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	<title>GigaOM &#187; Apple</title>
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		<title>GigaOM &#187; Apple</title>
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		<title>An iPhone case with a little something extra: insurance</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/apple/an-iphone-case-with-a-little-something-extra-insurance/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/apple/an-iphone-case-with-a-little-something-extra-insurance/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:21:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave Greenbaum</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[@CNN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[actual insurance policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[apple inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bundled insurance policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Artuso]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Financial economics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gadget insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Global Warranty Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insurance coverage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insurance program]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insurance programs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[multi-touch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pittsburgh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smartphones]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[squaretrade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Types of insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[usd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vehicle insurance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gigaom.com/?p=478762</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Being the resident “extreme” iPhone case enthusiast, I was intrigued by the new cellhelmet Kickstarter project. This $44.99 case combines svelte design with protection against drops, but bundles it with an actual insurance policy that replaces your iPhone if damaged while in the case.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=478762&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/an-iphone-case-with-a-little-something-extra-insurance/kickstarter-edition-cellhelmet-cases-with-insurance-for-iphone-4-4s/" rel="attachment wp-att-478769"><img  title="kickstarter-edition-cellhelmet-cases-with-insurance-for-iphone-4-4s" src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/kickstarter-edition-cellhelmet-cases-with-insurance-for-iphone-4-4s.jpg?w=300&h=215" alt="" width="300" height="215" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-478769" /></a></p>
<p>Being the resident <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/an-extreme-case-iphone-4-rugged-protection-roundup/">“extreme”</a> iPhone case enthusiast (and also the klutz who drops his phone most often), I was intrigued by the new <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cellpig/cellhelmet-1st-and-only-case-that-guarantees-the-i">cellhelmet Kickstarter project</a>. This $44.99 case combines svelte design with protection against drops, but bundles it with an actual insurance policy that replaces your iPhone if damaged while in the case.</p>
<p>The case in and of itself isn’t magical, and according to David Artuso of cellhelmet creator cellpig.com, the case isn’t “superman.” The design has angled edges to protect against drops, and a choice of six different colored backplate shields to protect the glass, providing great protection without the bloat of other solutions.</p>
<p><img  title="kickstarter-cellhelmet-iphone-case-with-insurance-for-iphone-4s-4" src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/kickstarter-cellhelmet-iphone-case-with-insurance-for-iphone-4s-4.jpg?w=300&h=121" alt="" width="300" height="121" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-478767" /></p>
<p>What sets the cellhelmet apart is the bundled insurance policy, administered by Global Warranty Group. Should the iPhone break while in the case, a $50 handling fee covers any repairs required, or complete replacement if necessary. I’ve written about <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/finally-iphone-insurance-sort-of/">iPhone insurance</a> before,  this case including the insurance for the $44.99 purchase price is what makes it interesting.</p>
<p>The plan does not cover water damage, nor does the case protect the water sensors, but according to gadget <a href="http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/iphone4-glass-study">insurance provider SquareTrade</a>, glass breakage accounts for 82 percent of its claims. The cellhelmet is competitive with SquareTrade’s own insurance program, but is slightly less expensive, applies even to used iPhones, and of course, comes with a case. Your iPhone has to be in the cellhelmet for its policy to apply, however.</p>
<p>Coverage lasts for one year from the time you purchase your cellhelmet, and should you ever have to claim a total device replacement, you’ll have to buy another cellhelmet, but that’s consistent with other third-party insurance programs. If all your device requires is a screen replacement after an accident, you get unlimited repairs.</p>
<p>For slightly more money than a stylish iPhone case, and slightly less than a third-party insurance program, you can get both by backing the Pittsburgh-based company&#8217;s project on Kickstarter. Not a bad deal, especially if you can&#8217;t seem to keep a firm grip on Apple&#8217;s beautiful but somewhat slippery smartphone designs.</p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=478762+an-iphone-case-with-a-little-something-extra-insurance&utm_content=calldrdave">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/12/2012-data-spectrum-and-the-race-to-lte/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=478762+an-iphone-case-with-a-little-something-extra-insurance&utm_content=calldrdave">2012: Data, spectrum and the race to&nbsp;LTE</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/07/mobile-q2-smartphone-growth-surges-ipads-rule-continues/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=478762+an-iphone-case-with-a-little-something-extra-insurance&utm_content=calldrdave">Mobile Q2: Smartphone growth surges; iPad&#8217;s rule&nbsp;continues</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2012/04/connected-consumer-q1-controversy-courtrooms-and-the-cloud/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=478762+an-iphone-case-with-a-little-something-extra-insurance&utm_content=calldrdave">Controversy, courtrooms and the cloud in&nbsp;Q1</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=478762&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>12</slash:comments>
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			<media:title type="html">calldrdave</media:title>
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		<title>Apple &#8220;actively discussing&#8221; what to do with $98B cash pile</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/apple/apple-actively-discussing-what-to-do-with-98b-cash-pile/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/apple/apple-actively-discussing-what-to-do-with-98b-cash-pile/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:43:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erica Ogg</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[apple inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cash]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Corporate finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peter Oppenheimer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Share repurchase]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steve Jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tim Cook]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gigaom.com/?p=475542</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Steve Jobs wouldn't hear of a dividend or share buyback. But under the Tim Cook regime, it appears things might change. Apple hasn't made plans public of what it will do with its $97.6 billion in cash, but the company is currently discussing the matter internally.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=475542&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Steve Jobs wouldn&#8217;t hear of a dividend or share buyback as a way to make use of Apple&#8217;s famously large cash pile. And the company doesn&#8217;t do the big M&amp;A deals often seen at other large cash-rich tech firms. But under the Tim Cook regime, it appears things <em>might</em> change.</p>
