FileMaker, the personal-database software company (Santa Clara, California-based company) a subsidiary of Apple, on Tuesday launched a portable version of Bento for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch through Apple's App Store.
According to the company, the $4.99 application allows users to organize recipes, to-do lists, projects and event planning. For business users, it organizes expenses, inventories, time billing, and customer lists.
Information can be added into Bento's 25 templates, or users can create their own forms to organize any data on the iPhone or iPod touch, according to FileMaker.
Bento also allows users to select from 15 data types, including text, numbers, address, phone numbers, and instant-messaging accounts, and works with existing iPhone apps, including Contacts, Google Maps, Mail and Safari.
While Bento can be used as a standalone app, it can also synchronize wirelessly with Bento 2.0v4 for the Mac, a free update to desktop software that can be downloaded by Bento 2 for Mac users.
The synchronization allows users to update information edited on the Mac or mobile device. This ability for mobile applications to provide native synchronization to the desktop will prove to be a key differentiator in the market. This will make the apps more likely to be welcomed by the consumers.
While Bento for the iPhone and iPod Touch is only available in English and its templates are created in English, Bento for iPhone does support input in several languages and can be synchronized with Bento 2.0v4 for Mac in any language.
Templates in the localized versions of Bento 2.0v4 for Mac are available in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Dutch.
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