[Stinsonddog]

Originally Posted by J-Mac

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8300/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Jeff,

Does Mini-Safe have a desktop version? I really prefer to enter most existing data there & then let it sync to my device.

Jim

J-Mac - I recommend Crypt or Data Vault - see my tips page. Tried and tested for years. Right now Crypt's BB version has a slight edge.

[J-Mac]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8300/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Originally Posted by Stinsonddog

J-Mac - I recommend Crypt or Data Vault - see my tips page. Tried and tested for years. Right now Crypt's BB version has a slight edge.

Actually your review was what sent me to check out Datavault. You did mention - either early in the review or in the other post I read from you - that Crypt had a slight edge, but reading the entire view left me w/ the distinct impression that DV had caught up & possibly passed it.Something about a new version of DV coming soon or just out. Guess I was reading more into it than you wrote!

Though I still think that DV's feature set was more like what I'm used to & prefer. I'll have to read it again when I'm back at my PC.

Thanks!

Jim

[J-Mac]

Originally Posted by Stinsonddog

J-Mac - I recommend Crypt or Data Vault - see my tips page. Tried and tested for years. Right now Crypt's BB version has a slight edge.

Stinsonddog:

You say you recommend Crypt and gove it a slight edge, but in your review you mention the following features that DataVault has and that Crypt is missing:

1. DataVault is slightly faster on the BB
   
2. DataVault also has the better desktop right now
3. DataVault has a more comprehensive user guide
4. Cryptmagic doesn't make you enter your password when you sync; DataVault does make you enter the password
5. Cryptmagic offers only a Tree View & doesn't offer a List View for the desktop. DataVault provides a Tree View and List View on the desktop, and you can easily switch between the views with button on the top.
6. DataVault comes with 20 pre-defined templates, and it’s a breeze to add more as you like. This allows a little more flexibility in that for each type in a category you can have different templates, whereas in Cryptmagic you would be creating an additional template.
7. I wish Cryptmagic would allow docking of its search bar. I often find it not where I want it.
8. Cryptmagic has been my workhorse for about a year now. Why? - Tree view search on the BB takes me to the exact record and shows me the fields immediately. This has been my number one reason for using it. DataVault on the other hand has not only caught up with them, but seems to have passed them. Why? They give you options, and generally options means personal preferences.
9. DataVault also has the better desktop right now. DataVault has a more comprehensive user guide also that describes the features of the program. The Cryptmagic guide is more about installing and export/import.

All comments above were copied and pasted directly from your review.

I realize I have only pulled selected comments from your review, but in all honesty, this is about what I see there. DataVault looks like the better program according to your review, not to mention it costs $5 less than Crypt.

Other than a subjective "Because I like it", or familiarity and comfort level, are there other reasons that your review appears to show DataVault as the more feature-laden application with the more secure methods requiring password to sync yet Crypt is your recommended application?

Thanks.

Jim

[Stinsonddog]

Originally Posted by J-Mac

Stinsonddog:

You say you recommend Crypt and gove it a slight edge, but in your review you mention the following features that DataVault has and that Crypt is missing:

1. DataVault is slightly faster on the BB
   
2. DataVault also has the better desktop right now
3. DataVault has a more comprehensive user guide
4. Cryptmagic doesn't make you enter your password when you sync; DataVault does make you enter the password
5. Cryptmagic offers only a Tree View & doesn't offer a List View for the desktop. DataVault provides a Tree View and List View on the desktop, and you can easily switch between the views with button on the top.
6. DataVault comes with 20 pre-defined templates, and it’s a breeze to add more as you like. This allows a little more flexibility in that for each type in a category you can have different templates, whereas in Cryptmagic you would be creating an additional template.
7. I wish Cryptmagic would allow docking of its search bar. I often find it not where I want it.
8. Cryptmagic has been my workhorse for about a year now. Why? - Tree view search on the BB takes me to the exact record and shows me the fields immediately. This has been my number one reason for using it. DataVault on the other hand has not only caught up with them, but seems to have passed them. Why? They give you options, and generally options means personal preferences.
9. DataVault also has the better desktop right now. DataVault has a more comprehensive user guide also that describes the features of the program. The Cryptmagic guide is more about installing and export/import.

All comments above were copied and pasted directly from your review.

I realize I have only pulled selected comments from your review, but in all honesty, this is about what I see there. DataVault looks like the better program according to your review, not to mention it costs $5 less than Crypt.

Other than a subjective "Because I like it", or familiarity and comfort level, are there other reasons that your review appears to show DataVault as the more feature-laden application with the more secure methods requiring password to sync yet Crypt is your recommended application?

Thanks.

Jim

They all change slightly over time. There are a few quirks in DV on the BB right now. I use it on the BB the most but often input from the Desktop. The issue with DV on the BB is that I can't copy to clipboard from the menu on DV whereas I can on Crypt so I am using that more right now. They are both good.

[J-Mac]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8300/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Stinsonddog:
Thank you. Reading through the quote of my last post it appears to be a little argumentative. However it really wasn't intended that way. I had read two posts where you mentioned both DataVault & Crypt and recommended Crypt over DataVault. Yet I read your review twice & came away both times feeling that DataVault was the better application. So your standard naming of Crypt as having an edge was confusing me. Remember, I don't yet have either.

Then again, perhaps my own preference of certain features is shading how I perceive the review.

Thanks!

Jim

[Stinsonddog]

Originally Posted by J-Mac

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8300/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Stinsonddog:
Thank you. Reading through the quote of my last post it appears to be a little argumentative. However it really wasn't intended that way. I had read two posts where you mentioned both DataVault & Crypt and recommended Crypt over DataVault. Yet I read your review twice & came away both times feeling that DataVault was the better application. So your standard naming of Crypt as having an edge was confusing me. Remember, I don't yet have either.