<p>I emphasize &#8220;might&#8221; because Cook hasn&#8217;t made plans public of what he&#8217;ll do with the $97.6 billion in cash Apple has on hand, but CFO Peter Oppenheimer hinted on Tuesday that the company is at least talking about a potential strategy.</p>
<p>Unprompted and during his scripted remarks during the <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/as-promised-apple-delivers-biggest-iphone-and-ipad-and-mac-quarter-yet/">company&#8217;s quarterly earnings</a> call, Oppenheimer said Tuesday that the company is &#8220;actively discussing uses of our cash balance&#8221; but added that they had nothing to announce at the moment.</p>
<p>Then later in the call, when asked by an investor, Oppenheimer expanded slightly:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;We have always discussed internally our cash. We recognize our cash is growing for all the right reasons, and I would characterize our discussions today as &#8216;active&#8217; with what makes the most sense with the cash balance. When we have something to announce we will announce. Again, we are actively discussing the best usage of our cash balance.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Apple under Jobs was incredibly conservative &#8212; he clearly never forgot how close the company was to bankruptcy when he returned in 1997. Apple typically uses its cash to make big investments in components or for a few smaller acquisitions each year. You&#8217;d think your investors would be happy the company is swimming in cash and being disciplined about its use &#8212; but when the pile grows too big and it&#8217;s just sitting there in a bank account, it&#8217;s obvious that many investors would like to see that money put to work. There have been calls for share buybacks or investors dividends for years, but they never made much headway with Jobs at the helm.</p>
<p>There was a hint that things would be different under Cook during his first earnings call as CEO last quarter. At that time, when pressed on the cash issue, Cook told investors, &#8220;I’m not religious about holding cash or not holding it — I’m religious about a lot of things but not that one.&#8221;</p>
<p>That, combined with Oppenheimer&#8217;s emphasis on &#8220;active&#8221; discussions is a good indication the company is at least more receptive to creative uses of cash in the future.</p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=475542+apple-actively-discussing-what-to-do-with-98b-cash-pile&utm_content=ericaogg">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/08/flash-analysis-steve-jobs/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=475542+apple-actively-discussing-what-to-do-with-98b-cash-pile&utm_content=ericaogg">Flash analysis: Steve&nbsp;Jobs</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2012/02/facebooks-ipo-filing-the-opening-shot-heard-round-the-world/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=475542+apple-actively-discussing-what-to-do-with-98b-cash-pile&utm_content=ericaogg">Facebook&#8217;s IPO filing: ideas and&nbsp;implications</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2012/01/12-tech-leaders-resolutions-for-2012/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=475542+apple-actively-discussing-what-to-do-with-98b-cash-pile&utm_content=ericaogg">12 tech leaders’ resolutions for&nbsp;2012</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=475542&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>12</slash:comments>
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			<media:title type="html">ericaogg</media:title>
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		<title>Quick tip: Organize and protect your new Apple gear</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/apple/quick-tip-organize-and-protect-your-new-apple-gear/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/apple/quick-tip-organize-and-protect-your-new-apple-gear/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:58:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave Greenbaum</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[accidental damage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[address book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[electronics store]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gadgets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insurance providers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Macs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[separate insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technology items]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[warranty]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gigaom.com/?p=463645</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many of us got some great tech gifts during the holidays. Knowing what exactly you have, and keeping critical info handy can make life easier when problems occur. Here are a few simple tips you can use now to save time and money in the future.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=463645&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many of us got some great tech items for the holidays. Knowing what exactly you have, and keeping critical info handy, can make life easier when problems occur. Here are a few simple tips you can use now to save time and money in the future.</p>
<h2>1. Take a picture of your products and serial numbers</h2>
<p>Whether you want to inventory your items or need a handy reference when there&#8217;s a problem, taking a picture of the product as well as its serial number means you won’t be in the awkward position of trying to talk on the phone while on the floor with a flashlight trying to read those teeny tiny numbers.<br />
<a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/quick-tip-organize-and-protect-your-new-apple-gear/addresscard/" rel="attachment wp-att-463646"><img  title="addresscard" src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/addresscard.jpg?w=300&h=290" alt="" width="300" height="290" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-463646" /></a><br />
Plus, if you should have a theft or disaster, having a visual record of your items makes it easier for your insurance company to settle your claim.</p>
<h2>2. Schedule your items with insurance</h2>
<p>Speaking of insurance, I suggest contacting your homeowners, renters, or business insurance provider to see about separate insurance for your most expensive technology items. While insurance providers and policies vary, typically scheduling an item provides it extra protection and covers it separate from your regular deductible. If your computer is scheduled, many times it will even cover data recovery should your computer be dropped or damaged.</p>
<p><a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/quick-tip-organize-and-protect-your-new-apple-gear/img_0778/" rel="attachment wp-att-463647"><img  title="addressbook on iPhone" src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/img_0778.png?w=200&h=300" alt="" width="200" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-463647" /></a></p>
<h2>3. Track key information in your Address Book and iCal</h2>
<p>If only you&#8217;d contacted tech support before the warranty expired, the broken gadget would have been repaired at no charge! There&#8217;s an easy way to make sure you have all your info on hand when you need it.</p>
<p>As you take pictures of your items in step 1, put the serial number and warranty expiration date in your Address Book along with tech support’s phone number (create custom fields for Serial Number and Tech Support if you wish). Attach the picture of the item to the address book entry.</p>
<p><a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/quick-tip-organize-and-protect-your-new-apple-gear/img_0779/" rel="attachment wp-att-463653"><img  title="calentry" src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/img_0779.png?w=200&h=300" alt="" width="200" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-463653" /></a><br />
Then put the warranty expiration in your iCal Now you’ve got all the info you need in one place and won’t miss that warranty expiration date.</p>
<p>A bonus outcome of this tip is that if you are at the electronics store and you have questions about compatibility or which model you own, the information will be handy so long as you sync your address book info manually or through iCloud.</p>
