In some of our early posts we talked about our forthcoming iPad app and how it was going to be called “iBank Access.” We spent a lot of time discussing this name and many others. One of the driving factors in the conversation was the feature set of the iPad app and how it is significantly different from iBank for Mac; we even considered dropping “iBank” from the name entirely at one point.
However, now that the app has matured it is clear this app is iBank, on your iPad. The features sets have lots of divergence and convergence, but I don’t think you would expect anything else from a well-designed iPad app with a Mac counterpart. So now the official name for our app on the iPad is just “iBank.” (There’s significant precedence for this in the App Stores, with major products like iPhoto or iMovie keeping their names in their iPad versions, despite different interfaces, features or functionality.)
Speaking of iBank for iPad… here is a brief update. We’ve sent an alpha build to some testers and everyone on our team has it installed on their iPads to play with. We will be feature-complete very soon, after which we can focus solely on bug fixes and performance. We don’t have a release date, but once we’ve submitted to the App Store, we will be sure to announce it.
-Ian
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Alpha builds are great for screen shots and walk-throughs, even if functionality and performance isn’t ready for prime time, yet — I’m just sayin’ is all….
YAY, can’t wait. I use my iPad so much more than my mac and will be happy to be able to do my finances on there as well.
Eagerly awaiting iBank for iPad. I use iBank for iPhone daily and I carry my iPad everywhere (OCD case) :-s. When you move to beta testing please count me in!
I am very much looking forward to this as well! I go to my iPad several times a day…Now, I usually use my computer just so that I can pull up iBank. If the iPad version is going to have the same name, can we get a little more details in terms of what is “divergent” and what is “convergent” (besides the automatic updating of accounts)?
A question about iBank syncing process: I currently have iBank Mobile and iBank for Mac and of course plan on getting iBank for iPad. Since we are losing MobileMe syncing, I tried experimenting around with syncing via my wi-fi local area network. I found that in order to sync I needed to have my computer up and running. With the new iBank for iPad, if I chose to sync via my LAN, do I still need to turn my computer on to sync my iPhone and my iPad or would the iPad be able to act as the “hub” and I can leave my computer off?
Can’t wait! Once I have iBank on my iPad, I’ll no longer have any compelling reason to own a Macbook! BRING IT!!!
I renew a standing request…will the application sync my data via iCloud or Dropbox? If not…I’m afraid I’ll pass on this application until it does.
@Lindsay
There is nothing restricting users from using DropBox to manage their iBank documents across multiple Macs.
@ian
Except that IGG support says “You can use dropbox to back up your datafile, but not to sync.”
@Ian
I currently sync between my iMac and MacBook using DropBox. I want the same data access for the the new iBank for iPad app. I would not mind paying a premium have a fully interactive Mac/iPad/iPhone software suite that syncs the data in the cloud.
I agree completely with Lindsay. One of the major reasons why I got iBank was the fact that I was able to use iBank mobile on my phone to enter transactions and view my accounts on my other mobile devices as needed. Everything was synced via MobileMe. Now, I have to wait until I get home, boot up my computer and manually force syncing with all my devices. This is a major inconvenience and pretty much negates the reason for the purchase. Like Lindsay, I would gladly pay a premium to get the ability to sync everything via the cloud. I know it was mentioned in the previous blog that Apple only allows use of iCloud for apps purchased through the the app store. I am not sure what cost structure you are thinking, but would it be possible to sell through the webpage at $20 and macapp store for $40. (Heck, I would be willing to spend another $60-$80 for iBank for iPad if i could easily sync my other devices on the fly.) Then if someone wants to get icloud syncing, they would have to purchase through the app store. (I don’t know if there is a way to give someone credit for their their initial web page purchase…if it can’t be through Apple then maybe have some sort of redemption feature to get a couple free months of the automatic account updating?).
If this is not possible, perhaps just have a link set up on the web page that just directs people to the macapp store and charge a slightly higher price than initially thought (to recover Apple’s cut.). I don’t know if the price was ever mentioned, but to be honest, we would never know if the price was ever raised.
