iPhone and iPad

eWallet for iPhone Answers II

July 21, 2008 by Marc

I’m sure you heard the news, but eWallet is finally in the AppStore! Over the last three days we’ve watched as eWallet raced up the charts and it is already one of the top 100 applications. Thank you to everyone for all your support during this time and thank you to everyone who ran out and bought a copy!

Now, let’s get on to the many questions we’ve been receiving about eWallet for iPhone! Some of these we’ve covered before so I apologize to our regular readers, but I want to make sure to cover all the bases.

And we’re going to try to answer every question, so if we didn’t anwer yours yet, we will, and if you have new questions, let us know!

SYNCHING, OLD WALLETS, AND BACKUPS

How do I move my data to the iPhone?

Within the next few weeks we will be releasing an update to eWallet that will support synchronization. At that time you can move all your existing wallets over to the iPhone. Sorry for the delay on this. No matter how we cut it, we weren’t going to get everything done by the AppStore release date so we decided we’d release the base application first and add sync with the update.

What about backing up my information?

The phone does this. I did a hard reset on my own phone to test it and iTunes does indeed backup everything on your phone, including your wallets. Once you’ve restored your phone (or restored a new one if you lost your current phone) all of your eWallet data is restored as well.

Will I have to sync to the Cloud?

No. In fact after our initial suggestion that this was the method we planned to use, we received so much feedback from folks saying “No! We want local sync!” that we’re implementing local sync first instead. The only limitation is that you will need a wireless network to synchronize your data. We still have big plans to support Cloud sync as well, but for August we’re focusing on the local sync solution.

Why can’t I just copy a wallet over to the phone?

Although eWallet is using standard .WLT files (the kind used on your Windows PC) Apple hasn’t been particularly open about letting applications move files back and forth. So far, we haven’t come up with a good way to do this directly. Our developers are pretty darn clever though, and if we find an “Apple legal” way we’ll happily let you know.

How much will the sync update cost?

Not a thing. It will be a free upgrade for anyone who owns eWallet for iPhone already.

PRICING AND (FREE) DESKTOP SOFTWARE

Why is the iPhone software $9.99 when for other platforms it is $19.95?

Apple doesn’t give us a way to provide a discounted price to existing users. As a result, we decided to choose a price that was comparable to the $10.00 add-on price that we’ve always offered to existing. I’m not sure if the software will always be $9.99 but we really didn’t want to charge our existing customers full price and this was the only way we could do it.

Is there a desktop version?

Yes, eWallet has a version for desktop. You can get all the details here:

http://www.iliumsoft.com/site/ew/ewallet.php

If you have eWallet 6.1 on your Windows PC, you will be eligible for a free upgrade to 6.1.1 which will incorporate a few minor changes to support iPhone synchronization.

Do I need different desktop versions for Windows Mobile/BlackBerry/iPhone/etc?

Absolutely not. One desktop version lets you synchronize with all of your mobile devices, other computers, USB drives, remote locations like FTP sites, and more.

I heard I can get eWallet for Windows desktop free!

UPDATE 09-19-08: This offer was only valid before the 6.1.2 sync upgrade came out. The upgrade went live in the App Store on September 7th, at which time this promotion ended. The desktop version of eWallet is $9.95 for all iPhone eWallet owners. You can find upgrade details here on our site.

That’s true! We feel pretty bad that we couldn’t have the sync component ready to roll on Day 1 so we’ve decided to make it up to you. Just email us (support@iliumsoft.com) a copy of your iTunes electronic receipt showing your eWallet purchase using the subject FREE DESKTOP EWALLET and we’ll send you download and unlock information for the Windows PC version of eWallet 6.1 at no charge. Or, if you already own eWallet 6.1 for Windows PC, use the subject FIVE BUCKS OFF and we’ll send you a discount code that will let you get $5.00 off your next purchase through the Ilium Software online store.

MAC OSX SUPPORT

Do you have a Mac version?

Not yet, but we’re working on it. We hope to have a version of eWallet for Mac available later this year.

Is there anything I can do in the meantime?

