Bento

COST: $4.99
DESCRIPTION: Lifestyle, Lists, Native, Productivity, Utilities
..RELEASED: 6/15/09, VERSION: 1.0.1 -- RATING: 3 Stars..

Like so many other iPhone users, I spend a great deal of time looking for specific apps to fit each and every need. Consequently, I have too little space on my phone, and too many apps. Then I found Bento. With Bento, you get several utilities in one convenient, easy-to-use, organized app. When you open the app, you may tap on New Library and from there, browse the various databases that are pre-designed for you. These are in carousel format, meaning that as you touch each one, it will slide sideways allowing you to view the next one behind it. I found a marvelous database for Recipes, Home Inventory and Diet Log each. When I found Recipes, I tapped on Create Library. At that point, a database appeared allowing me to enter, by tapping the '+' sign, the name of the recipe, the description, the preparation time, cooking time, ingredients, etc. When I tapped on Create Library for Home Inventory, there were fields for the item name, number of items, description, original cost and current value, etc. There are no details omitted in these incredible data fields. You need never rely on your memory alone, or a scrap of paper with notes that may get lost. Additionally, you may choose which items to list as your primary or secondary field in your new database. You may sort by any of the fields in ascending or descending order. Once your details are entered and saved, to retrieve them you merely return to the database you prepared, and tap Go to view all your information. A very helpful feature is the Search field which searches through the entire app for any item you specify. I entered 'piano' and immediately, the app took me to the Home Inventory database where I had entered this item. Other useful buttons within the app are the Home, personal database list icon, and Help buttons. The Help button takes you to the www.filemaker.com Help site where you will find every topic of this app comprehensively covered. Some of the amazing features of Bento are: 25 beautiful, ready-made, customizable templates with support for 15 varied field types (such as video clips, pictures, prices, rates, addresses, phone numbers, etc.), iTunes style searching and sorting, integration with other iPhone apps (tap on a field to access a phone number, view a website, send e-mail or view a map, etc.), performance as a stand-alone application or sync capability with Mac (software sold separately). In conclusion, this one, well-designed app takes the place of many others with its comprehensive coverage, and therefore, is well worth every penny. You will find organization of your life's details so much easier and neatly falling into place. I am truly impressed with the depth and power of Bento and highly recommend it.

"It's never been easier to organize all the details of your busy life in one iPhone application. Bento for iPhone and iPod Touch is the portable version of the wildly popular, portable database from FileMaker that's as easy to use as your iPhone. Manage contacts and club members, coordinate projects and parties. Even track vet bills and vehicle maintenance in one easy-to-use application. Bento comes with several pre-designed templates, some of which are: Donations, Events, Exercise Log, Expenses Membership List, Notes, and several more."

--OS and Age Rating:  This app requires OS 2.2 or later. Rated 4+.
--Tip: Bento syncs with Bento 2.0v4 for Mac in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish. Questions may be posed, and tips and tricks provided at the Bento forum at:
Bento Forum
--Languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish
--Developer: FileMaker, Inc.

Note: Prices, Ratings and Versions are subject to change. Please visit the iTunes App Store for more details, and to download:
BENTO
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--More Cool, Fun, Tech-Savvy Stuff!--

--SMS Acronyms: IGTP - I Get The Point

--Tech Jargon: multicast - A type of audio and video broadcast over the Internet. A multicast requires superior hardware (a modem speed of at least 128K) and special software (such as RealPlayer). There are various Net radio stations that have live multicasting feeds.

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