad Air for EVERYTHING! Very impressed so far. Thanks to the Apple Business Team for ALL your hospitality and customer service this morning! – For those of you who want an iPad Air cover with keyboard flexibility/option, you might want to consider the ZAGGkeys Folio Case and Bluetooth Keyboard. It is $99.99 at BestBuy. The iPad Air fits snuggly into a snap-on cover and, most importantly for me, permits FAST and EASY removal of the iPad Air, itself. This was a challenge for me in the past with other Zagg folio keyboards and what made me change to the freestanding Zagg keyboard for the last iPad generation. This keyboard also permits you to use a variety of viewing angles.

One word of warning: this keyboard/folio adds substantial weight to the MAGICALLY lightweight iPad Air.

If you want to use the iPad Air in portrait mode (short end at the top/bottom), you can simply lean the iPad Air against the lid.

Best of all, the keyboard is LIGHTED!

My local BestBuy had these in stock TODAY. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/zagg-zaggkeys-folio-case-and-bluetooth-keyboard-for-apple-ipad-air-black/1712904.p?id=1219062285111&skuId=1712904&ref=06&loc=01&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=1712904&extensionType=%7Badtype%7D%3A%7Bnetwork%7D&s_kwcid=PTC%21pla%21%7Bkeyword%7D%21%7Bmatchtype%7D%21%7Badwords_producttargetid%7D%21%7Bnetwork%7D%21%7Bifmobile%3AM%7D%21%7Bcreative%7D&kpid=1712904&k_clickid=7c219e13-aa81-6489-3a02-0000506be1e7

iPad Air Follow-Up – The whole new look and weight of this iPad is spectacular! It also seems to respond and run apps quicker. I really like the fact that the overall size is smaller/thinner without sacrificing screen real estate. Many have written me and asked if they had to choose either the iPad Air or the iPad Mini which should it be?

Well, GET BOTH.

They both serve a different purposes for me. However, if I HAD to choose – it would now be the iPad Air to be my all-around mobile device. If all you need is something to read on and play games, then the iPad Mini might be sufficient for you. The same goes for those keynote/presenter friends of mine (as the audience won’t be able to tell the difference from the projection).

When making your decision, I would rather see you spend the money on MORE MEMORY than on the cellular version. There’s plenty of Wi-Fi around and you can always use your phone’s mobile hotspot (if you have one).

I am also really liking this new ZAGG iPad Air keyboard. It’s very responsive, thinner than other keyboards . . . black! The pseudo-leather exterior seems very durable and easy to clean. The keyboard is well lit. For those of you who’ve used ZAGG keyboards before, the upper shortcut keys are slightly in a different order but that’s easy to get used to.

OVERALL RATING: The iPad Air is a WINNER!

Let’s talk about APPS.

For those of you who want an all-around, powerful day planner for your iPad – one that combines contact, reminders, notes, and your calendar in one place AND an app that puts your reminders ON your calendar, look no further. Pocket Informant Pro is the app for you. Normally, $12.99, it is only $8.99 today. That’s a $4.00 savings.

App Store Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocket-informant-pro/id380732176?mt=8

Publisher Link: http://webis.net/pocket-informant-pro/

How would you like to control your desktop computer from your iPad? Well, I paid money for this app and now it’s FREE. Actions for iPad is a way for you to interact with your desktop or laptop from your iPad. Normally the app is $3.99.

App Store Link: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id564645608

Publisher Link: http://getactionsapp.com/

Finally, I was supposed to be appearing for Apple November 5 in Century City. Because of the new release of the iPad Air, Apple asked that I continue my presentation into December. I will post a new date once we coordinate something. Thanks to all of you who already indicated you would be coming to Century City for this. Don’t worry, the wait will be WORTH IT. I have lots of new stuff to share with you!

Now go out and make it a powerfully productive day! – Scott