FileMaker launched its newest Mac app yesterday, Bento, as a free trial download. Bento is designed to integrate seamlessly with Apple's newly-launched Leopard OS, taking advantage of OS x 10.5's core animation, iCal live linking, Time Machine backups, and various other features exclusive to the updated OS.
In fact, only Leopard users will be able to run Bento on their systems. Fortunately for Filemaker, that number hit 2 million within the first weekend of Leopard's release and continues to grow. A FileMaker spokesperson who stopped by the PC Magazine offices this morning admitted that his company was already being surprised by its own numbers: More than 18,000 people downloaded the trial on the first day, although FileMaker has yet to initiate much press involving the product.
We're pretty impressed with what we've seen from the app thus far. Like Leopard itself, Bento seems to be a pretty solid combination of good looks and power. The app plays well with iCal and the Mac address book, syncs to iPhones and .Mac, and lets users easily drag and drop media files into the app. FileMaker claims Bento will "do for databases what iWork did for presentations."
The possible uses for the app seem pretty vast and aimed primarily at professions that don't have the support of a full IT department behind them. Among the uses suggested by Filemaker are contact organization, project tracking, party planning, media libraries, and catalog inventories. For a better idea of exactly what users are doing with the app, check out FileMaker's Bento forums.
The full version of the app is set to launch on January 8. It will run $49 for a single seat, or $99 for five seat "family pack."
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