<p>While these tips won’t prevent problems from occurring, they’ll help protect you from further cost and inconvenience when they do.</p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=463645+quick-tip-organize-and-protect-your-new-apple-gear&utm_content=calldrdave">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/07/mobile-q2-smartphone-growth-surges-ipads-rule-continues/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=463645+quick-tip-organize-and-protect-your-new-apple-gear&utm_content=calldrdave">Mobile Q2: Smartphone growth surges; iPad&#8217;s rule&nbsp;continues</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=463645+quick-tip-organize-and-protect-your-new-apple-gear&utm_content=calldrdave">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/what-googles-honeycomb-means-for-apple-and-microsoft/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=463645+quick-tip-organize-and-protect-your-new-apple-gear&utm_content=calldrdave">What Google&#8217;s Honeycomb Means for Apple and&nbsp;Microsoft</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=463645&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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		<title>Review: iBank 4 Makes Quicken Essential No More</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/apple/review-ibank-4-makes-quicken-essential-no-more/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/apple/review-ibank-4-makes-quicken-essential-no-more/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:00:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charles Jade</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[banking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ibank]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quicken]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theappleblog.com/?p=51149</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Still waiting for Intuit to do something with Quicken Essentials for Mac? Stop wasting your time and try the latest version of iBank from IGG Software. It's like Quicken, except it has features.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=174544&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Still waiting for Intuit to do something with <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/quicken-essentials-for-mac/">Quicken Essentials for Mac</a>? Stop wasting your time and try the latest version of <a href="http://www.iggsoftware.com/ibank/">iBank</a> from IGG Software. It&#8217;s like Quicken, except it has features.</p>
<p>I abandoned moribund Quicken in 2009, and since then I&#8217;ve used iBank through several point releases and the latest major version update. Not surprisingly, upgrading from iBank 3 was quick and error free, but so was switching from Quicken 2007. An old QIF file with two dozen accounts and a decade of transactions imported without problem.</p>
<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-51460" href="http://gigaom.com/apple/review-ibank-4-makes-quicken-essential-no-more/01_ibank_register-2/"><img  title="01_ibank_register" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/01_ibank_register1.jpg?w=604" alt=""   class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51460" /></a></p>
<p>Finances appear in a two-pane interface; accounts and information on the left, selected accounts like the register on the right. Instead of an editing pane, transactions are now done in the register itself. The developers opted for a two-line list view to better handle investment data and to support multiple currencies, features lacking in Quicken Essentials. Personally, I prefer single-line transactions, but it’s not a deal breaker. Regarding editing, splits could be better. You can only see four splits without scrolling, annoying for paychecks and other many-split transactions.</p>
<p>The register also has a Cover Flow view of dubious value, and the more relevant and functional reconciliation view, straightforward “checkbox” reconciliation.</p>
<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-51462" href="http://gigaom.com/apple/review-ibank-4-makes-quicken-essential-no-more/02_ibank_transaction_template/"><img  title="02_ibank_transaction_template" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/02_ibank_transaction_template.jpg?w=604" alt=""   class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51462" /></a></p>
<p>Transaction Templates encompass the concept of repeat transactions, scheduled, as seen above, as well as imported. If a downloaded transaction meets certain criteria, like payee name, then appropriate type, categories, splits, memo data are automatically added as expected.</p>
<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-51463" href="http://gigaom.com/apple/review-ibank-4-makes-quicken-essential-no-more/03_ibank_online/"><img  title="03_ibank_online" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/03_ibank_online.jpg?w=604" alt=""   class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51463" /></a></p>
<p>While Quicken Essentials claims support for thousands of institutions, you can find out if iBank supports direct downloading for yours <a href="http://www.iggsoftware.com/ibank/ofx_info.php#ibank3_nav">here</a>. If not, or more likely if your financial institution charges an egregious fee for direct downloads, the built-in WebKit browser allows logging in from within iBank for downloading. This is a nice feature, though it would be nicer if iBank supplied ID and password too.</p>
<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-51465" href="http://gigaom.com/apple/review-ibank-4-makes-quicken-essential-no-more/04_ibank_reports/"><img  title="04_ibank_reports" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/04_ibank_reports.jpg?w=604" alt=""   class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51465" /></a></p>
<p>Reports are a big improvement over iBank 3, the biggest changes being combining report data and charts, WYSIWYG printing, and the ability to “drill down” to individual transactions in a report. The depth of accessible detail offered is well in advance of “spending cloud”  gimmicks and the simplistic reporting of Quicken Essentials.</p>
<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-51466" href="http://gigaom.com/apple/review-ibank-4-makes-quicken-essential-no-more/05_ibank_budgeting/"><img  title="05_ibank_budgeting" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/05_ibank_budgeting.jpg?w=604" alt=""   class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51466" /></a></p>
<p>Speaking of gimmicks, iBank 4 adds “envelope” budgeting. Instead of categories, you get envelopes, but with the ability to “borrow” unused money from one envelope for another. The problem is that there are no envelopes. It’s a metaphor too far, but iBank 4 retains category budgeting, so not a big deal.</p>
<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-51467" href="http://gigaom.com/apple/review-ibank-4-makes-quicken-essential-no-more/06_ibank_investment/"><img  title="06_ibank_investment" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/06_ibank_investment.jpg?w=604" alt=""   class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-51467" /></a></p>
<p>Besides tracking general securities information, as seen above, iBank 4 does your stocks, funds, and retirement accounts all the way down to individual transactions. Can you imagine personal finance software that doesn’t? It’s called Quicken Essentials.</p>
<p>If you think I&#8217;m dismissive of Quicken Essentials for Mac, you&#8217;re wrong. There&#8217;s not enough there to be dismissive about. Assuming Intuit continues development, instead of ultimately pushing Mac users to Mint.com, it will be a long time, if ever, before Quicken Essentials catches up to iBank. Why wait for Quicken Essentials? For the same price of $59.99, iBank 4 offers a robust, full-featured personal finance program right now.</p>
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=174544&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>App Review: iBank Mobile</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/apple/app-review-ibank-mobile/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/apple/app-review-ibank-mobile/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charles Jade</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Software Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[banking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ibank]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPod Touch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[review]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theappleblog.com/?p=26944</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[appreview] title=iBank Mobile image=http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/ibank_mobile_00.jpg price=$4.99 url=http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=318802616&#38;mt=8 rating=bronze [/appreview] The developers of iBank, the robust alternative to moribund Quicken for the Mac, have gone mobile with their latest product. With iBank Mobile for the iPhone and iPod touch you can bank on the go, but probably not [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172978&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[appreview]<br />
