During the past year, many clients and potential clients have asked me about Amicus Mobile & Windows Mobile smartphones - I had to tell them that I didn't know much about either! My clients know that I have been a loyal Palm user for many years, and I have helped many Amicus users with their Amicus - Palm links (from V4 to Amicus Small Version 2008).

Well, you may be surprised to hear that I finally took the plunge. I am now using a Samsung i760 smartphone, and while I am still learning all of the features, so far I really like the phone. The article below tells more about why I made the change, and the process that I went through during this journey.

In future newsletters, I will continue to update you about my journey, and give you valuable tips similar to the Palm tips I have given in the past.

Don't forget about the newly released At A Glance Guide for Amicus Attorney Small Firm 2008. Read on for more information about this new guide, and about how to order.

Amicus Mobile - My Journey from a Palm Treo to a Samsung i760 Smartphone

Why Did I Switch?

A few months ago, a long-time client of mine called me to discuss his upcoming move - he would be sharing office space with another attorney. We met in September 2008, and I began to plan the entire project, from their purchase of a new server and three new computers to an Amicus upgrade for one user, and 3 new licenses. My client was ready for the upgrade, and very excited about using Amicus Mobile.

I started the project in October 2008, working with Chuck, my network consultant. Over a long weekend, Chuck setup the server while I set up the workstations. Then we installed Amicus on the server and workstations, but decided to wait for a while to get Amicus Mobile installed. I wanted my client and the other users to get comfortable using Amicus, before introducing Amicus Mobile into the scene. And besides, I still hadn't used Amicus Mobile myself yet. I was still using my Palm!

I decided I needed some help getting started, so I put out feelers to other Amicus consultants. David Giuffrida from Canada offered his help, and I called him one day to pick his brain. I had a list of questions, and as soon as I asked the first one, he went on to tell me all of the things that we needed to do to get started.

What Did We Need to Change?

Static external IP address - my client had one already, but I did not, because of the price.
- David helped me set up a free service that gives your LAN a static IP address.
Cell phone with Windows Mobile (OS 5 or 6) - both my client and I have been faithful Palm users, but we were both ready to take the plunge.
- I contacted two other Amicus consultants and found out that they both really liked the Samsung i760 Smartphone. My client was able to get his new phone with his Verizon 2-yr replacement program, but I had recently upgraded my phone, so I turned to eBay. A new i760 phone was $399 - I paid $199.
Microsoft Exchange Server & Domain Name (required for wireless exchange)
- I set my client up with a new domain on Godaddy.com, my current domain host. David helped us both go through the process of forwarding our current email to our new MailStreet account.
- David told us about a great service that allows you to rent Exchange server service for $9 - $20/month, depending on how much space you need.

Initial Observations - the conveniences far outweigh the costs!

Convenience of using Outlook from any computer - and viewing all of your data in real time
- MS Exchange allows you to install Outlook on multiple computers - and view or edit all of your information (contacts, calendar, ToDo's)
- The wireless sync gives you immediate data synchronization in Amicus, Outlook and on your phone
- If you have Outlook on a laptop at a hotel, you may have trouble sending email messages; MS Exchange does not block your outgoing mail server so email can be sent as usual
Cost - initial outlay
- new laptop - I got a great buy on a Lenovo laptop for $999 (my old laptop didn't have enough memory to run Amicus 2008 Premium)
- new cell phone - $199
Cost - additional monthly costs
- $20/mo. - MailStreet
- $30/mo. - data package for phone
- $2/mo. - wireless service on phone

I still do not have my Amicus Mobile working, but my client does. And while he hasn't really delved into the great features of Amicus Mobile, he is very happy already! He had been using GMail, so now he is getting comfortable with Outlook - but he is most happy that everything is automatically synchronized.

Here is what happened to me that really made me realize how great this new system is. I was sitting in my living room working on my laptop. I had just entered an appointment on my phone, and within a minute or two, I heard Peggy's familiar voice from my office "Sorry to interrupt, but you have an appointment soon." I realized that the appointment had already been synchronized to Amicus. I opened Outlook, and sure enough, there was the appointment.

Now I am also getting email messages on my phone. I often thought that I didn't want to do that - because of all of the junk that I get. But there have been many times in the last few weeks that receiving email on my phone has been extremely helpful. And I just ignore the junk until I can delete it in Outlook.

Read on for some great tips about the Samsung i670 phone.

Samsung i760 Tips

Speed Dial - You can program up to 99 different speed dial numbers. The #1 key is reserved for speed dialing voice mail. You can program more speed dial numbers from Phone or from Contacts.

From the Phone, tap Menu, then Speed Dial.
- To edit an existing Speed Dial number, use the Navigation keys to move to the one you want to edit, tap Menu and select Edit. When you are done modifying the number, tap OK.
- To add a new Speed Dial number, tap Menu, and select New. Tap in the 'Enter a name' field and begin typing letters to find the contact. When you find the one you want, tap on the name and the next available Speed Dial location will be selected. If you see a drop-down arrow next to the phone number, you can select a different number for this Speed Dial entry. You can also tap on the up or down arrows to select a different Speed Dial location. When you are done, tap OK.

