Appletell review – FileMagnet for iPhone/iPod touch

Provides: Wireless data storage and file viewer
Developer: Magnetism Studios
Minimum System Requirements: iPhone firmware 2.0+
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 0.7MB
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1

FileMagnet is a wireless data storage app for iPhone and iPod Touch. It is one of a few applications that share many of the same features, but the same purpose—to store and view files on your iDevice. But is FileMagnet the best choice among these apps?

I’ve reviewed DataCase in the past, so this isn’t the first file storage app that has graced my iPhone. DataCase is an amazing app, there’s no question there. But FileMagnet does essentially the same thing for less, has unique features, and outperforms DataCase in some circumstances.

Features are where an app gets to brag, so let’s start bragging about what FileMagnet has.

• Viewable file types – PDF, Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), iWork (Pages, Keynote, Numbers), JPEG, GIF, TIF, PNG, HTML, RTF, TXT, Safari WebArchives, WAVs, iPhone compatible movies and audio files.
• Viewed files can be scrolled by tilting
• Viewing modes – portrait and landscape (determined by iDevice orientation).
• Store any type of file
• Transfer files to and from your iDevice wirelessly with the free FileMagnet Uploader (desktop app).

FileMagnet really has everything an app should with its purpose.

Using FileMagnet is almost as easy as you’d expect it to be and almost as easy as it should be. Upon opening FileMagnet, all of the files transferred to your iDevice are readily accessible. The interface is extremely simple, possibly too simple. There’s a button in the top left to connect to the desktop uploader, and an Edit button to delete files. You can also delete files by swiping from left to right across a file, the same as elsewhere on the iPhone. Tap a supported file to view it.

While viewing a file, you can tap the screen to bring up a few controls. There is the FileMagnet button, which exits the viewer, and left and right buttons to skip forward and backward one (supported) document. If the file you’re viewing contains multiple pages, there are more controls on the bottom of the screen. In the middle is a page slider to quickly navigate documents, on the right is a page down button, and on the left is the most fun feature, the tilt scrolling button. Tilt scrolling allows you to scroll by tilting your iDevice. I know, big surprise. This feature calibrates itself (vertically) when the button is pressed. Tilt scrolling is awesome. And honestly, Apple should build this feature into every iPhone app. I’d like to see it work in all directions, not just vertically, but I can understand the limitation. It would be nice to have an option for this.

In order to store files with FileMagnet, you need to download the uploader app to your computer. DataCase works with my Mac without any need for an uploader app, so this immediately dampened my enthusiasm for FileMagnet. The uploader app works great, but the need for the app is less than optimal. You can drag files to the app and they are transfered to the iDevice. Files can also be downloaded from the app to your computer, so you can use it as a wireless storage drive. That said, it’s not the greatest for transporting file between computers as a result of the required uploader app.

Another problem that I have with this app is the lack of good file management. There’s no way to create a folder with FileMagnet. The only way this is possible is by dragging a folder to the uploader. The developer is working on a fix for this, so I won’t dwell on it.

I did find a couple of nice surprises with FileMagnet. It opens RTF files (the standard output from TextEdit on the Mac) while DataCase does not. It also has nice icon previews for files, even those it can’t open, such as PSDs.

Beyond the standard features of wireless file storage and viewer apps on the iPhone, here are a few things to think about while considering FileMagnet. It’s two dollars cheaper than DataCase. It has icon previews for files, some of which it doesn’t even support. It supports RTF, which DataCase, oddly, does not. And, best of all, it has tilt scrolling. But it requires an uploader program to transfer files to and from the app.

So, if you’re picking between the two, you basically have to choose what’s worth more to you. Is it two dollars and tilt scrolling, or the freedom from an uploader app? If you chose the first, go with FileMagnet, if the second, choose DataCase.

Appletell Rating:

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