Mobile Checkbook 4.0 for BlackBerry Review

I almost never write checks.  I mainly use my debit card and rarely even carry my checkbook with me.  Keeping track of my transactions is very important to me and I found a very simple solution.  I always carry my BlackBerry with me, and Mobile Checkbook by Mobatech has created a simple, yet very effective solution for tracking my accounts.

The Stanley Cup

I was minding my own business 11:30p Friday night, 6/11/10, just hanging out by the circle drive in our downtown Chicago apartment building.  Many people milled about on State and Rush Streets, visiting the many restaurants and taverns.  It’s some good people watching.  I was texting on my BlackBerry Curve when I heard police sirens.  That’s not unusual, especially on a weekend night.  The suburbanites love to come downtown, get drunk and do things they shouldn’t do.  What was unusual, however, was the fact that two police cars, sirens blaring, pulled up quickly to our circle drive.  This caught the attention of many passers-by, who wandered over to see who was getting arrested.  Odder still, two young ladies came out of the backseat of one of the cars, laughing and smiling.  Who were these important ladies that needed a police escort?

Just as suddenly, a large limo/van pulled up next to the police cars, effectively blocking off the drive for all traffic, including those wishing to park in our building.  Curiosity brought a huge throng of people over, all with cameras out and ready to photograph whatever excitement would follow.  Next thing I know, the van door opens and out pops Andrew Ladd of the Blackhawks, holding the Stanley Cup up high for all to see.

I just bought a new camera, but it was upstairs.  I had no chance to get it and was stuck taking photos w/my BlackBerry.

The Hawks stayed for about 15 minutes and allowed us all to take photos.  We cheered for them, clapped and showed them our appreciation.  They then left and went to their next destination.  They stopped at many popular hang-outs and did the same thing.

SplashID for BlackBerry Review v5.0.3

If you’re reading this, chances are you have a plethora of user ID’s and passwords for a myriad of websites, emails, computers, credit cards and many other items that require passwords and security.  SplashData’s SplashID is a password manager, also known as a wallet program.  This program, along with its desktop companion software, will help you manage all your important personal information. 

Views

The software features two views, list view and tree view.  List view, pictured below, allows you to choose a category, type or use Find to quickly pull up what you need.  Tree view skips the Types field and displays just the categories.  Both views feature a search bar to quickly get the info you need.

Tree view:

Click on an item to expand it:

Any time you expand a view in Tree view, the software asks you to confirm your action.  I wish it would just expand when I click the plus sign.  List view doesn’t make you take this extra step.

To see the detail of a particular card, click on it, then press “detail”.

 

Categories and Types

Categories are used to group related records such as business, and personal records.  Types act as templates for inputting information.  A little complicated?  I agree, but it works.  A credit card template will have different information than a website login, and types allow you to define what information goes into the templates that you create.  You can use both to narrow down the items you are looking for.  For example, you may have web logins for work and for personal use.  Choose the Personal category, then choose Web Logins under Types and you will only see work logins.

And here’s the Business category with Web Logins:

Data

Your data is stored on “cards”.  The program has many built-in templates that you can modify, or you can create your own.  I am shopping for a new home in the city of Chicago, and to make it easy to find streets while I’m on the go I created a Streets template, downloaded tons of street information and put it into my template.

Find State Street:

See detailed view:

 

This streets template simply includes the street name, and it’s location.  Once you start using SplashID you will find many uses for it.  Our company carries hundreds of products, and each product has multiple prices, so I made a category for our products that I can quickly pull up while with customers.  I also keep track of my credit cards, memberships, logins, and many other things.  In fact, SplashID provides over 20 card templates for bank accounts, birthdays, calling cards, credit cards, domains and many more.

Import

Using this software is quite easy, but the key is getting data INTO SplashID.  Fortunately, this is not difficult either, as long as you have the desktop component.  If you’ve ever imported a comma delimted file (CSV) into Excel, then you can import data into SplashID.  As you can see below, you can import data with other data types as well, including from other wallet programs.  Obviously, you can also add individual cards as well.

Security

The most important reason to get SplashID is to have a secure home for your passwords and private information.  This is where SplashID shines.  You need only memorize one password to use SplashID, then you can access your many stored passwords.  According to their website, SplashID uses, “Unbreakable AES and 256-bit Blowfish encryption.”  You can’t beat that. 

Instead of using the same passwords for all your needs, you should use a different password for every need.  SplashID helps you by using their automatic password generator that will give you unguessable passwords.

SplashID has a mask/unmask feature that hides your passwords from those looking over your shoulder.  A masked password such as this: ****** will unmask into your password.

 

Desktop Companion Software

The desktop software performs all the same tasks as the BlackBerry, plus a few more such as importing.  I won’t go into much detail, but the following screenshots should give you an idea of what the desktop is about.

Category view:

Detail view:

Double panel shows types on the left and items on the right.

The triple panel shows the same as above and adds a detail screen at the far right.

Other Features

From the SplashID website:

Key Features:

• Enhanced security – AES and Blowfish encryption, auto lockout after 10 failed attempts, password strength meter, and password hint option
• Desktop web browser plugin with web form autofill (Safari and Internet Explorer)
• Attach files to records for secure retrieval at a later date
• Add custom icons to records from any image file (48×48 PNG recommended)
• Smart Types (Most Viewed, Recently Modified, & Recently Viewed) help you get to your most popular records faster.
• Sync multiple SplashID databases (with other version 5 BlackBerry databases only)
• Enhanced Lookup feature instantly displays relevant results as you type
• Email and share securely encrypted SplashID files to other users
• Toolbars give you button features where they are needed the most
• Updated icon set with enhanced high resolution graphics
• Unlimited number of customizable record types and categories for storing all kinds of confidential information (usernames, passwords, bank accounts, credit cards, registrations, insurance, prescriptions, and more)
• Synchronize data between your BlackBerry and your Windows or Mac desktop using the included desktop software, via USB or Wi-Fi (if available). Mac sync is Wi-Fi only.
• Automatic password generator – for generating random hacker-safe passwords based on user criteria
• Complete backup and restore feature
• Set URL field in your records to deliver you to the correct address every time — completely defeats phishing
• Sequential backup system

 

Cost

The software for your BlackBerry and the desktop companion run $29.95.  Not cheap, but once you start using it you will get addicted.

Conclusion

It ain’t cheap.  But if you want a simple, portable way to have all your important data at your fingertips, this is a great investment.  It’s very flexible in that it lets you customize your data, it gives you a way to import tons of data at once, and it’s quite easy to use.  Most importantly, it is extremely secure.