Best iPad File Managers
Overview
The iPad is a fantastic tool to view and store files. This AppGuide will help you pick out the best file manager for you ...
Essential Apps
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Free
Dropbox
by Dropbox
Dropbox is a pretty remarkable service and app. The service provides you a way to have your files instantly available to you on any computer or device you go to. Dropbox is setup on your Mac or Windows machine. On the computer you designate a certain folder that will always be synced up with Dropbox. You simply put a file in your folder and it is instantly available to you on the web or any iOS device. Many apps also integrate with Dropbox and it has really become a unified storage mechanism for apps on iOS. The app provides a simple way to access all of your Dropbox files. The app includes a quick way to download your favorite files to your iPad. The app allows you to open your files in other apps and send an email with a link to download it (great for sharing). If you are wanting to truly manage files in an elegant and effective way between multiple computers and devices there is nothing quite like Dropbox. It has become an absolute essential to those with more than one computer or device.
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$3.99
iFiles
by Imagam.com
If you are looking for a great low cost solution to manage your files iFiles is the app for you. It has many of the same features that some of the more expensive apps have and works on your iPhone and your iPad. The app includes a document viewer, a text editor, an audio recorder, a Wi-Fi drive, and some great management and sharing features. The app will mount onto your computer as a server that you can drag and drop files on and off of your iPad. The app can also share files over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi as well as email files directly out of the app. The app also integrates with tons of online services. These include Google Docs, MobileMe, Box.net, Dropbox, Flickr, Picasa, Facebook, and any WebDAV server. The app can move, copy, rename, delete or create new folders on your iPad. The app supports all of the files that the iPad can read. The app also supports AirPrint for printing of your documents. The interface is very usable and easy to understand. The app has become the essential iPad file management app through the combo of a great price, great feature set, and interface.
Notable Apps
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$4.99
FileMagnet - Read and e-mail your documents on the go
by Magnetism Studios
FileMagnet is one of the original file managing apps created for the iPhone. The app is now universal and runs great on iPhones and iPads. The app can be loaded up of files through iTunes File Sharing, email attachments, or the FileMagnet uploader for Mac or Windows. The uploader is a simple app that you drop files into that are automatically uploaded to your iPad. The app can store any kind of file and includes password protection. The app also has a cool feature called tilt scrolling to allow you to simply tilt your iPad to scroll through documents. The app is very well designed and a great option for managing files on the iPad.
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$4.99
DropCopy - share files and clipboards wirelessly
by 10base-t Interactive
DropCopy lets you share your files between all of your Apple gadgets. The app will run on both your iPad and iPhone. There is also a version that runs on your Mac. When you have the app running on your different Apple gear the app will see it on your different devices and you can simply send files from one device to another. This can be used to send files from an iPhone to an iPad or a Mac to an iPad. The files need to be copied from your Mac initially and from there they can go to any device that has DropCopy. The concept is simply great and provides a very simple and effective way to move files around to your various devices. The app does not integrate with any cloud solutions and files must come from your Mac. The app is great, but limited in its use because of this. If you are looking for a very simple way to share files between your Apple devices this is the app to get.
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$8.99
Air Sharing for iPad
by Avatron Software, Inc.
AirSharing HD is the essential app for managing files on your iPad. The app works in a couple of different ways. The app can function as a wireless disk for any computer. The app will give you an IP address to enter and it will mount on your computer as a server. The app will also broadcast your iPad through Bonjour for an even easier wireless disk setup. Once the iPad is mounted you can drag and drop files on and off of the iPad. The app supports every file that can be read and worked with on the iPad. The app can also mount remote servers and download email attachments within the app. The app supports WebDAV, Dropbox, MobileMe, Box.net, FilesAnywhere, iCloud, MyDisk, FTP, and SSH. The app also supports printing and sharing of files. The app is one of the most advanced and full featured apps for managing files on your iPad. The combination of interface, feature set, and ease of use make it a great iPad app.
Decent Apps
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$5.99
iStorage 2 HD for FTP, WebDAV, Dropbox, MS Skydrive and Cloud
by Lukas Foldyna
iStorage HD has many of the features that AirSharing HD and iFiles has. The difference is execution. The app is poorly designed and is much harder to use. The app does provide access to servers and uses iTunes File Sharing to get files into the app. The app supports all of the same file formats that the other apps do. The app supports sending emails from within the app to share your files. The app also features a built in web browser. The app is available as an option to work with files on your iPad. The app is not the best in terms of ease of use. The interface is very bare bones an not as usable in comparison to AirSharing HD or iFiles.