Unfortunately we don’t have a great solution for Mac users at this time, but we are working on some plans that might provide an interim solution while you wait for the true Mac version. We’ll keep you updated! And if you want to get emailed when we have Mac news, send an email to support@iliumsoft.com with the subject MAC UPDATES. We’ll make sure to let you know what is happening.

EVERYTHING ELSE!

Is there a trial version?

No. Unfortunately, AppStore and the iPhone don’t have a method for supporting trial version right now. We do have a demo video (about a minute and half long) that you can watch:

High Res (11 MB) Med Res (9 MB) Low Res (5 MB)

Don’t you have an iPhone site?

Absolutely! You can check it out here:

http://www.iliumsoft.com/site/iphone/products_ewallet.php

Looks great on your desktop or an iPhone.

eWallet's in the iTunes App Store

July 19, 2008 by Ellen

We’re there! Check it out! (Start iTunes and search for eWallet - I’ll get our links fixed later today.)

Thanks to everyone for their support. I’m on my way out right now, but will post more news and fix the links this afternoon. We’ll answer all the questions you probably have on Monday.

(And if anyone wants to repeat their nice comments in a review on the store - we always appreciate those too.)

Thanks again everybody,

Waiting for Apple

July 16, 2008 by Marc

Wow. If you think waiting for eWallet is painful out there, try being in here. We were really fired up for the big launch and now we’re just pulling our hair out wondering what is happening (and if you’ve seen pictures of me, additional hair removal is a serious problem in my case.) We were told that the app would appear by the 11th, talked to “thrice-removed from the actual AppStore” support personnel, emailed every person we can think of, and stared endlessly at the status screen willing it to change. Still, nothing.

All I can say is that we have a finished application that we think rocks and we REALLY wish Apple would hurry up and put it in the store. There is nothing wrong with the export approval (we’ve been doing this for awhile now - all paperwork is in order) so we can’t begin to guess (although we’ve tried) about what is wrong.

I’m not going to complain about Apple yet. I’m sure they are swamped. And let’s be honest, despite what a great device the iPhone is, Apple is a new-comer to the mobile software market. As the discussions about “Spam Apps”, name-change line jumping, and the uproar about the lack of trials shows, Apple is still learning.

And frankly, every reseller in the mobile market has things that drive developers crazy. We didn’t go into this thinking Apple would be perfect. For now, I’m happy to give them the benefit of the doubt. But Apple…get eWallet processed and into the store! You’re killing us over here!

Answers!

July 14, 2008 by Marc

Wow! It’s really exciting to see so much interest in eWallet for iPhone. Even negative comments are great from my perspective because it tells me you are at least giving us the opportunity to help you! Thanks!

That said, this entire blog post is dedicated to answering the many questions that have come up over the past week or so. I hope that this will help everyone to understand what is going on and know what the future holds!

Is It Out Yet? As of this posting, no. We’re still waiting. Seriously, we don’t know what the issue as. All we know is that it says it is waiting for the export approval (that thing that has to do with the encryption and shipping overseas.)

When Will Sync Be Available? We expect to have a version with full synchronization available around August 13th (Apple willing.) So about 30 days from now.

How Much Will It Cost? Although it may change in the future, the initial pricing for eWallet on iPhone is $9.99.

Is There a Discount for Existing Users? Right now, Apple doesn’t give us a way to offer discounts to existing users. In fact other than having it on the store and giving it a price we have no other control. That is part of the reason we decided to go with the $9.99 price tag. It basically offers the software at the $10.00 upgrade price.

Why Are Other Company’s Apps in the Store But You Aren’t? Boy, we’d sure like to know! We’ve talked to the folks at Apple and so far we’ve simply been told that all we can do is wait. It’s making us crazy since they told us we’d be in by the 11th! Unfortunately, when it comes to Apple there is very little you can do or find out. You simply have to say “OK Apple” and hope for the best. As we said before, our application still tells us they are waiting for export approval.

 Why Did You Implement Other Features and not Sync? Sync is huge. Putting a rounded corner on a card is simple. It isn’t that we spent the time we could have used for sync on doing card formatting options. It’s simply that sync by itself is almost as big as the rest of the program (complexity wise). As I mentioned, we could have just waited 30 days to release the whole thing but it really seemed like we should get the application out there as soon as possible.

