Review: Iliumsoft’s eWallet for iPhone

Posted by: Ragart on Sep 30 2008

eWallets are a pretty new concept to me. I’ve had a PDA or smart device for a while now, but I’ve kept the information on my devices to a minimum for security reasons. Keeping the credit card numbers in the ol’ wallet always seemed like the best solution, but now that I’ve started making more online purchases (read: more than zero), it’s really a lot handier to have my info in a more accessible location. Otherwise I’ve got to walk to the door, grab my wallet, and then bring it back up front when I’m done. Laaaame.

One thing I have on my person just as often as my wallet is my iPhone. So if Illium offers me a way to keep a virtual wallet, save some pocket space, and not have to walk to the front door every single time I make an eBay purchase – hey, I’m game for giving eWallet a shot!

Wallets

Let’s start with the basics. The philosophy behind the eWallet software is that of a real leather (or Winnie the Pooh/Hello Kitty) wallet. So when you start up you have just one, but you can always create more.

Each wallet can be password-protected (with 256-bit AES encryption, if you wanted the specs) and you can have any kind of text hint. Each time you open the wallet you’ll have to re-enter the password, so make sure it’s one you remember

 

Categories

Inside each wallet lies a set of categories. You can name each category and assign an icon for easy recognition. I made just two: “websites” and “cards”. I’ve got just two cards to keep track of, but I have a ton of web logins that I use different passwords for, so it’s great to have one secure place to store them.

 

Cards

Now we get to the Cards section. This is the juicy stuff. Everything up to this point was either a label or a lock, and the cards are the core of eWallet. You can choose from types of cards like: bank accounts, clothes sizes, contact lens prescriptions, credit cards, membership info, software serial number (ooo!), and web sites just to name a few. These are really all just templates though, and you’ll find the right set for you after you play around with the software for a few minutes. I tend to stick with “Web site”, “credit card”, and “password” myself. But if you really can’t find the right card type, you can always edit the fields until you make the right card for your situation.

As you make a card you’ll have to fill a set of fields out. Fields can have a name and a type  so you can basically handle almost any type of personal information within eWallet. Expiry dates are easy to set up with the date field, web links will launch Safari, and you can click on an address to e-mail people instantly. It’s interesting to think about eWallet as a contact manager as well, since there might be some contact info  you might want to keep very secure, and the default contacts program on the iPhone is open to anybody who has access to your device.

There’s also the option to add notes and pictures to cards, as well as customize their appearance. This program really is much more than a credit card number holder!

There are two main views to cards: Card Face and Flex View (just press the small “i” button to switch views). One great little feature on the card face is the “hidden” field type, which allows you to hide certain information until you touch the screen to uncover it. This works well for passwords, but can be useful any field you might want hidden from prying eyes.

The card face can only show so much information while still looking sleek, so eWallet has included a ton of extra fields on the back of the card in Flex View. This lacks the slick graphical presentation of the card face, but it shows all your raw data just fine.

 

User Interface

One thing I love about the iPhone is the universal interface for most of the programs, so as long as you know that there will be buttons on the top and bottom of the screen, you can always navigate from there. The two important buttons I’d like to mention are the settings and lock buttons that you can see almost everywhere outside of a dialogue box. That is, if you’re just viewing the wallets and not fiddling with new cards and categories, you can always tap the bottom-left corner to edit, and the bottom-right to lock the wallet up again. Simple as that. The program saves its state whenever you leave it, so if you leave a certain card open, that’s the card you’ll see when you next unlock the program.

I have had no trouble in my time with eWallet, and the presentation of the whole program makes it a real pleasure to use. Cards have a great little gradient and reflection to them as you view them, although it would be cool if we were able to flick through cards in the future in the way that we do pictures in the Photo app.

 

Wireless Syncing

It’s pointless keeping your data safe on the iPhone if you lose all of it with the device. This is why the wireless syncing feature (the hitherto unmentioned middle button on the bottom bar) is so cool. iTunes and iPhone are a real power couple, but they don’t tend to let anybody else into their relationship. You can sync multimedia and apps through iTunes, and that’s about it. The workaround Iliumsoft has found for this is the inclusion of a wi-fi sync with eWallet’s desktop client (sold separately for $10) keeps your data backed up and locked down. Syncs are initiated by pressing the sync button on either client, but they don’t take place until both clients have been paired (via a small setup wizard) and pressed the sync button. After that it’s just a matter of seconds until data is synced in both directions. The requirement to press the sync button on both clients is a little tedious, but it does add that extra level of security that you want for your information.

 

Conclusion

It really surprised me how much data you can really insert into the program, and it’s become so much more than just a wallet for me. I’ve started to carry around info I never even had room for in my physical setup, and I’ve ended up carrying even less in my actual wallet. The ability to sync with the desktop client is a real boon, ensuring that you’ve always got something to get you back on your feet if anything should ever happen to your iPhone. I’d highly recommend eWallet to anyone looking for an easy and safe way to store information on the iPhone — it’s a lot more capable than its modest name implies.

 

More Info

Website: Ilium Software

Price: $9.99 ($4.99 till Oct 3, 2008), $10 for full desktop software (required for syncing)

 

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