Hot Products 2008

By Tom McNichol

More than anything else, 2008 was the year of the Mac (and you thought it was the year of the Rat). With the release of Apple's long-awaited iPhone 3G and improvements to the MacBook Pro laptop, Apple's Mac OS has arrived as a serious platform for business--the one market segment in which the company traditionally has lagged. Apple also dominated the U.S. retail market for high-end computers in 2008, selling two out of every three computers priced over $1,000. (The MacBook Pro retails for $1,999 to $2,799, depending on the size of the hard drive and display.) Mac's overall share of the U.S. computer market is now estimated at 13.8 percent, up from 9.5 percent a year ago.

The latest MacBook Pro has everything you'd expect from a top-of-the-line laptop: ultrafast Intel Core 2 chips that are 74 percent faster than the original MacBook Pro's, plus a power-saving backlit wide-screen display. The improved trackpad features the same multi-touch sensitivity that the iPhone has, letting you pinch, swipe, or rotate images or files simply by moving your fingers.

The faster, and now cheaper, iPhone 3G is also a true "upgrade," at $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. 3G is the third-generation mobile phone standard, superseding the slower 2G that was built mainly for voice and data, not for broadband applications such as video. 3G has been the standard for several years in Japan and Korea, but U.S. phone companies (including AT&T, the iPhone's carrier) are only now upgrading to handle it. The faster 3G network means significantly faster downloads, as well as video feeds that aren't nearly as jerky as those displayed on the first iPhone. And 3G makes it easier to multitask: You can surf the Web even while you're on a call.

With access to a speedy network, Microsoft Exchange server email, and a wide array of third-party software you can download directly from Apple's iPhone App Store, the iPhone 3G is the cell phone business folks have been waiting for. And like the original model, its ultra-cool design makes it the BMW of cell phones, sending a message to the world that you know what you're doing--even if you don't. (Especially if you don't.)

Software developers have come up with several handy iPhone applications customized for the practice of law. Among the best is Bill4Time Mobile (www.bill4time.com), which lets you enter and track billable time and expenses while on the go. With Bill4Time Mobile, you don't have to sync your iPhone to the office computer--all data is wirelessly uploaded to Bill4Time's servers. You access all the features and reports of the Bill4Time application from any Internet-connected computer--Windows or Mac--needing no special software or setup. The mobile app offers flexible options for billing, such as letting you define a specific hourly rate or a combo platter of hourly, flat-fee, and contingency billing rates. A reports library visible on your PC lets you see your firm's total billable time so you can quickly determine who is and isn't billing his or her share of hours. For one to six users, Bill4Time costs $39.99 per user, per month; additional users cost $19.99 each per month.

The only consistent complaint business users make about the iPhone 3G itself is that its battery is surprisingly feeble. And power attorneys who spend long mornings downloading case files and making lengthy calls to clients may find they need to recharge by lunchtime. Thus, just like a law firm's lowest-ranking partner, the new iPhone's battery is the thing most likely to be replaced during the next shake-up.

Escape from Printer-Cartridge Captivity
If you've ever bemoaned the high cost of inkjet printer cartridges, you can blame King Gillette, who patented the disposable safety razor in 1901. Gillette pioneered the "loss leader" business model, the concept of charging an extremely low price for one item (a safety razor) to generate a continuous market for another, high-margin disposable item (the replacement blades). Inkjet printer manufacturers have adopted Gillette's razor-sharp strategy by practically giving away their printers, safe in the knowledge that they'll make a killing over the years by selling dozens of expensive ink cartridges. Hewlett-Packard, for example, makes more than $10 billion annually from ink-cartridge sales alone.

One way to soften the blow of "consumables," as they're called, is to invest in one of the new, moderately priced multifunction monochrome laser printers. A black-and-white laser printer can cut costs in a law office that cycles through scores of black inkjet cartridges--some of which must be swapped out after just 170 pages. With a laser printer, you still have to replace the toner and the drum occasionally, but only every 20,000 pages or so. And laser printers aren't as expensive as they used to be: Both the Brother DCP-7020 Multifunction Laser Printer and the Dell Multifunction Laser Printer 1125, for example, are available for less than $200, and can be ideal for small or solo practices needing a low-cost machine that can perform a variety of tasks. Both the Brother and the Dell machines can print, copy, and scan; the Dell also sends and receives faxes.

Easy Listening
One of the more technically elegant products to hit the shelves over the past few years is noise-canceling headphones, which let you listen to music or a recorded deposition while you're in a noisy environment, such as an airplane or train. Noise-canceling headphones reduce unwanted sounds through electronic circuitry that generates a sound wave with the opposite polarity of the noisy sound wave. The two opposing sound waves smash into each other like two cars colliding on the freeway, annihilating both--and eliminating the offending background noise.

Until recently, the chief drawback of noise-canceling headphones has been price; not too long ago a decent pair would set you back $400 or more. Top-of-the line models are still pricey, but lately many have come down in price: the Bose QuietComfort2 Noise Canceling Headphones, the industry standard, now retail for $299. But this year several moderately priced noise-canceling headphones were introduced. The Etymotic hf5 Earphones offer excellent sound quality at a great price, about $149. They're earbud headphones, rather than the tin-cans-on-the-ears style common with more expensive noise-canceling models. Etymotic includes a set of replacement filters, which are small cylinders inserted in the earphone opening to smooth the frequency response and keep the earpiece clean.

Noise-canceling earphones let you listen to sound in the noisiest of travel environments. On an airplane, you can plug them into the earphone jack at your seat and actually hear the dialogue and sound effects of the in-flight movie. And because the earphones cancel out competing sound, you can keep the volume of your sound track low, which gives your ears a break.

Going Green
In 2008 everyone also jumped on the "green" bandwagon--which itself turns out to be a low-emission vehicle. The dirty little secret of the high-tech industry, however, is that computer technology is, well, very dirty. Disposing of electronic waste is an environmental nightmare, because computer monitors contain lead and other heavy metals, while laptop and cell-phone batteries contain toxic metals that can leach into the water supply.

You can green up your computer use somewhat by investing in a Smart Strip (www.smarthomeusa.com), a tricked-out power strip and surge protector that costs $43.95 and automatically cuts off power to electronic devices and peripherals that aren't in use. That saves a surprising amount of energy, because most modern electronics don't actually turn "off," but rather operate in a standby mode that continues to suck up electricity. The maker of the Smart Strip claims that the product pays for itself in electricity savings in six weeks.

You can pair the Smart Strip with a Power Cost Monitor ($134.95) from the same manufacturer. The clock-size display tells you at a glance how much electricity your office is consuming--currently and cumulatively for a given period of time, in dollars and cents and in kilowatt hours. As you turn on or off various electronic gizmos in your office, you will be able to see the adjustment right away on the display. You can calculate exactly how much electricity is gobbled up by, say, your fax machine and then make smarter choices about when and how you deploy your electronics.

If you really want everyone to know that you're greener-than-thou, the ProFolio Juice Bag (www.rewarestore. com) should prove it. The solar-powered attaché/laptop bag can recharge portable electronics, including PDAs, cell phones, and digital music players. It's covered with solar panels composed of flexible film cells a hundred times thinner (and lighter) than standard silicon cells--so the Juice Bag is surprisingly lightweight, weighing a mere three pounds.

At an introductory price of $299, the solar bag connects to your electronics via a built-in adapter, and it can recharge most devices in two to four hours.

Of course, people may ask you, "Hey, how come your laptop bag is always sitting in the sun?" This gives you the perfect opportunity to brag about your teeny-weeny carbon footprint. And luckily, such hot air doesn't seem to contribute significantly to global warming

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