title=iBank Mobile<br />
image=http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/ibank_mobile_00.jpg<br />
price=$4.99<br />
url=http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=318802616&amp;mt=8<br />
rating=bronze<br />
[/appreview]</p>
<p class="excerpt">The developers of <a title="iBank | Personal finance, money management and small business software for Mac OS X" href="http://www.iggsoftware.com/ibank/">iBank</a>, the robust alternative to moribund Quicken for the Mac, have gone mobile with their latest product. With iBank Mobile for the iPhone and iPod touch you can bank on the go, but probably not go it alone.</p>
<p>To be fair, there is no perfect personal finance manager (PFM) in the App Store. There are standalone apps like the cryptically-named iXpenselt, and cloud apps like Mint and Quicken Online Mobile &#8212; which unbelievably does not sync to Quicken for the Mac or PC.</p>
<p>Synchronization with the desktop is where iBank Mobile comes in. Certainly, it was a much improved experience over using it as a standalone application. Creating fake accounts, transactions, and categories using iBank Mobile for the purpose of review was incredibly time consuming. Having said that, once iBank Mobile is up and running, it follows the money pretty well. <span id="more-172978"></span></p>
<h3>Accounts</h3>
<p><img  title="ibank_mobile_01" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/ibank_mobile_01.jpg?w=550&h=413" alt="ibank_mobile_01" width="550" height="413" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p>Left, the Home screen provides an overview of accounts and access to the spartan control scheme: Home, Spending, Settings, Sync, and New Transaction. The Spending screen shows categories and activity. Drilling down from Spending lists transactions sorted by category, each transaction selectable for details. Transactions can also be accessed by account.</p>
<p><img  title="ibank_mobile_02" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/ibank_mobile_02.jpg?w=550&h=413" alt="ibank_mobile_02" width="550" height="413" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p>The interface is straightforward and useable to this point, with one minor complaint. Accounts can only be sorted alphabetically, though they can be grouped in two lists: Primary and Other.</p>
<p>There is also an issue regarding general performance, at least on an iPhone 3G. Upon first accessing accounts, totals may appear as “calculating” until iBank Mobile catches up. Scrolling through transactions is a little sluggish, too.</p>
<h3>Transactions</h3>
<p><img  title="ibank_mobile_03" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/ibank_mobile_031.jpg?w=550&h=413" alt="ibank_mobile_03" width="550" height="413" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p>Creating a transaction is a guided process: Account → Transaction Type &amp; Amount → Payee → Categories &amp; Memo. Payee editing benefits from autocompletion, which is great, but lack of a “back” button through every step of the transaction process is not so great.</p>
<p><img  title="ibank_mobile_04" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/ibank_mobile_042.jpg?w=550&h=413" alt="ibank_mobile_04" width="550" height="413" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p>Split transactions work well, especially if you already have a list of categories, as there is no autocompletion here: select or create. Categories are best derived from the desktop software, which underscores an important point. Whether using iBank Mobile is a chore or a pleasure really comes down to whether or not you use iBank for the Mac. Syncing is where iBank shines.</p>
<h3>Synchronization</h3>
<p><img  title="ibank_mobile_05" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/ibank_mobile_05.jpg?w=550&h=413" alt="ibank_mobile_05" width="550" height="413" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p>Even if you don’t plan on syncing with iBank, the passcode option protects your transaction data on the iPhone, while encryption is used during syncing. As for syncing itself, it just works. Via Wi-Fi, MobileMe, or WebDAV, setup is simple. Syncing more than 5,000 transactions took about five minutes, while normal syncing after setup takes seconds.</p>
<h3>Summing Up: Bronze Award</h3>
<p>As a standalone application, iBank Mobile is rather spartan; no online options, no bill calendar, no charts, no budgeting, just transactions and spending. According to the developers, customer feedback will be a driving force in updates, though direct download of transactions from financial institutions is a priority. For now, I don’t recommend iBank Mobile as a standalone PFM, but then I don’t recommend any standalone PFM application for the iPhone and iPod touch. However, I do recommend iBank Mobile as complement to the desktop product.</p>
<p>The value in iBank Mobile is tracking where your money goes as you spend it over time, like cash from an ATM withdrawal. That information then easily integrates into iBank for the Mac through the excellent syncing options. What you do with that information is up to you, but the first rule of personal finance is knowing where the money goes, and iBank Mobile makes that possible wherever you are.</p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172978+app-review-ibank-mobile&utm_content=charlesjade">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/01/mobile-q4-all-eyes-were-on-android-4g-and-the-rising-tablet-tide/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172978+app-review-ibank-mobile&utm_content=charlesjade">Mobile Q4: All Eyes Were on Android, 4G and the Rising Tablet&nbsp;Tide</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/12/report-a-mobile-video-market-overview/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172978+app-review-ibank-mobile&utm_content=charlesjade">Report: A Mobile Video Market&nbsp;Overview</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/10/in-q3-the-tablet-and-4g-were-the-big-stories/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172978+app-review-ibank-mobile&utm_content=charlesjade">In Q3, the Tablet and 4G Were the Big&nbsp;Stories</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172978&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>iWork With Numbers: Conditional Formatting</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/apple/iwork-with-numbers-conditional-formatting/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/apple/iwork-with-numbers-conditional-formatting/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:00:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christopher Ryan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[SYN Feature Enterprise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Walkthroughs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conditional format]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conditional formating]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Excel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iWork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iwork with numbers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Numbers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spreadsheet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spreadsheets]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theappleblog.com/?p=24946</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is the first in a series on some of the more advanced functionality of Numbers, my favorite spreadsheet app. If you&#8217;re new to spreadsheets, or just want to make them look a little less like Microsoft Excel, this article should be right up your alley. [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172826&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img  title="Numbers" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/numbers.jpg?w=205&h=205" alt="Numbers" width="205" height="205" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p class="excerpt">This is the first in a series on some of the more advanced functionality of <a title="iWork - Numbers" href="http://www.apple.com/iwork/numbers/">Numbers</a>, my favorite spreadsheet app. If you&#8217;re new to spreadsheets, or just want to make them look a little less like Microsoft Excel, this article should be right up your alley. In this article, we&#8217;ll talk about conditional formatting.</p>
<h3>What is conditional formatting?</h3>
<p>The real power behind spreadsheets is not just how well they can crunch data, but how you can visually present the information in a variety of ways. Sometimes, however, you may want to give more attention to a particular area, or hide certain data if it&#8217;s not relevant. You often see conditional formatting applied to financial spreadsheets where positive values are in black or green, but negative values are always in “the red.” So how do you do that? It&#8217;s where conditional formatting, or formatting based on certain criteria, comes into play. <span id="more-172826"></span></p>
