Getting set up is pretty simple. We started by downloading the app onto our iPhone, logged in using our provided credentials and were greeted by a dashboard-like interface with several categories: My Folders, Devices and Online Services.


We started by adding our online services to our account. We tapped on the plus sign opposite the label, and chose from a list of services Connect supports. Among them were Google Docs (QuickOffice says that they’ll update this to Google Drive soon), Dropbox, SkyDrive, Evernote, SugarSync, Basecamp, Catch, Springpad, Box, Huddle, Egnyte and WebDAV.

Afterward, we set up Connect on our laptop. We tapped on the plus sign across Devices and selected Mac. The app then sent instructions to our email with the appropriate download link for our computer. We installed the app, and could log in from our computer as well.


Connect also has a Web portal so you can access your files from absolutely anywhere. After the program was installed onto our laptop, we launched the Web component of Connect by clicking on the icon on our Mac’s top right navigation bar and selecting “Open Connect by QuickOffice” from the drop down list.


Once we added in all the services we wanted, it turned into the matter of getting the files we wanted onto Connect. Luckily, this was pretty easy to figure out as well. Using the Web dashboard, we accessed our main folders on our computer, which Connect automatically detected. Then we clicked on the tiny sync button to the left of the label to add it to our Connect Folders.


Once synced, we could immediately access our files regardless of which device we were using. We didn’t have to look hard to figure out how to create a new document from our mobile device. Connect by QuickOffice puts these icons front and center in a permanent navigation bar across the bottom of the app. We could tap on any of these to create a Word, Excel or PowerPoint document, or a new folder.

You do have to select the folder you’d like to create the file in before Connect lets you do anything. We quickly created a simple text file and uploaded it into one of our active Connect Folders, then watched it magically appear on our desktop.


Connect by QuickOffice provides a range of options for sharing a document once you’ve finalized your edits. On our iPhone, we tapped on the arrow beside the file name, which took us into the next screen with a handy menu of functions: Publish File, Add Comments, File Versions, File Activity and File Settings. We tapped on Publish File to share it.

The app then let us choose whether we wanted to email it to a collaborator or upload the document onto various services like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Slideshare, etc.


One of the best features within Connect is the ability to search across all your cloud services and devices to locate the file you need (once your devices and services are all set up with the app, of course). We simply tapped on the upper left-hand button to access the main Connect icons, then tapped on Search. We typed out “test file,” the document we had created earlier on the app, and selected the device/cloud service where we wanted Connect to look. After a few seconds, the app pulled up the file we needed.


Connect by QuickOffice works as advertised, which was very impressive. The wealth of options within the app demonstrates the thought and care that went into developing it, and it worked well across all our devices. We can imagine working intensively on a laptop, hopping into the same document for quick edits on the go with our iPhone, then maybe lounging on our couch back home with our iPad to make some final tweaks.

Connect also earns plus points for putting setup and sharing options right at our fingertips. We were complete first-timers with the app, yet creating files and dipping into and out of them on our different devices was incredibly easy to get the hang of.

Our only quibbles with the app were some responsiveness issues and connectivity difficulties. There were times when we weren’t sure whether our taps registered on our touch screen, and another time, the Web dashboard would not load our folders from our laptop and prompted us to check whether our computer was online (it was). But these hiccups sorted themselves out after refreshing the app.

Connect by QuickOffice is an undeniably good package, and is an answer to a problem that not many people have thought about how to address yet. In that sense, the app is very forward-looking. We couldn’t help but be impressed by the range of functions included in the service, from accessing your files across all your cloud accounts and mobile devices, to editing, sharing, searching and syncing them.

On the other hand, we were fortunate enough to try the app for free, an opportunity not many others would be able to get. In fact, there are several tiers to the service. The Basic, free account lets you view documents, get cloud access and five sharable folders, sync up to two devices–but cuts you off after a 5,000 file sync capacity. Connect Premium, for $44.99 a year will let you view and edit documents, execute aggregated search, get unlimited folder sharing, use remote access and sync up to four devices with a 125,000 file sync capacity. And finally, Connect Professional–the tier we tested–is $69.99 a year and lets you view and edit documents, execute aggregated search, get unlimited folder sharing and sync up to six devices (with a 250,000 file sync capacity). It also gives you a bunch of extra features including file versioning and remote access.

If you’re the kind of person who uses a lot of mobile devices and cloud services and can’t be bothered to worry about whether your active file is the latest version, Connect by QuickOffice is worth a look. It’s a powerful tool that can simplify a complicated workflow, aggregating multiple services into one hub. The only problem is picking out the tier that will best for you.

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Flexibits, makers of Fantastical, the natural-language calendar app for Mac OS X, released an update to the app today that added the ability to edit as well as delete events as well as support for iCloud calendars. We took a look at it back in July this year when it added BusyCal help to its roster of features as well as remarked that even though we had “only been playing with it for a brief time”, we were “incredibly impressed”.



