Lukas Gregor Although I am focusing on the application for iPad in my article, I was motivated to buy its desktop version. Bento represents the more user-friendly (and price-friendly) side of FileMaker's products. The application of the same name, which is among the top in the field of software designed for creating and managing databases, is a far cry from Bento, which you will learn to use in a moment. You don't have to worry about setting it up, but of course your hands are also a little more tied.
I found Bento to be a great solution if I need to create and keep records items (e.g. events, films, books, but also events, contacts). At first glance, it seemed that the limited degree of freedom would play a negative role, but the opposite is true. You can't do that much though to bend, but just take a moment to browse the application's website and you'll find a variety of templates that users have created and shared. Although Bento doesn't have all the features like FileMaker, for example, and it runs out of breath from time to time, you won't even feel these weaknesses for basic work with databases. Its strength lies in its nice and friendly user interface - it is easy to work with and everything looks very nice.
But because I wanted to be able to access my databases from other places than just from the MacBook, I bought the desktop version as well mobile. I'm sorry that Bento is sold separately for iPhone and iPad, I decided to invest (although not a lot of money, it's less than 5 EUR) only for the iPad version. Although I haven't seen the iPhone version of the Bento, I dare say that the small display must show its limitations - the iPad is even much better than the MacBook in this respect. You can browse the databases, you can see the maximum amount of information on the screen, work is even more intuitive.
Despite all the praise, however, Bento does not claim victory without sacrifice. You can only choose from a small number of templates, or graphic database solutions. Perhaps not naively I believe in improvement. (The ideal situation would be if the same visual you set/choose on the MacBook would be reflected on the iPad.)
There are more limited options when searching/filtering, but I must add that it is more than enough for basic work. For example, if you have a movie database, you can search by different criteria.
Bento for iPad is a very nice application and certainly does not put its sibling (desktop version) to shame. However, I do not hide the statement that she would not suit me so much by herself, although I believe that someone can get by with just her. In connection with the desktop version, it makes much more sense - you can install more and more templates on the MacBook, specialized in various areas (for example, for students or teachers). Thanks to synchronization (Wi-Fi), these will also be uploaded to your iPad. Mobile Bento has a limited number of preset templates. But if you are not too demanding, they will make you happy anyway.
Please have no idea how it would be with using it in a win environment? I wouldn't really need a desktop application, but I would need to back up data from an iPad to a PC with Win. Or is there a decent backup via iTunes?
Can Bento synchronize contacts with Address Book?
Yes, the Address Book template includes the contacts you have in your Mac address book.
@Jan Matejka
By default, it is backed up via iTunes, if that doesn't suit you, you can find a bunch of apps on Google
@Martin K
Umi