Why Didn’t You Throw More Resources at This to Get It Done? We threw as much as we could at this project. As most of you know, we’re not a huge company and we have a lot of bases to cover. Had we thrown any more at this project it would have meant pulling folks off of eWallet 6.1. We just didn’t feel that doing that would have been fair to our existing customers, especially since those features were part of a promise we made to FlexWallet users.

Will the Upgrade to the Sync Version be Free? Yes. The upgrade should be completely free. It should come through as a normal application upgrade in the AppStore.

If I Make a Wallet Now Will it Work in August? Yes. Your data should remain intact when you upgrade.

Can I Use 1 Password to Sync for Now? Sorry. At this point the only solution is to wait the 30 days. I really wish I could offer a better solution.

Is There a Desktop Version? Some of you may be new to eWallet so I want to answer this one. There is a full featured Windows PC desktop solution for eWallet. It is already available and offers full sync to network computers, ftp sites, Windows Mobile devices, Palm OS, USB cards, and more. This is the same version of the software that you will use to sync with your iPhone version.

Why Are You Penalising Existing Users? But we aren’t! However you cut it, eWallet with sync wasn’t going to be out until mid-August. That was the simple reality of how long it took to develop the application. The only difference is that we decided to release the current version first just to get it out there and let folks start using it!

“Even a workaround hack (used at the user’s own risk) is acceptable.” I’m not sure that we can officially release workaround hacks. That sort of thing tends to get you in trouble with the OS. What I can tell you is that eWallet for iPhone uses a standard .WLT file. That means the same old file you use on your Windows PC is what we’re using to access data on the iPhone side. Once eWallet goes out, if someone could figure out how to stick a wallet in the right place, we certainly wouldn’t try to silence them.

I…N EED…MY…WALLET…NOW!!!!! OK, OK. I hear you. The Web Companion beta is tight but if you are in a bad situation (going on vacation) and need SOME way of getting to your data on your iPhone before August 13th, email me directly with the subject HELP ME. I will try to push you through into the Web Companion beta and then you can at least access your data there! Please only email me if you are in a really tight spot because as I mentioned, we have limited space at the moment - let’s work together to leave room for the people who really need to get in!

Nice Explanation But Not Good Enough! I know that for some folks this will be a “Sorry, I’m out of here” issue. As I said, we could have waited until August but we really felt that this was the best route to take. If waiting the additional 30 days is too much we totally understand. Everyone has their limit and we respect that. You need to do what works best for you.

Can I Beta Test eWallet for iPhone? Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t give us a way to get beta versions out to people. We get a certain number of “test unit” registrations in-house but that’s it. I think it is all part of the “don’t let anyone else distribute” thing but it sure is a pain for us.

When Will ListPro for iPhone Be Out? I don’t have a release date yet but I’m guessing within the next month or two. Just a guess though.

You Must Tell Us! What About OSX/Mac? Fine, you’ve beaten me down! We are planning an OSX version of eWallet for and probably ListPro. When will it be available? Let us get through this first and then we’ll let you know! I’m guessing later this year but that’s just a guess.

AND FINALLY

Can’t You Do ANYTHING For Us? I can do one thing. We still need to work out the details but we plan to do the following…anyone who buys eWallet for iPhone before the release of the sync version in August will get either (their choice):

1. The eWallet 6.1 desktop version at no charge.
2. $5.00 off your next purchase at Ilium Software if you already have the desktop version.

UPDATE 09-19-08: This offer was only valid before the 6.1.2 sync upgrade came out. The upgrade went live in the App Store on September 7th, at which time this promotion ended. The desktop version of eWallet is $9.95 for all iPhone eWallet owners. You can find upgrade details here on our site.

Like I said, we need to work out the details but that is our intent. Hopefully that will help to soften the blow a little bit at least!

eWallet for iPhone Sync

July 11, 2008 by Marc

Well, it’s the 11th and we’re still waiting on Apple over here. Yeah, it was supposed to be in the store today but as of right now it’s not there. Of course “today” isn’t over so we’ll see what develops!

That being the case and not knowing when they will go live with our application, I’m going to go ahead and answer some of the burning questions rather than waiting on Apple to release it before we talk about it.