Customizing buttons - You can customize the three buttons on the right side of the phone to quickly open features of your choice. Remembering that pressing the End button (the Red Phone) will always take you back to the Today screen, here's what I've done to customize the buttons:

Button 1 - Phone
Button 1 Long Press - Calendar
Button 2 Long Press - Contacts
Button 3 - Splash ID (a great database program to store User ID's and passwords) - more about this in the next newsletter

You can use my suggestions, or customize the buttons to other applications.

Tap Start - Settings, then Buttons.
Highlight each button in section 1 and select the program from the drop-down list in section 2.
Tap OK when you are done

Speakerphone - When you are on a phone call where you don't see the Speakerphone option, just press and hold the Send button (the Green Phone). Press and hold it again to turn off the Speakerphone.

Using the Numeric Keypad - Having the numeric keypad is handy for dialing, but even better is that it only functions as a numeric keypad when you slide out the QWERTY keypad. That way, you don't have to use the Fn key when entering mixed alpha-numeric.

Often when trying to locate a contact, I will use the numeric keypad rather than sliding out the QWERTY keypad. After I tap in the 'Enter a name' field, I press each key as many times as needed and use the right Navigation key in between. For example, to type Lori, I press 5 three times, press Right, press 6 three times, press Right, press 7 twice, press Right, then press 4 three times. Sometimes it is faster than sliding out the QWERTY keypad.

Amicus Attorney Small Firm 2008 - At A Glance Guide

The At A Glance guide is a reference guide with over 60 pages of text with full color screen shots. It also contains

a 2-page Table of Contents, an 8-page Reference Section with Special Amicus Icons and Keyboard Shortcuts, and a list of the New Features and Major Enhancements in Amicus Attorney, Versions 5.5 through Small Firm 2008.

The guide covers the modules within Amicus in a reference format (not a step-by-step training manual). This guide is only sold in a PDF format, and you can print as many copies as you want for your users - in full color or in black & white.

The price for 1-6 licensed Amicus users is $150.

The price for 7+ licensed Amicus users is $200.

If you are interested in viewing samples of the guide, click here.

If you are interested in ordering this new guide, and would like to pay by Paypal, click here.

If you would like to order any of our other manuals, or to pay with a check, contact us at 216-373-7788 for assistance.

Tips for Amicus Attorney Premium 2008 users

I've been using AA 2008 PE for over a year now, and I thought I would give you a few tips regarding Firm Settings and Preferences that I have found to be very helpful.

Firm Settings
- People - Group Assignment - I added a new group 'aa-temp to be assigned' - see tip below (Pref - People)
- Files / People / Calendar / Time - customize all of the lists to suit your firm's needs
Preferences - Dailies - make Today's Overview your default, instead of Today's Practice Reminders
- Click on Dailies from the Navigation Pane
- Click on the Tools menu, and select Preferences
- Click on Today's Overview, click on Edit, and click on the checkbox 'Make this page my default Dailies page'
- Click on OK twice to finalize the preference change
Preferences - Toolbars
- From the Office module, click on Tools and select Preferences
- Click on the right triangle at the bottom of the screen to move to the 'My Applications - Toolbars' page. Here are my preferences for the Toolbars:
  - The Amicus Toolbar appears at the bottom of all Amicus modules - selecting the Advanced Toolbar provides more options in the Files, People and Tasks Modules
  - I prefer to see the Floating Toolbar, but I only include the Timer and Tasks icons; Timer icons - Create a new time entry, List today's Time Entries, Start/Stop the Timer, and View Time Entry Details; Tasks icons - New Phone Call, New Sticky, and New Event

Toolbar Preference

Preferences - People
- Display - I find it easier to view the contact list when it is sorted by last name (Last, First, Middle)
- New Entries - Group Assignment - select the group 'aa-temp to be assigned' for each new people record - assign someone to periodically sort the People list by 'Group', press 'a' to view all unassigned people - and assign new group(s)

More tips in the next newsletter.

Miscellaneous Tips

Google search - when doing a search for specific types of files, you can select Advanced Search, and select PDF (or another file type) from the drop-down list which will significantly reduce the number of search results. (submitted by David Giuffrida)

Outlook addressing - filling the TO field in an Outlook email. As you start to type the email address, the Autocomplete function in Outlook suggests any email addresses you have typed in the past (whether you typed them incorrectly or not). Another method is to type a few characters of the addressee's name and press [Control] K. If you do that, Outlook accesses the Contacts module and shows you contacts that match. Then you can select the one you want. (submitted by David Giuffrida)

Software Promotions (until the end of December, 2008)

Prospects - All Amicus prospects are being offered a 20% discount on Amicus Attorney 2008 Small Firm Edition, Amicus Attorney 2008 Premium Edition and Amicus Accounting licenses. This offer is valid to new customers only.

Existing Customers - All Amicus Attorney customers (excluding Amicus Small Firm customers) are being offered a 20% discount on Amicus Accounting 2008 licenses.

Productivity Consulting clients - we are offering a 10% discount on all software upgrades and additional Amicus licenses.

Call 216-383-7788 for more information about any of these promotions.

Sincerely,

Lori Berenson
Productivity Consulting