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Category: Productivity
Seller: FileMaker, Inc.
Requirements: iPhone OS 2.2 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 3.1MB
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
Price: $4.99
Age Rating: 4+

Bento for iPhone should cost $15 more than it actually does. It doesn’t feel like an app, it feels like a program. Like software. Like something you’d buy in a box off a shelf at a store. It’s an app that makes me feel foolish for not trying its Macintosh predecessor earlier.

Or, maybe that’s inaccurate. Bento for the Mac is FileMaker’s database option for the masses. It’s not nearly as robust as FileMaker itself, but it offers more than enough functionality to keep most users happy without forcing them to learn how to program their own databases; you spend more time organizing and less time preparing. But my problem with such programs has always been that if I’m at my computer, I’m already close to that information. Phone numbers, my to do list, finance sheets, a catalog of my DVDs and books…everything’s already in another program or just sitting there on the shelf.

Bento for iPhone changes that. Now, all of this information can be with me wherever I have my iPhone, conveniently stored under one app. Contacts? Appointments? Deadlines? Yes, this can all be easily accessed in Bento. Of course, this can all be easily accessed in other iPhone apps, some of which came with the iPhone or can be downloaded for free (or certainly less than $4.99). So, why Bento?

Because Bento does so much more. Your book and DVD library is with you everywhere you go. Holiday shopping lists for when you’re at the mall. Recipes at the grocery store. Exercise log at the hotel. These aren’t things you would need on a desktop, but are great to have on your iPhone and iPod touch under one program.

You can set up such databases directly on the iPhone with Bento, as 25 predesigned templates are included, some more useful than others. To create one, you simply tap the “New Library” icon and the select the template from the “cover flow” style display. This can be frustrating, however, as cover flow only slows things down, and the touch sensitivity was oddly unresponsive at times. I’d often have to swipe my thumb across the screen multiple times to make it flow, and it would then scroll right past the template I wanted. A simple list would’ve sufficed.

A Blank option allows you to create a database from scratch, but it’s a bit cumbersome and limited in what it can do. Rather, the ability to customize the templates already provided will hopefully satisfy your needs, because it’s much less time consuming and easier to manage. For instance, going back to that holiday shopping list, there’s no need to create a new database from scratch. Instead, just add a checkbox to the contact template. Now, each contact will display that checkbox, and when you’ve purchased the appropriate gift, check it off. Done.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a way to update my contact list imported from Address Book. This is a major limitation, as recreating a contact list just to add a couple fields would be a huge time waster. If there is a way to do this, then I couldn’t figure it out, which leads me to my next problem; the UI is quite messy. The row of buttons across the bottom is pretty clear, but moving within them to find what you need and to display the information how you want could be handled better. At times, I didn’t know if I couldn’t make edits because it was impossible to do so or if I just didn’t know how to get to where I needed to be. A couple weeks of use will help alleviate this issue, but be prepared for confusion until you reach that point.

Bento is worth the $4.99 on its own, but it becomes much more useful if you have Bento 2 for the Macintosh. After going through the complicated process of trying to create or edit Bento iPhone templates, I quickly switched over to taking care of this on the Mac, then synching the changes with the iPhone. This is handled over WiFi, not the dock connector, which, again, is unnecessarily limiting. Why not both? Hopefully, FileMaker will soon include dock synching or a Bluetooth option for those who don’t have a wireless network.

You should also understand that not everything from Bento 2 for Mac can be synched with Bento for iPhone. A full list of items that are not synched at all or synched for viewing only (not editing) can be seen at the FileMaker website. If you delete fields from the template on your Mac, those templates will remain in the template on the iPhone. This isn’t a problem, really, but if you will have to do the work twice if you want to keep things need and tidy.

Worth mentioning, too, are iCal events and tasks. This has been a complaint of mine since the iPhone was released, as I’m baffled as to why the iPhone OS doesn’t allow synching of something as basic as the iCal To Do list. Not even Apple’s own Calendar for iPhone can read the iCal To Do list. I mean, we can put a man on the moon, right?

With Bento, though, who needs that damn To Do list in iCal? I manage that all entirely in Bento, and it’s perfect for synching between the computer and the iPhone while staying within an app that also allows me access to my calendar and contacts. And did I mention that you can e-mail or call these contacts using a simple tap from within Bento? Well, you can.

It hasn’t quite gotten there yet, but as I move more information to it, and if they release more templates, Bento will easily become the most important app on my iPhone. There are glitches that need addressed and the UI needs simplified, but these don’t take away from the app’s power and capabilities. If you have Bento 2 for Mac, you need Bento for iPhone. If you plan to use Bento as a standalone iPhone app, it’s still worth the $4.99, but, like me, you’ll really be looking forward to v2.