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Presented by "conservative but reasonable" estimate of time billed, a lawyer would charge about $1,700 to do what Fired Without Cause does for $60. If the discrepancy is small enough between what the employer has offered and what Fired Without Cause calcu- lates the courts would likely award if the employee sued — and it could be as little as a week's pay, $500 on average, says Cheng — it wouldn't make economic sense to hire a lawyer. "Try us first," he proposes. "If your gap turns out to be two or three months [pay], then, yeah, go to [a lawyer]. We think this is beneficial for lawyers. It prequalifies clients, so they know their case is worth pursuing." As of this writing, it's not clear how HTC MAGIC M ost lawyers will likely stick with their BlackBerrys for mobile computing and telephony, but it doesn't hurt to know about alternatives. The latest mobile fl avour of the month: Android. Android is the open-source mobile operating system commercialized by Google. Earlier this year, Rogers launched two new Android phones from HTC Corp. The Dream features a touchscreen interface plus a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The Magic is an iPhone look- alike. Both are 3G phones that take advantage of the fastest data rates on Rogers' network. And both are priced at $100 with a three-year contract, $600 with no contract. Like all Android phones, they make it easy to use Google applications while you're mobile, applications such as the search engine (linked from the phone's home screen), Gmail (Google's web-based e-mail service which also includes a contacts database), Google Calendar, Google Maps, and YouTube. It can even synchronize Google's calendar, contacts, and e-mail with your fi rm's Microsoft Exchange server. We recently had a chance to test the Magic model. It features a very slick touch- screen interface — almost as good, arguably better in some ways than iPhone's — plus a high-resolution 3.2-inch (diagonal) LCD screen and all the usual bells and whistles: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity, GPS, built-in 3.2-megapixel phone, and a microSD card slot (storage capacity up to 8GB for $50) . The Magic works great as a phone and as a hand-held computer. It's particularly eff ective when running Google applications such as YouTube. But bottom line: it ain't an iPhone. The interface lacks some of iPhone's grace notes, such as the music carousel feature. And the Android version of Apple's App Store includes fewer add-on applications. It's also not a BlackBerry. It lacks the slick, push e-mail that ensures you get mes- sages on your mobile almost the minute they arrive at your fi rm's or the BlackBerry server. — GB www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com SEPTEMBER 2009 27 ntitled-6 1 the profession or consumers will respond to Fired Without Cause. Will Cheng's argument for a complementary role fly? Might lawyers like Zubas start sending prospective clients to the site as a way of pre-qualifying them? The questions might all be academic. The product had launched commercially only the week before we spoke to Cheng. About 80 consumers tried it during a six- month beta testing period. Response, according to Cheng, was "phenomenal." But how many will find it now and be will- ing to pay? That remains to be seen. Gerry Blackwell is a London, Ont.-based freelance writer. He can be reached at gerryblackwell@rogers.com HEALTHCARE M&A FORUM September 9 – 10 | Atlanta EMPLOYEE TERMINATIONS September 14 – 15 | Halifax September 21 – 22 | Ottawa September 28 – 29 | Calgary ABORIGINAL LAND FORUM September 14 – 15 | Vancouver COMMERCIAL INSOLVENCY September 14 – 15 | Calgary DRUG DELIVERY SUMMIT September 21 – 22 | New Jersey E-DISCOVERY and E-DOCUMENTS September 30 – October 1 | Halifax October 19 | Montréal B.C. NATURAL GAS FORUM September 30 – October 1 | Calgary MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT September 30 – October 1 | Toronto ATLANTIC CANADA POWER October 5 – 6 | Saint John ADMIN PROFESSIONALS October 5 – 6 | Vancouver ENTERTAINMENT SUMMIT October 19 – 20 | Toronto CLINICAL TRIALS October 19 – 20 | Toronto INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS October 19 – 20 | Toronto CFO SUMMIT October 21 – 22 | Toronto E-HEALTH October 21 – 22 | Halifax October 26 – 27 | Calgary ABORIGINAL LAW October 26 – 27 | Toronto Media Partner ENROLL TODAY! 1 888 777-1707 www.insightinfo.com 8/10/09 10:24:27 AM Gadget Watch