Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 30, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
FileMaker announces the immediate availability of Bento 3, the new version of the popular personal database for the Mac. For the first time, Bento integrates Apple’s iPhoto software and makes it possible to store more information about photos and link them with contacts, projects, events and other information managed in Bento.
“Bento 3 is a powerful, simple program for bringing together all the important information and photos on your Mac,” comments Hermann Anzenberger, Managing Director of FileMaker GmbH, Central Europe. “With Bento 3, we offer new ways to view and exchange information in order to organize contacts, projects, events and other details of daily life.”
Secure Shared Data Use for Up to Five Users
Bento 3 also makes it possible to share information with other Bento users. As in iTunes and iPhoto, Bento libraries based on Apple Bonjour technology can be shared by up to five users over a local area network (LAN) – whether wired or wireless. Also new is the ability to encrypt all fields and protect the information stored in Bento by assigning passwords.
Novel Visual Data Presentation
The new grid view in Bento 3 is an innovative method of displaying thumbnails of photos, text and numerical information. The list view has also been improved – thumbnails can now be displayed instead of text alone. Bento 3 comes with many other new features and improvements. Further information is available via the (video) link at the end of this report:
Quick Start Without Prior Knowledge
Bento 3 offers ten new templates, making a total of 35 ready-to-use templates. These include templates such as Wine Collection, Job Search, Property Search and Vacation Planner. The Bento Template Exchange also contains hundreds of templates made available for download by Bento users.
Prices and Availability
The recommended retail price of Bento 3 is 39.95 euros or 59.95 Swiss francs. The family license with five licenses can be purchased for 79.95 euros / 119.95 Swiss francs. All Bento 3 products are available through the FileMaker Webstore. Bento 3 is also offered in the Apple Web Store and by Apple specialist retailers. (All prices include VAT).
Low-Cost Upgrade Offers
For a limited time, FileMaker is offering registered Bento 1 and Bento 2 users a discount of 15,- euros / 25,- Swiss francs. Eligible customers who purchase Bento 3 from the FileMaker WebStore receive the discount directly and pay only 24,- euros / 34,- Swiss francs for Bento 3. Eligible customers who purchase Bento 3 from an Apple Store or retail outlet can obtain the rebate online at http://www.bentotrial.com/de-DE/bento3/rebate/. Anyone who purchased Bento 2 between August 30, 2009 and October 14, 2009 can request Bento 3 free of charge via http://www.bentotrial.com/de-DE/bento3.
Bento 3 Support for Bento for iPhone and iPod touch
Bento 1.0.3. for iPhone and iPod touch will be available shortly. Users of Bento for iPhone and iPod touch will be informed in good time when the free update is available for download. The update offers bug fixes and resolves issues related to address compatibility.
System Requirements
Bento 3 continues to run under the Leopard operating system (Mac OS X v10.5.7 or later) – including Snow Leopard (Mac OS X v.10.6) – on a Macintosh computer with an IntelPowerPC G5 or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor. FileMaker recommends at least 512 MB RAM and 1 GB of hard-disk space. A CD drive is required to install the boxed software.
Further Links:
- Video
Free 30-day trial version