<p>Here’s a quick example. Let’s say I have something that shows you my net worth for each month of the year. (These numbers are <strong>entirely</strong> made up, for demonstration purposes.) Assuming that these numbers were coming from a different spreadsheet, I could likely have one of three possible values for each month. If I were doing well, the value would be a positive number. If I were feeling the toils on the economy and not so great at managing money, the value might be negative. The last option would be if we haven’t gotten to a particular month yet, for example, in September 2009 the value reads “$0” as no data yet exists to calculate that value.</p>
<div id="attachment_24944" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 256px"><img  title="Net Worth without Conditional Formatting" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/picture-62.png?w=246&h=273" alt="Net Worth without Conditional Formatting" width="246" height="273" class=" alignleft" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Net Worth without Conditional Formatting</p></div>
<h3>Applying some formatting</h3>
<p>Based on this example, you can see that before I begin to do any formatting, I have a mix of positive values, negative values, and some that read “$0” because we haven’t yet entered data for those months. To apply formatting, I would select the first cell next to January.</p>
<p>In the Inspector under the Cells tab, you’ll see an area that is labeled “Conditional Format” with zero rules applied. If I click “show rules” I will get a new window that allows me to start stacking on a series of rules that I want to compare this cell against.</p>
<p>For this example, I’m going to pick “Choose a rule” and select “Greater than.” If I enter “0” as my value, I’m telling Numbers that I want to apply special formatting to any value that is greater than zero. This would be where my net worth was in the positive numbers. If I click the “edit” button, I can now start layering on formatting. To keep things simple, I’m just going to change the text color to green and press “done.” You do have options here for a variety of other formatting choices, including bold or italics and changing the cell background. Looking back at your document, you should see that the value has now turned green!</p>
<p>Now I’m going to apply another rule, this time to address negative net worth. This rule is going to be “less than 0” and I am going to format the text to be a red color with bold styling.</p>
<p>Finally, I am going to apply one last rule, which will address the “0” values for upcoming months. Usually, you will not see a net worth perfectly at “0,” so I have used this assumption to keep our “0” values open for this next example. If a value is “0,” we’re assuming its because we are at a month in which nothing has happened yet, so we will simply want to “hide” this value until an actual value (positive or negative) can take its place. To solve this, we’re going to format the cell to take values that are “0” and turn the text white, so it will simply blend in with our background and therefore be hidden.</p>
<h3>One down. A few to go.</h3>
<p>Once we are finished here, we can close this window and go back to our spreadsheet. Now we’ve laid out the set of conditional formatting rules, but they currently only apply to the net worth listed in January. The next step most would take is to simply grab the little dot on the right of the cell and drag down to “fill” down, but do not do this. You will inadvertently fill down the value of that cell and not its formatting.</p>
<div id="attachment_24943" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 254px"><img  title="Net Worth with Conditional Formatting Applied" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/picture-71.png?w=244&h=271" alt="Net Worth with Conditional Formatting Applied" width="244" height="271" class=" alignleft" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Net Worth with Conditional Formatting Applied</p></div>
<p>The last trick up my sleeve is how to copy formatting between cells and that is to use a feature called “Copy Style.” This is similar to the “Format Painter” of Microsoft Excel. Simply highlight the cell we were working on, go to the Format menu and select “Copy Style.” You can then highlight the remaining cells, go back to the Format menu and select “Paste Style” and you should end up with something that looks like the image to the right.</p>
<p>The Copy/Paste Style is a very useful tool and is found in all of the iWork applications. There is even a quick button to access it that you can add to your toolbar (open the View menu and then click “Customize Toolbar”).</p>
<p>If you are familiar with Conditional Formatting from Excel, nothing has really changed except the limit to the number of rules you can apply. Microsoft Excel previously limited users to applying three rules to a cell (usually that was more than enough) and, as far as I&#8217;ve found, Numbers imposes no limit. In the next article, we’re going to dig a little deeper into the power of Numbers with how to do horizontal and vertical lookups. If you have any Numbers-specific topics you would like me to cover, please use the comments below and let’s get the discussion started!</p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172826+iwork-with-numbers-conditional-formatting&utm_content=limeology">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172826+iwork-with-numbers-conditional-formatting&utm_content=limeology">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172826+iwork-with-numbers-conditional-formatting&utm_content=limeology">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172826+iwork-with-numbers-conditional-formatting&utm_content=limeology">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172826&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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			<media:title type="html">Net Worth without Conditional Formatting</media:title>
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		<title>Cha-Ching Touch Finally in App Store</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/apple/cha-ching-touch-finally-in-app-store/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/apple/cha-ching-touch-finally-in-app-store/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:51:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Nick Santilli</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CNN Mobile]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CNN Startups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Locations & Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NYT Startups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SYN Feature Enterprise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SYN Straight News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cha-Ching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PowerPoint]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[presentation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prezi]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theappleblog.com/?p=20108</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you follow Midnight Apps on Twitter, you know it&#8217;s taken the better part of a month. But they&#8217;ve finally navigated the App Store approval process, and Cha-Ching Touch is now available for purchase via the App Store. We gave an early look at Cha-Ching Touch [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172528&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img  title="chachingtouchicon1" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/chachingtouchicon1.png?w=187&h=178" alt="chachingtouchicon1" width="187" height="178" class=" alignleft" />If you <a title="Twitter / Midnight_Apps" href="http://twitter.com/Midnight_Apps">follow</a> Midnight Apps on Twitter, you know it&#8217;s taken the better part of a month. But they&#8217;ve finally navigated the App Store approval process, and Cha-Ching Touch is <a href="http://madmimi.com/promotions/8123401435134/raw?fe=1&amp;pact=68527412">now available</a> for purchase via the App Store. We gave <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/first-look-cha-ching-touch-for-iphone/">an early look</a> at Cha-Ching Touch (that is, the version available for iPhone or iPod touch) about a month ago, in case you missed it.</p>
