Update Aug 8: FMWebschool has just lowered the price of FMTouch to $69.99 from $99.99. They are offering $50 FMWebschool store credits to buyers who paid the full $99.99 amount.
I didn’t see this one coming. FMWebschool is rocking hard. Their new FMTouch iPhone app shows true promise.
FMTouch provides a way to migrate a relational FileMaker database to reside locally on your iPhone or iPod touch. You can enter and edit data from your phone.
Even better, you can wirelessly sync your changes both ways back to a local or hosted FileMaker database. Realistically, you have to expect all sorts of constraints in these early days. But, watching the video, this mobile FileMaker app is already pretty darned amazing.
Today’s press release provides you some of the details, but there’s also a quick Intro Video and a detailed nuts and bolts tutorial video for your viewing pleasure. There is a downloadable list of features.
You get native performance, syncing and you are untethered. You don’t have to have wi-fi while you are out away from your computer the way you would with a web app. This is truly fascinating.
FMWebschool uses a current DDR of your database to create a native iPhone version of the database. That’s a pretty good trick in itself. Keep an eye on FMTouch. It is worth seeing how things go.
Hardcore FileMaker iPhone enthusiasts (especially those with bucks up clients who want to be first on their block with a FileMaker database running on their iPhones) should dive in now. It will cost you $100.
FMtouch was released on the Apple App store on August 5. You can buy FMTouch on the App store. A newer version (1.6) has already been submitted and is awaiting Apple approval.