Less Functionality in the iPad is Better for Lawyers

Now that is a linkbait blog title if I’ve ever written one…But I think it is accurate.

It isn’t a novel concept to suggest that having fewer choices is better than having more. Much has been made (including by me) about the ostensible limitations of the iPad and I’m sure more will be revealed once we get the device in hand. Notwithstanding, I think the iPad will succeed as both a consumer and work device in part because of its shortcomings.

The limitations of the iPad, iPhone and similar platforms force software designers to make choices that developers for a desktop platform aren’t faced with (or at least not as regularly). The feature set in a device like the iPad or the iPhone must necessarily be limited by screen size, processing power, available buttons and the like. Indeed, many modern and successful SaaS products are built on the theory of this kind of simplicity. Where these omissions might be a problem for someone who conducts scientific experiments or edits motion pictures, I think missing features are actually a boon to lawyers.

Consider what lawyers do and how they use tools to do it. In terms of computing devices, how lawyers use them can generally be summed up in a pretty short list:

• send and receive emails
• write and read documents
• use the Internet
• talk

More features don’t help lawyers – they probably even hurt. Consider the proliferation of writing applications like WriteRoom. Gone are rows of toolbars and buttons leaving only text – the stock in trade for many lawyers.

When you need to work, you close your door, shut off your phone and simply concentrate on moving the cursor to the right. In most instances, a light and deliberately chosen feature set will better help you accomplish your task than multitasking and Flash. This isn’t to say that extra features wouldn’t be enjoyed, but they certainly aren’t even in a top ten list of needs for most work a lawyer would typically do away from the desk – or even at one.