Review: Spb Wallet 2.0 for the Apple iPhone

I have been using Spb Software's excellent applications on my Windows Mobile devices for years and was very pleased to see them branching out to support other mobile operating systems, including S60 and the iPhone. I posted a review of Spb Wallet for S60 devices and now that the iPhone version made an appearance on the iPhone App Store I can share my thoughts with you on this excellent application. With the large display and Safari integration, Spb Wallet is a real winner in my book. You can check out the full press release posted yesterday and my image gallery and video of the application in action.

	Image Gallery:A walk around Spb Wallet 2.0 for the Apple iPhone.

Spb Wallet is a secure information manager that is designed to help you manage your passwords, credit cards, bank account numbers, and other data you need to keep safe and secure. With the way that the Apple App Store is setup you purchase the mobile application through iTunes for US$9.95 and then you can purchase the desktop companion for US$9.95 directly from Spb Software. As you will see they are giving you US$20 off of the desktop version as a way to make the price competitive with their other mobile client. Actually, the Windows Mobile and S60 versions are priced at US$29.95 so the iPhone version and desktop are cheaper. Don't get me started on how I think iPhone developers should be charging more for their applications. I personally think the apps for $5 or less aren't helpful for developers in the long term and I would rather see higher quality apps over millions of cheap lower quality apps.

Some of the key features of Spb Wallet for the iPhone include: * Cards look like those in your wallet * 60+ predefined templates, icons and graphics * Online Template gallery with 7,000+ cards * Fully customizable * Alternative views * Strong 256-bit AES encryption * Automatic wallet lockup * Secure synchronization * Desktop. User-friendly logon panel helps against key loggers * Desktop. Automatic clipboard cleanup * Desktop. Special engine to protect from 'phishing' attacks * Cards flip flow * Password auto fill for websites in web browser * Cloud sync with Google mailbox * Sync with desktop using Wi-Fi * Smart tags to call/SMS/email/etc * Quick search * Password generator

Initial setup: I installed Spb Wallet 2.0 through iTunes onto my original iPhone and it appeared in seconds. You then simply launch the application and choose to create a new wallet with a password and password hint. Your electronic wallet is protected with 256-bit AES encryption so your data should be safe and sound. You can setup the length of timeouts for locking your data as well. You can also choose to show hidden fields in your cards, but it depends on when you are using Spb Wallet and if you want to keep this info private.

After setting your password, Spb Wallet starts up with a list of default folders and cards so you can see some sample cards to help you create and fill out your wallet. There are 60+ templates that you can choose from to create individual cards, but as you can see in my video you can also get over 7,000 templates from a wireless connection. Each card can be customized with selected icons and data layout. I love the way rotating your device into landscape rotates the cards so they appear just like a real credit card.

A feature found in both the Windows Mobile and iPhone versions is the ability to have Spb Wallet 2.0 auto-fil out your user names and passwords when you select the hyperlink in your cards. Similar to the web hyperlinks, there are smart tags for making calls or sending email/text messages.

Spb Wallet 2.0 also lets you wirelessly sync to your desktop (sorry only a Windows PC version available) or up to your Gmail account. When you select Gmail, you will have to make sure IMAP is enabled. Syncing with your iPhone actually uploads your Spb Wallet 2.0 data that can then be opened with the desktop version on another PC. The data cannot be accessed except through Spb Wallet.

Usage experiences: I have now used Spb Wallet 2.0 on Windows Mobile, S60, and the iPhone and have to say the iPhone version is the most enjoyable to use due to the amazingly zippy performance, beautiful large display, ability to quickly flip through the cards in landscape mode, auto fill capability in Safari, fast search capability, and wireless online template gallery.

Spb Wallet 2.0 also includes a password generator that can be quite handy for helping you create strong passwords. The thing I like about using these secure information managers is that you can use many different passwords rather than using the same one all the time to reduce how many you have to remember.

There is not a lot to a secure information manager, but the highly customizable options, huge number of templates, appearance, and ease-of-use make Spb Wallet 2.0 a leader that I highly recommend you try out on your iPhone.

Price and availability: As I said earlier you can buy the iPhone version of Spb Wallet 2.0 for US$9.95. The desktop version is not essential, but it does make entering data and setting up cards easier than using just your iPhone. The desktop version is also available for US$9.95. You get 15 days to try out the full version so that will give you plenty of time to figure out if the application is for you or not.