Productivity tools are hardly among the top-selling apps on the iPhone, but even so, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) subsidiary FileMaker is banking on Bento, its popular database software for Macs, being a winner among iPhone users, too.
The application, which costs $4.99 and is available on the iTunes App Store as of today, is like an organizer for your life. It comes loaded with 25 built-in templates that helps users track expenses, recipes, plan events, or even diet. FileMaker did a great job of scaling it down from the $49 desktop version. It integrates automatically with your address book, calendar, mail and photos — without any complicated processes. And, although it’s considered “database” software, they use words like “libraries,” and make it look like iTunes, to make it easier to use.
But despite its touchy-feely side, it’s hard not to notice how it’s different from most other top-selling applications. The top apps so far have been things like social networks, games, or even simple applications that make farting noises. It’s fair to ask: Does the iPhone have a big market beyond entertainment applications? Ryan Rosenberg, FileMaker’s vp of marketing and services, admits that productivity is not high on the list, but says it’s still early days for the iPhone. Right now, it’s a bunch of smaller developers throwing things up to see if it sticks, but he says, as major vendors, like FileMaker enter the business, it will evolve. “Two to three years from now, it will not be just games,” he said, “there’s 37 million iPods and iPhones. If only 20 percent are interested in productivity tools, we’ll reach 7 million people right away.”
Rosenberg could be right. The top free app on iTunes is called 9-Toolbox, which offers a number of utility-like features, such as tip calculators and currency converters and a list of holidays. Plus, the company does have its advantages. First, it can sell the application to current Bento desktop users, who will be able to wirelessly sync the information from their Mac databases to the phone. It also may not struggle with discoverability on the App Store, like other developers who get lost among the 35,000 applications available. As an Apple subsidiary, Apple will likely be inclined to promote the app in iTunes, or even on TV. Rosenberg: “Most likely, we think we will get coverage.”
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