iFiles – A new way to do files

You know I tend to spend a lot of time digging through new apps looking for bits of gold.  Every once in a while you come across something that is really nice and shiny and looks promising, but is it?  I’m going to tackle the main issue I see with this app at the end.  Right now let’s go through all of the cool stuff.

Add Menu

The heart of this app is file management and storage.  I have to say that it is very well endowed to do this.  It has all of the bells and whistles needed for the task of files management.  I’m rather impressed.  It’s all packaged nicely with some well thought out features and options.  Just the use of the word “root” for the starting directory appeals to the computer geek in me.

WiFi Connect

I’m having trouble figuring out where to start since there are so many features.  I think I’ll talk about getting files to the phone for now.  The main way to get a new file onto the device is using you’re computer, Mac or PC.  You connect using the IP address of the iPhone or Touch while it is on the same network as the computer.  Once connected you’ll see the same files and folders that are viewable on the device.  While connected you can upload new files, create folders and delete files/folders.

File Options

You can also ‘import’ files already on the device like music, movies or photos.  The problem here is that you can only import a single file at a time.  I think there should be an option to import the full library, if possible.  I figure if you can import the files one at a time there should be a way to do a folder at a time.  Plus I’m not completely sure if the app is duplicating the files into another storage area in your device.  If so this will really eat up the storage.

Settings Screen

There is a third way to get some files onto the device.  Within the app you can take a photo, video, write a note or record some audio.  So you have a multitude of options for getting files to manage.

Once you have these files on the device, what next?  Well, you can send them via email, zap them via bluetooth or Wifi to other iFiles running devices, or view them.  This app has an impressive list of file viewing support, including PDF, DOCX, and PPTX files!  Oh, I almost forgot you can ZIP or unZIP files too!  All of this and you can password protect the app.

Here’s the problem that I see.  Storage space is a big deal on these devices, while this app gives you the much needed ability to control that a bit more,  there is a negative.  You could end up eating some of the storage with files that you wouldn’t normally keep on there just because you can.  For example, I bunch of PDF files on there so that I would have them with me at all times.  There goes 100+ megs, doesn’t seem like much but all of this can add up.  Here’s my point, you can store and view most of these files with something like Dropbox and keep it all off device.  I’m going to be hard pressed to really store a lot on a device that could be lost.  Maybe I’m just paranoid.

Cost: $1.99

What I thought in a nutshell!
Use-ability
How user friendly is the app and its interface?
Practicality
How likely is it that someone is going to use it?
Neat Factor
Will this app wow you?

Overall
How did it fair overall?