Other people have mentioned Dropbox and Sandbox. I do not know what these are. If you want people to sync via these ways, please explain what they are.
I just don’t get guys.
Syncing across multiple devices & platforms is a MAJOR piece of functionality, that SO many iBank users use. Why are you leaving it SO late to reveal your “post MobileMe” syncing solution? I just don’t get it.
You mentioned in a previous Blog that “it wasn’t possible” to move to an App Store sales method. Wrong – you just don’t like that Math. So change the price – do you really think adoption of iBank is that price sensitive?
In the meantime, I (and I assume many others) are left wondering d f we will retain this feature with iBank, and / or if we should find an alternative piece of software
PLEASE – just put us out of our misery, soon
Thanks to Mike C for pointing this conversation out during our Live Chat support session today…
There is a post that illustrates how you can use Dropbox for syncing iBank and iBank Mobile on our Knowledge Base here: http://qa.iggsoft.com/2570/can-i-sync-ibank-mobile-via-dropbox
You will need a dropdav.com subscription which will allow you to use Dropbox for syncing iBank Mobile using WebDAV. I hope this helps.
@Mike C
Dropbox is a cloud file storage service that has various levels of storage capacity. You can join and get 2GB for free. You can also earn up to 16GB by inviting friend to sign up. If you use this link http://db.tt/xZFwulF and sign up I’ll get 500MB of extra space. Dropbox works great to sync files between multiple devices. When a change is made on one device the file is instantly updated/synced on all connected devices. I have iBank on two Macs and it works great as a sync tool and off-site backup!
@John S, @Lindsay
Thank you very much for the suggestions and descriptions. After taking a look at the options, it appears that Dropbox would be good for moving files from one iBank for Mac to another iBank for Mac. In order to keep everything updated together I would need to remember to move the iBank file each time a change is made and pick it up using the other computer. Additionally, Dropbox seems like it may be the way to go for me to keep an “offsite” backup of iBank. (As Ryan stated in a previous blog post, offsite backup is extremely important.)
If I wanted to keep my iBank for Mac sync’d with my mobile devices, it looks like I need the dropdav application in order to use the WebDAV to sync iBank for Mac with iBank Mobile. While this is free in the beginning, I would need to pay to keep it active. In my conversation with John using Live Chat yesterday, Cloudsafe.com was mentioned. I checked it out and they are currently allowing 2 GBs of free space and include WebDAV for free. This means I would be able to sync my iBank for Mac with iBank Mobile completely for free. A quick look in the knowledge base showed how to do the initial setup of cloudsafe: http://qa.iggsoft.com/1995/ibank-sync-to-icloud
While MobileMe/iDisk seemed to be able to do it all in one, I think the combination of Dropbox and Cloudsafe should be able to meet my needs in this matter. It just had to be pieced together.
Thank you.
Automatic sync via the cloud will be a real milestone, allowing input from either mac or iOS device and knowledge that the data being read is inclusive of all transactions. Looking forward to the new iBank for iPad as this will allow comprehensive analysis on a truly mobile device. Be sure to let users know if beta testing help is required.
Many thanks for a good product about to get better!
PLEASE make your iPad app better than your iPhone app, which is essentially worthless. And while you’re at it, could you please improve your mac program? As a former user of Quicken I really miss so many of its features and functionality and am hoping you’ll do a smashing job on the next update.
@Tracy,
I agree that there are some issues with the iPhone app. Your post is, however, the epitome of unconstructive criticism. If you want them to improve something, provide some specific feedback. What about the iPhone app do you want changed? What functionality do you want on the OS X version? Without that info, your comment is pretty much worthless.
One change I have been requesting for years is that when I enter a check on iBank, that it posts to my bank like it does on Quicken. Now when I enter a check on iBank, I have to go online to my bank, and enter the check manually and have the bank send it or wait until the check clears the bank for it to show up in the account online in order for iBank and the bank to show the same balance.