The Wallet for your Mac and iPhone

I’m on a crusade today. Synchronization. No, not backup syncs. That’s a given. You should be backing up your Mac’s critical files all over town. To another hard disk, to a DVD, online, somewhere. The sync I mean is between your Mac and your iPhone. One year after the iTunes App Store launched, there are about 70,000 apps, utilities, and games for the iPhone—far more than for the Mac. Yet, only a handful synchronize data seamlessly between Mac and iPhone. Wallet is one.

Seamless

One of the hallmarks of the iPod and iPhone’s success is the seamless integration between the devices and your Mac or PC. It’s easy. Plug it in and click (or not, depending on your configuration).

The synchronization is superbly simple. And, assuming you’re backing up your Mac, all of what is on your iPod or iPhone is safe and secure. So, what’s the problem?

The problem is basic when it comes to sharing data between applications which run on your Mac with those that run on your iPod touch or iPhone. iCal, Mail, AddressBook get synced, either directly or via MobileMe.

What about other Mac apps and utilities you know and love? Wouldn’t it be great to have what’s on your Mac also sync with the little brother version on your iPhone?

It’s happening more, but needs to be universal.

My Wallet

I use a Mac utility called Wallet. It holds stuff that I don’t want to have to remember.

Think of Wallet as your own flexible, personal database. Besides web passwords, serial numbers, and credit cards, it can be used to keep almost any sort of data you can think of! Domain names, grocery items, locations of Wi-Fi hotspots, etc. are just some of the various items you can keep in Wallet.

In other words, Wallet holds those secretive pieces of information you usually don’t want to share. Hence, Wallet is secure on your Mac.

Wallet employs 256-bit AES encryption to lock and secure your database – the de facto standard in encryption technology.

Some of us, myself included, really hate to keep sensitive and important information on a notebook computer that could easily be snatched in an office or from your backback or briefcase when you’re not looking. It’s also easy for someone to walk by your Mac while you’re at lunch and pilfer what you want secret.

There are plenty of additional security-related features you can opt to use in Wallet. Have Wallet automatically lock itself after a certain period of time, or when your computer goes to sleep. Easily clear the clipboard after use (useful after a day of copying and pasting passwords!). Or take a look at the Access Log to see if anyone else has been snooping around.

Good so far, right? But that kind of secret, important information is just the kind you also want to have handy, in your pocket, when your Mac is not around. That’s what the iPhone is all about.

Wallet in a Pocket

Would it be cool to have Wallet in your iPhone, too? And have it sync with your Mac? And have it secure from prying eyes? That would be the iPhone version.

Wallet for iPhone isn’t shy on features – we’ve included all of the core functionality of the desktop version. Create, edit, and remove both groups and entries. Search instantly for any entry. Password protect and sync with the desktop.

So far, so good, right? Wallet uses MobileMe to seamlessly sync data between your Mac and iPhone. What if you don’t use MobileMe? The iPhone version also syncs manually, not automatically, between your Mac and iPhone using a local WiFi network.

There are other applications and utilities that are getting on Kate’s Synchronization Bandwagon™. 1Password, the ultimate Mac utility for storing passwords, also has an iPhone version which syncs via WiFi. I’m still looking for a good checkbook utility for my iPhone which syncs with my Mac.

The future is seamless data synchronization between Mac and handheld device. Wallet is available now. Others will follow.