<p>For $2.99 (introductory price, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=306072139&amp;mt=8">in the App Store</a>) you can track your purchases and budget on the go, always knowing what your cash flow situation looks like. Cha-Ching Touch brings extreme usability and a lovely user interface to your finance-tracking tasks, adding the ability to add locations to your payees, to make point-of-sale entry that much simpler. Cha-Ching Touch will also sync with the (currently in beta) desktop version of <a href="http://www.midnightapps.com/blog/index.php?s=cha-ching+beta&amp;submit=Search">Cha-Ching 2</a> (scroll down the page a bit), so your dollars and cents should all add up at the end of the day no matter what device you&#8217;re using.</p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172528+cha-ching-touch-finally-in-app-store&utm_content=nsantilli">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/01/mobile-q4-all-eyes-were-on-android-4g-and-the-rising-tablet-tide/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172528+cha-ching-touch-finally-in-app-store&utm_content=nsantilli">Mobile Q4: All Eyes Were on Android, 4G and the Rising Tablet&nbsp;Tide</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/12/report-a-mobile-video-market-overview/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172528+cha-ching-touch-finally-in-app-store&utm_content=nsantilli">Report: A Mobile Video Market&nbsp;Overview</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/10/in-q3-the-tablet-and-4g-were-the-big-stories/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172528+cha-ching-touch-finally-in-app-store&utm_content=nsantilli">In Q3, the Tablet and 4G Were the Big&nbsp;Stories</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172528&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>GrandTotal + TimeLog = Invoicing Bliss</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/apple/grandtotal-timelog-invoicing-bliss/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/apple/grandtotal-timelog-invoicing-bliss/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:00:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Matthew Bookspan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CNN Startups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NYT Startups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SYN Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SYN Feature Enterprise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grandtotal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iCal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invoice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[media atelier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[timelog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theappleblog.com/?p=18967</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you haven&#8217;t noticed, the writers here at TAB like to write about invoicing applications. Some of our recent reviews include Billings, OnTheJob and Involer. But forget all of those other invoicing applications. I just found the one true ring of invoicing and time management: GrandTotal [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172461&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img  title="grandtotal_icon" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/grandtotal_icon.png?w=180&h=180" alt="grandtotal_icon" width="180" height="180" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p class="excerpt">If you haven&#8217;t noticed, the writers here at TAB like to write about invoicing applications. Some of our recent reviews include <a title="Billings 3 Brings Welcome Updates, Fresh Design" href="http://gigaom.com/apple/billings-3-brings-welcome-updates-fresh-design/">Billings</a>, <a title="On The Job 3.0" href="http://gigaom.com/apple/on-the-job-30/">OnTheJob</a> and <a title="Super Simple Invoicing With Involer" href="http://gigaom.com/apple/super-simple-invoicing-with-involer/">Involer</a>. But forget all of those other invoicing applications. I just found the one true ring of invoicing and time management: GrandTotal + TimeLog from <a title="Media Atelier" href="http://www.grandtotal.biz">Media Atelier</a>.</p>
<p>I have been testing this application bundle for the past two weeks ,and I am very impressed with the quality and overall user experience. Because of its integration with Address Book, iCal, <a title="MobileMe" href="http://www.me.com">MobileMe</a>, and <a title="iWork 09" href="http://www.apple.com/iwork/">iWork</a>, it really feels like it&#8217;s a native app. <span id="more-172461"></span></p>
<h3>GrandTotal</h3>
<p>As an invoicing application, GrandTotal has an impressive feature set. Here is a short list of the many things GrandTotal can do:</p>
<ul>
<li>The ability to create recurring invoices</li>
<li>An invoice editor that lets you customize your own layout (using existing templates or creating your own)</li>
<li>Quotes &amp; account statements</li>
<li>Flexible tax settings &amp; multiple currency support</li>
<li>Integration with Address Book and TimeLog</li>
<li>Catalog for recurring and fixed amount items</li>
<li>Reminders for due &amp; overdue invoice</li>
<li>Many export options, including PD</li>
</ul>
<p>Version 1.2 was released this week and with it came the following <em>new</em> features:</p>
<ul>
<li>iPhone application (more below)</li>
<li>All-new UI for the Preferences dialog box</li>
<li>Ability to create an invoice with just the Gross total</li>
<li>Addition of a Recent list to the Overview</li>
</ul>
<p>As I mentioned, the application is very easy to use. Let&#8217;s take a look at the main UI (items are intentionally blurred to protect the innocent):</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img  title="GT Main" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/untitled1.png?w=590&h=382" alt="GT Main" width="590" height="382" class=" alignleft" /><em>GrandTotal Overview Tab &#8211; Recent/Open Invoices<br />
</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img  title="untitled-21" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/untitled-21.png?w=590&h=475" alt="untitled-21" width="590" height="475" class=" alignleft" /><em>GrandTotal Preferences &#8211; TimeLog Integration</em></p>
<h3>TimeLog</h3>
<p>As a time-tracking application, TimeLog&#8217;s feature set is also very impressive. Here is a short list:</p>
<ul>
<li>Uses iCal calendars and calculates the time spent on projects. You can assign clients to your projects from the Address Book. Your timesheets are then synced with MobileMe, ensuring they are current no matter which Mac you use.</li>
<li>There is a menu item that lets you manage your time easily. You can start and stop the Timer with just one click.</li>
<li>TimeLog can track the applications you use and then display the usage in the TimeLine. One caveat here is that it tracks everything you do. The developer does not have blacklist functionality yet, but he is working on it.</li>
<li>Export your timesheet to Pages or Numbers &#8212; this is great for sharing your data with others prior to sending out an invoice.</li>
<li>Integrates with GrandTotal &#8212; all of your timesheet data is easily available in GrandTotal for quick processing of invoices.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img  title="TimeLog" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/untitled2.png?w=590&h=367" alt="TimeLog" width="590" height="367" class=" alignleft" /><br />
<em>TimeLog Main Window</em></p>
<h3>iPhone App</h3>
<p>New to version 1.2 of GrandTotal is an iPhone app that lets you review your invoices while on-the-go. The best part? It&#8217;s free.</p>
<p>In the app, you can view Overdue, Due and Open invoices. You then click the invoices to see the full details as well as the contact information of the client. The client information is &#8220;hot&#8221; in that it will take you to your address book contact entry so that you can call/email/text them. A nice feature to have would be to re-send any outstanding invoices via the iPhone app.</p>
<p>The one requirement in using the iPhone app is that you must have a MobileMe account to sync your GrandTotal data. Otherwise, the app doesn&#8217;t work (which will be a deal breaker for some).</p>
<p><img  title="GT - iPhone 1" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/iphone-simulator-09-03-02-154419.png?w=345&h=640" alt="GT - iPhone 1" width="345" height="640" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>GrandTotal iPhone App Main Screen</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><img  title="GT iPhone 2" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/iphone-simulator-09-03-02-154407.png?w=345&h=640" alt="GT iPhone 2" width="345" height="640" class=" alignleft" />GrandTotal iPhone App Invoice Detail Screen</em></p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>The tag-team of these two products provides a pretty powerful punch in managing your time as well as your billing. The user interface for both GrandTotal and TimeLog is exceptional and makes it pretty easy to get set up for your small business.</p>