OK, so here it is, the big question we keep hearing. Will eWallet for iPhone sync? Will you be able to use your old wallets in eWallet on iPhone? And the answer is:

“Yes…but not until August”

I’ll wait for the shouting to die down then I’ll continue. And please do read on as I think it will help to illuminate the reasoning behind our decision.

What the…? No Sync?

We have the means to sync, but one thing that folks who have been with us for awhile know is that we’re perfectionists. When we put a feature in, by god it had better work exactly the way it is supposed to. In fact, it should work better than we planned it.

So, while we have the capability to sync, there were things we just weren’t happy with. As the submission date for iPhone applications loomed we realized that we had three choices:

Option 1: Jam It In

We could have just jammed it all in and hurried it to market. We really can do this if we want to. The problem is that this sort of decision is almost guaranteed to bite you later. It would have gotten the app out to everyone, with all features intact, but at what cost?

Option 2: Wait Until It Is Done

We’ve chosen this option numerous times in previous projects. If the app isn’t where we want it to be, we just don’t release until it is. That’s one of the reasons we so seldom announce release dates. We like the flexibility to say “It isn’t perfect! Back to your computer code monkey!” We could have done this for iPhone eWallet but we knew that our competitors would be there early on. The folks who are really loyal to us might have waited until August, but new customers (of which we believe there will be many) who don’t really understand the value of sync yet anyhow, wouldn’t wait. We just couldn’t choose this one.

Option 3: A Two-Stage Launch

That left us with one final option. We get everything we can done by the launch date, make eWallet the best on-device secure password manager out there, and plan to release an update in August that adds full sync capability to eWallet.

Seriously Dude, That Sucks

Yeah, we know. We’re sorry we couldn’t have put the whole thing together in time for the launch but there’s only so much we can do. As you saw, we weren’t just doing eWallet for iPhone here. We still have a strong commitment to the platforms we already support (ie: eWallet 6.1). But don’t worry, there is some good news…

Why the August Sync Update Rocks

When the sync update goes out here is what you can look forward to:

• Same Desktop Version: No new or different desktop versions needed! The standard eWallet software for Windows PC will be all you need. We might release a 6.1.1 version to make the process even easier but you won’t even need to upgrade if you don’t want to.
• Complete Compatibility With Old Wallets: No conversions of your data. No limits about whether your data is supported. It’s your wallet, on the iPhone.
• Same Flexibility: Sync with as many devices as you like, sync to other computers, sync to the cloud…it’s all there still.
• Same Power: I have to say that we have one of the best sync engines around. It’s stable, smart, and fast. You get all the same power for iPhone sync.
• Sync From Anywhere: You can sync your iPhone wallet from anywhere at anytime! No need to be tethered to your PC.
• Skip the PC Completely: Don’t have a Windows PC? Don’t want a Windows PC? Not a problem. Sync straight to the eWallet Web Companion for easy backups and desktop access to your data.

We Won’t Let You Down

So never fear. We’ve made it our business to not let our customers down. I can confidently say that eWallet synching for iPhone is fantastic and I really believe you’ll like it as well. What is more, I think that once everyone has their hands on it they’ll agree that it was worth the wait!

Now let’s go Apple! Get us into the store!

eWallet for iPhone: The Movie!

July 10, 2008 by Marc

Pull up a chair and grap the popcorn! It’s eWallet for iPhone: The Movie! We know people are dying to get their hands on eWallet for iPhone but we’re still waiting on Apple!* In the meantime, we put together this short (about 1 minute, 40 seconds) demo video for you so that you can see the new software in action! Enjoy!

 The movies are in Quicktime format (seemed appropriate considering it’s for an Apple product) and are provided in three different resolutions for your viewing pleasure!

High Res (11 MB) Med Res (9 MB) Low Res (5 MB)

\* “What’s the hold up?” you ask. While we aren’t entirely sure, it looks like it has something to do with export approval. As most of your know our 256-bit AES encryption is exteremly powerful - so powerful, in fact, that we have to get a variety of government approvals to export eWallet (yep - an eWallet program so powerful exporting it to the wrong people is a potential security threat!) So anyhow, Apple has told us that it should be in the store by the 11th so we’re still hoping to make the “It’s Out!” announcement tomorrow!