SplashData’s SplashID is an application that enabled you to securely record usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information in an encrypted database. SplashID works on the iPhone and iPod touch (OS 2.1 required, OS 3.0 is supported).
SplashID can be used as a standalone application on your iPhone or iPod touch (collectively referred to as an iPhone from here). You will, however, find SplashID becomes much more effective when you also purchase the desktop version of SplashID for Mac OS X or Windows machines.
SplashID on Your iPhone
When you launch SplashID on your iPhone for the first time, the Quick Start Guide is run. I really like this approach because it gives new users to a good overview of the application and what it can do without making the user read the 16 page user guide (unless they really want to). Sample records provided by SplashData help reinforce the concepts presented in the quick start guide. After spending a few minutes playing with the sample records for a few minutes, most people will probably delete them.
The List View screen, the default view for SplashID, has a pair of toolbars that you will want to familiarize yourself with it. Along the top of the screen, SplashData gives you a toolbar to manage your data: Search, filter by categories, and filter by record category. Along the bottom of the screen, are buttons for configuring SplashID, locking the application, and synchronizing the your iPhone with your computer over a Wi-Fi network.
I found that when I entered a small amount of records into SplashID, flicking my way down the list of records was OK. Later on, as I continued to use SplashID and add more records, I found that searching was a lot faster at finding my data.
When you tap on a record in List View, the data for that record will be displayed on the Record Info screen. By default, SplashID will display the data for your record with the contents of the Password field blocked out with star icons. SplashID also allows you to selectively turn on field content blocking, referred to as masking, for each of the other record detail fields. You would use this feature if you wanted to block out not only the contents of the Password field, but also the contents of the Username or any other field in the record. Tap a masked field to view it contents; tap the field again to mask it again.
Along side field masking in the Record Info screen, SplashID also allows you to apply your own custom field labels and password generation – a really nice feature if you work with a system the requires you to frequently generate secure passwords.
If you chose to purchase a copy of the SplashID desktop application, you will gain the ability to sync your iPhone with your PC. To synchronize your iPhone with SplashID on your computer, you must connect the machine to the same Wi-Fi network that your iPhone is connected to. Then you will be able to start up SlashID on the computer and the iPhone, pair them up, and then perform the sync. The pairing process only takes a few minutes to setup and the data synchronization is zippy. (There is no option to sync your iPhone to your computer with the iPhone data cable.)
Pricing and Availability
SplashID 5.1 for iPhone and iPod touch is available now for $9.99 from the Apple iTunes App Store. SplashID Desktop 5.1, $19.95, is available for direct purchase from the SplashData online store.
In addition to the iPhone edition of SplashID, SplashData also has versions available for BlackBerry, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, and Android smartphones. A version of SplashID is planned for Palm webOS with a free beta version available from the Palm App Catalog. There is also a corporate and government edition of SplashID available. For more information, visit the SplashData website.
[Photo courtesy of MobileAppleMe.net…]