<p>Further, you now have iPhone integration so that you can review your invoices and their current standing with your customers. This way, it&#8217;s just a quick call away for asking the question: &#8220;Is the payment on it&#8217;s way out?&#8221;</p>
<p>However, are these two apps the best out there? Have we reached invoicing nirvana? Well, I would say it&#8217;s pretty close &#8212; if you don&#8217;t mind a few items:</p>
<ol>
<li>The price. Compared to the competition, which averages about $40, to purchase both GrandTotal and TimeLog be prepared to spend about $75.</li>
<li>iCal integration is excellent, although there is a big caveat. I would discourage you from using any existing calendars as TimeLog changes the data to existing iCal meeting entries.</li>
<li>Application management. In the competitive space, both Billings and OnTheJob contain the majority of features in one, rather than two applications.</li>
</ol>
<p>At the end of the day, you can overcome these issues if you want to have the most full-featured time management and invoicing products on the market.</p>
<p>The developer says that more is on the horizon. Maybe an iPhone app for TimeLog? Possible integration with accounting applications? Stay tuned. One thing is for sure, based upon what we have with GrandTotal and TimeLog, we can only continue to expect great things in the future from Media Atelier.</p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172461+grandtotal-timelog-invoicing-bliss&utm_content=mbookspan">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172461+grandtotal-timelog-invoicing-bliss&utm_content=mbookspan">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172461+grandtotal-timelog-invoicing-bliss&utm_content=mbookspan">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172461+grandtotal-timelog-invoicing-bliss&utm_content=mbookspan">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172461&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Apple Shareholders Re-Elect Board</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/apple/apple-shareholders-re-elect-board/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/apple/apple-shareholders-re-elect-board/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:17:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David Appleyard</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CNN Big Tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NYT Company News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SYN Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SYN Straight News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[board]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corporate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meeting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shareholder]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theappleblog.com/?p=18108</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The annual Apple shareholders meeting had a different tone than usual on Wednesday, lacking the presence of company CEO Steve Jobs. The Apple board hasn&#8217;t had a straightforward year, leading the company through a global financial crisis and aiming to stem the ongoing investor uncertainty surrounding [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172414&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img  title="apple_logo1" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/apple_logo1.png?w=188&h=225" alt="apple_logo1" width="188" height="225" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p class="excerpt">The annual Apple shareholders meeting had a different tone than usual on Wednesday, lacking the presence of company CEO Steve Jobs. The Apple board hasn&#8217;t had a straightforward year, leading the company through a global financial crisis and aiming to stem the ongoing investor uncertainty surrounding Steve Jobs&#8217; health.</p>
<p>Shareholders seemed to embrace the positive on the whole, wishing Jobs a Happy Birthday (he turned 54 on Tuesday) and offering mixed opinion on how the board handled disclosing information surrounding recent events. <span id="more-172414"></span></p>
<h3>A Healthy CEO</h3>
<p>As expected, a great deal of time and attention was given to Steve Jobs. As the man who has provided visionary leadership for the company in recent years, to many he is a vital member of the Apple corporate machine. His announcement of escalating health concerns last month caused a stir in the technology press, with rumors about his condition changing every day. Thankfully, this has now settled down as people have come to realize that Apple won&#8217;t collapse without his presence.</p>
<p>Shareholders approached the board with a mix of acceptance that personal matters need to be kept private, and questions of whether enough information has been provided. According to <a href="http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/02/25/a-peek-inside-apples-shareholders-meeting/">Fortune</a>, they were in good enough spirit to sing Happy Birthday and wish him well.</p>
<p>Comments from an Apple shareholder for 20 years, Roland Quintero of Palo Alto, Calif., summarized the general consensus well:</p>
<blockquote><p>The problem is between corporate and personal responsibility. Anything Apple says would affect the market. The board&#8217;s decision reflects a desire to maintain stability and market share. As a shareholder, I, personally, would like to know more, but I understand the no-win situation the company is in.</p></blockquote>
<p>It&#8217;s good to see that shareholders do accept that a level of privacy is needed, both for the sake of Jobs and his family, and also to preserve a stable share price for the company. As the months without Jobs tick by (and software/hardware releases <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/safari-4-beta-released/">keep coming</a>), Apple seems to be coping very well with Tim Cook temporarily running the company. It would be great to see Jobs back and fighting fit in the future, but this stint without him should go a long way towards showing that Apple has the internal vision and direction to continue innovating without him at the helm.</p>
<h3>Re-electing the Board</h3>
<p>The shareholders made the decision to re-elect the entire Apple board of 8 people, including former vice president Al Gore and Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Votes were taken on four proposals to change shareholder say on executive compensation, increase required company disclosure and alter staff healthcare provision, but none were passed.</p>
<p>The decision to retain all board members demonstrates a show of support on behalf of the shareholders, and a belief that the company is still being lead by those with the knowledge and expertise to ensure future success. It&#8217;s exactly what Apple needed to retain stability and confidence in otherwise turbulent times.</p>
<p>In typical secret fashion, Apple prohibited attendees from carrying mobile or communications devices into the shareholder meeting, to ensure that information wasn&#8217;t misinterpreted or leaked during the presentation. Despite this, a few <a href="https://twitter.com/npann/status/1250231344">tweets</a> did manage to leak out while the meeting was in progress.</p>
<h3>Dividend Payments</h3>
<p>Questions surrounded dividend payments, with hopes from shareholders that a portion of Apple&#8217;s extensive cash balance would be used to reward those investing in the company. Apple held over $25 billion in cash at the end of the most recent quarter, the second largest cash level among high-tech companies.</p>