Now, Flexibits has taken the app further with the addition of two of the most highly requested features by its users. It now allows you to edit your calendar events as well as delete them, all from in its intuitive and streamlined interface. You also gain the ability to add notes to events, bringing the app closer to full feature-parity with iCal.



Fantastical already had support for Google, MobileMe as well as Yahoo! calendars, as well as has now added iCloud integration into the mix too, claiming the distinction of being 1 of the first Mac apps to do so in the process. If you're an iCloud user, you should grab the v1.1 update as soon as your Internet connection will allow.

If you're a brand new user, Fantastical will cost you $19.99 on both the Mac App Store as well as the Flexibits Store. It is compatible with all Macs running Mac OS X 10.6 to later.


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Those of we utilizing the Kindle that Amazon is now calling the “Kindle Keyboard,” aka the Kindle 3, is glad to hear that today there’s a software update available that gives we access to Kindle Cloud for the personal documents. This is the same cloud that the Kindle 4 has access to, the one that, as usually, you ve access to every ebook you ve ever bought from Amazon, complete with all the notes and highlights we ve left in them. Now we get your own archived personal documents too!

Get this update NOW through Amazon’s simple to use update process - certainly not only will you get the update to be able to access the personal documents, there’s additionally an expansion of elements you ve already been enjoying, including Whispersync of last page read, bookmarks, and annotations to your archived personal documents that have been converted into Kindle format. Can you resist such good updates all included in this free update?

All we ve got to do to reach this update on your Kindle 3 is, beginning from the Home screen, is hit Settings. From there you ll see the Kindle version at the bottom of the display. If you see Version Kindle 3.1? or earlier, you ve got an update coming to you. To download, simply head to Amazon or hit one of the following links:

Kindle Keyboard Wi-Fi: Download 3.3 ?Your serial number will start with “B008?
Kindle Keyboard 3G (Free 3G + Wi-Fi) – U.S. and Canadian Customers*: Download 3.3?Your serial number will start with “B006???Kindle Keyboard 3G (Free 3G + Wi-Fi) – European Customers*: Download 3.3?Your serial number will start with “B00A”

If we re unsure of the Kindle serial number, just check at the bottom of your Settings menu simply such as we did for the Kindle software version. When you ve got the software downloaded, we ll have to transfer it to your Kindle device. To do this, once again follow directions as provided by Amazon:

1. Transfer software to your Kindle Keyboard: Turn your Kindle Keyboard on and connect it to your computer using the USB cable. Drag and drop the new update file from your computer to the root Kindle drive. (The drive contains a number of folders – such as “audible,” “documents,” and “music” – and is typically displayed as a “device” icon).
2. Monitor file transfer and disconnect: Check your file transfer progress to ensure file transfer to your Kindle Keyboard is complete before disconnecting. After the file has transferred successfully, eject the Kindle to safely disconnect Kindle Keyboard from your computer. Disconnect the USB cable from your Kindle Keyboard and your computer.
3. Start the software update: Go to the Home screen, press the Menu key, and select “Settings.” Press the Menu key again, and then select “Update Your Kindle.” (This option will be grayed out if the most recent update has already been installed or if the file transfer was not successful.) Select “Ok” when prompted if you want to perform an update. Your Kindle Keyboard will restart twice during the update. After the first restart, you will see “Your Kindle is Updating”.
4. Once the update is complete: Your Kindle Keyboard will automatically restart a second time. When you go to the Settings page, you should notice Version: Kindle 3.3 at the bottom of the screen. Once you see this, you know your update is complete.

Got it? Any troubles, ask below or perhaps go straight to Amazon for support. Get in the cloud!

BONUS have a consider the Kindle Touch while you re at it.


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HTC has acquired Dashwire, the company responsible for the Dashworks mobile sync client and Awesome Drop file sync app. The deal – which will see HTC spend up to $18.5m buying up Dashwire’s shares – will net HTC not only a way to easily transfer files such as music, video and images between PC/Mac and its Android smartphones, but offer a browser-based remote dashboard allowing access to data and control of apps loaded onto the device.

The Dashwire system supports remote access of contacts, SMS, calendar, calls, voicemail, multimedia, memory card content and social networking integration, and in effect allows users to sync their data with the cloud as well as access it through various browser-based widgets. There’s also Dashpush, a push-API which promises to deliver text, photos, apps, music and advertising in real-time to a mobile device, regardless of platform or carrier.

HTC already has HTCSense.com, it’s online portal allowing users of recent Android devices to log in, track their phone’s location, lock it, read SMS messages and send them, and access contacts. With Dashwire’s technology, that interactivity could be increased more fully throughout the smartphone.

Samsung experimented with a similar technology on the Galaxy S II, in the shape of Kies air, which provides browser based access to content stored on the handset. However, Kies air demands that both computer and phone be on the same local network, and has only basic multimedia sharing and social networking functionality.

HTC is yet to say exactly what it intends to do with Dashwire, only saying that “HTC expands cloud services with Dashwire long-term investment.” Nonetheless, with custom software, sync and cloud services being one way of differentiating Android devices, and manufacturers from each other, we’re expecting the firm to rapidly bolster Sense with the new technology.

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