Since buying the iPhone there is one thing I’ve been missing, that is a way to stream content directly from my NAS, specifically movies and TV shows (formatted for iPod/iPhone) and watch them anywhere in my house. It may sound as though I am insane for wanting such a feature but for me there are times when I’m sitting around thinking that it would be nice.
Antecea is the answer with ezFiles.
EzFiles is an application that allows you to access your files from anywhere whether you use a PC or a Mac. You can access your files on your Time Capsule or any hard drive connected to your Airport Extreme. Finally, you can access your files from your NAS providing it supports SMB or AFP.
What is impressive about ezFiles is that unlike many applications that “talk” to your computers, you do not have to load any additional software onto your computer. There is no need to maintain a second application or worry that something may not be running.
Features:
- Transfer and view photos from the camera roll to your computer (NAS, Airport connected HDD, or Time Capsule) and transfer photos from your machine to your iPhone/iPod Touch.
- Stream music and videos from your computer (videos must be iPod/iPhone formatted).
- View password protected and large PDF files.
- View and download Microsoft Office and iWork documents, Rich Text Format, and Text format.
- Email files as attachments.
- Zip folders on your computer and download to your device.
- Unzip entire zip files or browse and extract single files to your device
- Simultaneously transfer (download) files.
- Supports AFP and SMB
Coming Soon:
Table of Contents support for PDF files
(Rumored) Delete files and folders on your remote computer
Functionality:
I have utilized nearly every feature available within ezFiles over the past couple of weeks. I am seriously impressed with the streaming capabilities. My iPhone movies range between 150 MB and 800 MB. At first the application crashed, this was user error as a restart of the device is critical after loading the application for the first time. You do not have to restart your device before you use the application each time. Of all features listed there is not one that does not work the way it says it will work. I have enjoyed taking MS documents and attaching them to e-mail, downloading zip files from anywhere I am and extracting only needed and/or relevant files, and most of all (and this was a nice surprise) viewing password protected PDF files instead of relying on password protecting a folder while leaving the individual file unprotected.
The usefulness of this application has superseded my expectations. I was a huge fan of Air Share before this app came along, but ezFiles is becoming my one stop shop very quick.
Crash Reporter:
Let’s face it, apps do crash. You can blame Apple or the developer, I choose to blame myself most of the time but that’s another story. I have had ezFiles crash on me three times in just under a month. The first time as noted above, the second time I loaded a movie, received a text, went in and came out of the app a number of times and it ultimately confused matters, and then when I was changing themes (you can change the background wallpaper of the app). Antecea installed a crash reporter, which I think is fantastic. Not being very technical I find myself struggling to explain what happened when an app crashed. I believe, in an effort to improve the app, Antecea wants to know what has happened and it is evident on their website that they care about making the app even better.
Notes on the developer:
One thing I like to note in my reviews is whether I had any exchanges with the developer. The iTunes App store is a massive repository of files and I often feel lost when I download an application with little support. I’ve contacted Antecea and not only did they respond quickly to my request but they also gave me a free promo code to give to a friend who is also an Air Share fan. I have to say that I was doubly impressed by this simple act which makes Antecea a great developer who seems to care.
There is no doubt in my mind that Antecea’s ezFiles deserves a 5-star rating and can be found in the iTunes App store for $1.99. Also check out their other apps such as ezShare and ezShare lite!
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Categories: iPhone Apps