<p>With many companies struggling financially at present, Apple would appear to be in a strong position to continue operations as normal, along with pumping money into research and development. With any luck, they&#8217;ll come out of the current recession with an ever-improving hardware and software lineup. On the whole, the re-election of the board and wishes for Steve Jobs&#8217; return to good health bode well for the company.</p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172414+apple-shareholders-re-elect-board&utm_content=davidappleyard">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172414+apple-shareholders-re-elect-board&utm_content=davidappleyard">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172414+apple-shareholders-re-elect-board&utm_content=davidappleyard">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172414+apple-shareholders-re-elect-board&utm_content=davidappleyard">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172414&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Super Simple Invoicing With Involer</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/apple/super-simple-invoicing-with-involer/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/apple/super-simple-invoicing-with-involer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:51:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David Appleyard</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CNN Big Tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NYT Enterprise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SYN Feature Enterprise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dreamapps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invoicing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[involer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://theappleblog.com/?p=17323</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s no shortage of invoicing applications for OS X, with a notable few including Billable, iBiz, Billings, and On The Job. They all offer different functionality, and may fit your requirements perfectly. However, another contender has recently emerged on the scene in the form of Involer. [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172370&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img  title="involer_big" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/involer_big.png?w=260&h=260" alt="involer_big" width="260" height="260" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p class="excerpt">There&#8217;s no shortage of invoicing applications for OS X, with a notable few including <a href="http://clickablebliss.com/billable">Billable</a>, <a href="http://www.iggsoftware.com/ibiz/">iBiz</a>, <a href="http://www.billingsapp.com/">Billings</a>, and <a href="http://stuntsoftware.com/OnTheJob/">On The Job</a>. They all offer different functionality, and may fit your requirements perfectly. However, another contender has recently emerged on the scene in the form of <a href="http://the-dream.co.uk/involer/">Involer</a>.</p>
<p>Rather than attempting to be a complete solution for project management, tracking time, and storing client details, it sticks to the basics &#8212; sending and managing invoices. Involer aims to keep this process as simple as possible with an intuitive user interface and basic invoice designs.</p>
<p>This review will take a look at the main features of Involer, explaining what the app does well and where the areas for improvement lie.<br />
<span id="more-172370"></span></p>
<h3>The Interface</h3>
<p>The Involer interface takes one of the most simplistic approaches I&#8217;ve ever seen. Consisting of four areas: Company, Client, Invoices, and Invoice Preview. While dauntingly sparse at first, you do come to realize that it covers most of the basic functionality you need.</p>
<p><img  title="picture-110" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/picture-110.png?w=590&h=510" alt="picture-110" width="590" height="510" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p>One gripe I had immediately was the lack of any visual hints on how to get started after opening the application. It isn&#8217;t possible to actually add an invoice until you&#8217;ve entered a company and a client &#8212; something which would be easy to explain in any of the empty space when opening the app.</p>
<p>The preferences pane is equally sparse, with only a few options to handle updates and excluding certain items from an invoice.</p>
<p><img  title="picture-28" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/picture-28.png?w=480&h=352" alt="picture-28" width="480" height="352" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<h3>Adding Information and Creating Invoices</h3>
<p>Adding a client and company is as simple as hitting the <strong>+</strong> icon in the left hand sidebar. This creates a new blank record, which then needs to be double clicked to edit the name. If you don&#8217;t add a name straight away, there&#8217;s no way of knowing that an empty client actually exists &#8212; some form of dialog box to request a client&#8217;s name when being added would be beneficial. However, it is possible to import client data from Address Book (limited to their name and email address).</p>
<p>Creating an invoice occurs in an attractive interface, with a simple two column layout for item and amount. You can edit the title and thank you note, and optionally add a tax value. Tax rates are specified for every company on an individual basis and calculated automatically for each invoice sent to them.</p>
<p>Previewing an invoice looks good, and the layout and style retains the simplicity inherent within the app itself.</p>
<p><img  title="picture-44" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/picture-44.png?w=517&h=803" alt="picture-44" width="517" height="803" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<h3>Sending and Exporting</h3>
<p>There are two ways to distribute an invoice &#8212; via PDF or Print. Both generate a decent looking simplistic invoice, but I&#8217;d appreciate a way to have greater control over customizing the font and appearance to match my branding. In addition, it would be great to generate an email with the PDF attached, automatically addressed to the invoice recipient.</p>
<h3>Searching and Organizing</h3>
<p>Two of the main aims of Involer are to have &#8220;all of your invoices stored in the application, allowing you to refer back to them at any point&#8221; along with the ability to &#8220;find a specific invoice with just a few keystrokes.&#8221; This is achieved through both a timeline-style browser and a search function.</p>
<p><img  title="picture-55" src="http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/picture-55.png?w=370&h=79" alt="picture-55" width="370" height="79" class=" alignleft" /></p>
<p>The timeline browser is a great addition, especially if you send out a large quantity of invoices. Unfortunately, the search feature didn&#8217;t work at all for me, likely a glitch with the latest release and something which will be high on their list of priorities to fix.</p>
<h3>Simplicity Gone Too Far?</h3>
<p>Generally, I&#8217;m a huge fan of applications which cut back on unnecessary features and execute the bare minimum excellently (<a href="http://www.hogbaysoftware.com/products/writeroom">WriteRoom</a> for instance). However, I feel that Involer may have taken this concept a little too far in cutting back on features that people do actually need.</p>
<p>One major oversight would seem to be the lack of any Invoice ID. This is almost always a requirement, and while it could be added manually to the title, it makes sense for a piece of software to automatically generate this for you. Design wise, I generally find that companies often use invoices and receipts as a good way to project the professionalism and style of their brand. Stripping all this away may not suit everyone&#8217;s taste.</p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>Ironically, many applications which are perfectly production ready are labeled as a beta. Involer is one advertised as a full release, when I think actually it could have done with a few months of limited beta testing. There were a number of issues which made the app feel slightly difficult to use, not least of which was the search function not working correctly.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re searching for an app to create and manage invoices in a basic way, Involer could well be for you. I&#8217;m confident that updates and enhancements are being made to fix problems with the early release of the app. An updated version (1.1) was released this past weekend with a whole host of fixes and updates from the original release, with more coming soon.</p>
<p>The concept of the app is great, but the execution needs a little more polish before I&#8217;ll be considering using it for myself. Involer is priced at $19.99 and a fully functioning 10 day trial <a href="http://the-dream.co.uk/involer/">available to download</a>. It requires Mac OS X 10.5 and higher (Mac OS X 10.5.2 or higher recommended). Involer runs natively on bother PowerPC and Intel-based Macintosh computers.</p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172370+super-simple-invoicing-with-involer&utm_content=davidappleyard">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172370+super-simple-invoicing-with-involer&utm_content=davidappleyard">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172370+super-simple-invoicing-with-involer&utm_content=davidappleyard">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=apple&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=apple&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=172370+super-simple-invoicing-with-involer&utm_content=davidappleyard">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=172370&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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