I must admit that I’ve had this app on my iPhone for a while now, and I had been putting off writing the review. Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with this app, and I wanted to make sure I explored all of the possible uses before I made my final opinions. First, the most obvious use for this application is to allow one to download files directly onto the iPhone. I haven’t had much use for this. For one, the iPhone does not have a built-in method for accessing files as my previous Windows Mobile devices did. There’s no “My Computer” to be found (thankfully) on my iPhone home screen. Thus, I’ve never been tempted to download and store any files on my iPhone. If I needed to look at a file, the iPhone usually took care of this by opening the PDF, Word, or Excel document and that was that.

Overview
With iDownload, you are able to download files directly to your iPhone, as well as share files with any web-enabled device. This is supposed to be two-way, so files can be transferred both to and from the iPhone. Although the instructions on the website state that it would be “easy as 1, 2, 3”, I decided to put each function to the test. My results follow below:

Downloading Files
Again, I wasn’t sure where this feature would come in handy. I couldn’t think of a file that I needed to download, but then I read some of the individual reviews on the iTunes store site. Seeqpod.com kept coming up in conversations as a potential site to use with iDownload. I checked it out using the mini-browser that is included within the iDownload app. I proceeded to listen to several musical files which after I confirmed the “Download Now” prompt, subsequently began to download into the Files section of the app. Within seconds, I had a few songs on my iPhone that I could play at any time. For the record, I chose songs that I already owned, since I have a sneaky feeling that not doing so would be a violation of some kind of copyright law.

Sharing Files
The next step in testing iDownload was to see how easy it would be to share files to and from the iPhone. The instructions said that I needed to enable sharing on iDownload and point my web browser to the web address displayed on my iPhone. Although it did not work the first time, on the second attempt, sure enough I saw a list of the same files on my computer screen. I then got excited and immediately tested the upload file option. Once it was enabled on my iPhone, I proceeded to upload this very review onto my iPhone, and within seconds, I was viewing this document on my iPhone.

Analysis and Conclusion
Although I was skeptical at first as to how easy iDownload would be to use, I was converted soon after playing around with the app for little bit. After reading through the directions and following the “1,2,3” instructions, I now have a method to wirelessly transfer files directly from any web enabled computer to my iPhone and vice versa. This can be a potential lifesaver should I have a file that I need or have at work and I don’t have my usual USB memory stick. As I continue to explore the possibility of shifting completely to a hard-drive less lifestyle, iDownload gives me additional options in helping me get there. The simple little app provides me an easy method to transfer files to and from the iPhone. While I do not envision it as a large file storage solution, it has a nice and clean user interface that allows for easy file sharing.

So I was really bummed out when I heard that NetShare got booted from the App Store. So I was going to write all about it and I decided on a whim to check the App Store and it was there! I bought it right away just in case something happens again. (good thing I did, they pulled it again) For those who don’t know, NetShare shares your 3G or EDGE with your laptop through WiFi.

The app comes with a guide on how to connect your iPhone with your Mac but no guide for Windows. There’s also a really good Mac guide over at appleinsider.com. I’m using Windows (unfortunately) so I went looking for a guide. I found lots of info over at macrumors.com like how to get Firefox to work, how to route all network traffic through your iPhone, and what I was really looking for… a Windows XP guide which even has a video walkthrough which is posted below. I even found a video guide for Mac and Vista.

I did test this out and I even downloaded the program to let my entire computer run off the proxy. It’s called Proxifier and you can download it at proxifier.com. It’s available for Mac and Windows for $39.95 and a 31 day trial. I downloaded the mobile version so I can use in on any windows computer. If you find a better solution, let us know.

I’m actually writing part of this article using this connection. It’s a touch slow but I am on EDGE (3G not available where I live yet). I did do a speed test on speakeasy.net. The highest I got on the NetShare was about 130KB/sec down and 35KB/sec and speakeasy showed 370kbps down and 31kpbs up. A downfall is you have to have the app open all the time so you can’t use any other apps and it will drain your battery pretty fast using WiFi and EDGE and have the screen on and it gets pretty warm. We’ll probably use this is the car the most so we have car chargers. We also have two 1st Gen iPhones that don’t have service anymore and I tried to get them connected too but it didn’t work. Overall it’s worth the 1 time fees to have tethering for my iPhone.

Click here to download NetShare via the App Store.

NetShare Mac Video Guide

Watch “NetShare Mac Video Guide” from your iPhone or iPod Touch

NetShare Windows XP Guide

Watch “NetShare Windows XP Guide” from your iPhone or iPod Touch

NetShare Windows Vista Guide

Watch “NetShare Windows Vista Guide” from your iPhone or iPod Touch