Then again, perhaps my own preference of certain features is shading how I perceive the review.

Thanks!

Jim

No doubt I favored DV when I wrote that - I find the copy to clipboard a major item. They are both great vendors have taken my input on a number of items. Both are good. I just like the copy to clipboard feature and DV only has copy which is manual. I think next release they will fix it.

So just go get one of them.

[J-Mac]

Originally Posted by Stinsonddog

No doubt I favored DV when I wrote that - I find the copy to clipboard a major item. They are both great vendors have taken my input on a number of items. Both are good. I just like the copy to clipboard feature and DV only has copy which is manual. I think next release they will fix it.

So just go get one of them.

Thanks.

Now my only concern is where I make the actual purchase! I absolutely hate using Handango due the the download problem there. If Ascendo even had a full featured trial version available for download at their site I imagine I could download updates there as released and my registration would then register the trial. But I don't see it there. I cannot get a response from AT&T Wireless as to the availability of updates from their OTA stuff at Media Mall/Web, but past history has shown that if there is any possible way to mess it up, they'll find it!

Jim

[J-Mac]

BTW, decided to go with DataVault. Disappointing in a lot of ways, but then again the only point of comparison I have based on usage experience is to the desktop PC/Windows Mobile wallet programs, and I pretty much knew that none of the Blackberry offerings were going to be anywhere near as robust as eWallet or SPB Wallet. I just have to get used to the reduced expectations.

Jim

[BerryCool]

Marc from Ascendo here.

See below for some responses to questions raised in this thread. <<Your quotes between arrow keys>>.

<<Ascendo is doing an upgrade.>>
We've launched Version 4. Click here for a complete product description or to download DataVault with free trial period.

<<You can't open an item from Tree View.>>
There are several ways to open an Item.
- Scroll to highlight item then click on track ball or track wheel. (V4)
- Scroll to highlight item then click on return key. (V4 & V3)
- Enter characters and when list reduces to 1 item then details are displayed, see Options, View Item, Automatically. (V4 & V3)
- Scroll to highlight item, click on track wheel or BlackBerry menu key and select View/Edit from screen menu. (V3)

<<Ascendo does hold a lot of info but takes way too much time to enter all the info>>
We have added Duplicate Item in V4 to speed data entry and improved importing data CSV, TXT and third party password managers. In V4, we've also added the ability to export items to an encrypted, password protected file to share items with colleagues, spouses, etc.

<<Can anyone tell me whether or not Ascendo allows registered users of their Datavault application to download updates from their website?>>
Yes, you can download Ascendo applications and updates to your PC or BlackBerry from our web site. See "Download" link on product description page which points to FAQ page with ZIP/OTA download links. Click here to go straight to FAQ/Download page.

Once downloaded and installed, registered users can enter registration key if prompted. Unregistered users can select "Register Later" from screen menu during trial period.

Marc
Ascendo Inc.
Ascendo DataVault - Password Manager for BlackBerry

[chillspace]

As a user of DV 3.5x, I downloaded version 4 and installed right over the desktop and my BB versions. Seamless upgrade for me. Interface is a great improvement, IMO.

[djm2]

I am a new user of V4 of DataVault; I am still in the trial period, but will likely go ahead and purchase -- probably today.

I like most of what I have seen about this program, although I have been having some "issues" with adding Categories (or perhaps Types) on the Desktop software. The program will ask to save, and then abend with the infamous "report to Microsoft." The worst part of this is that any data elements entered since the last successful logout of the program are lost. While this just drives me batty, I suspect that it is operator error -- although it would be nice if it was handled more gracefully. Despite this, I will probably purchase.

[Jay Kyle]

I own SplashID, Datavault, CryptMagic, and FlexWallet.

When I had my Windows Mobile Flexwallet was the one I liked the most. However when I cut over to a Blackberry, their port of it was horrendously slow, the keys were not smartly programmed for the blackberry environment so I had to look elsewhere for a wallet program.

I bought CryptMagic thinking it was pretty good. It's fast and the interface looks smooth and the keys to operate it where really optimized for a blackberry. It's one fatal flaw however was it's lack of flexibility in layout. I was forced to create template directories under topic directories. This is a throwback to the old days where on a PC we create directories based on the application that created the file, e.g. a Word directory under MS Word for windows for word data files. My preference is to create top level topic directories and store ANY type of object under it. So the search continued..

Next I bought DataVault. Seemed ok, the interface was a little clunky compared to CryptMagic (since I live in Tree View, that's the only one I judged). But again the same stupid problem of locking me into using directories based on templates. As well I just discovered that the desktop app started causing script errors in my IE7 and caused the .mht 'save as' option in IE7 to disappear. This I discovered after going through several re-installs to isolate the application that was causing it. I've got an email in with Ascendo now to see if they can sort it out.

My wishlist for the perfect wallet app: One that is fast, is very intuitive with blackberry look and feel, and uses a more flexible approach to the Tree view where we aren't locked into storing objects by template directories@#$%!!

Jay

[Crupp]

I have tried most of the wallets and found DV to be by far the best. THe newest update has made a very good program even better. I find that the desktop and handheld communicate without a flaw. On a final note the guys at Ascendo are quick to respond and are commited to offering great support for thier product.

[bulldoggy]

I highly recommend DataVault as well. The new version 4 adds some nice new features like font choices as well as hiding the top/bottom theme bar allowing for additional screen space on the Blackberry.

I use both the desktop application as well as the Blackberry application daily and have never experienced any problems whatsoever. I can also say that support from Ascendo is top notch.

[djm2]

Originally Posted by bulldoggy

I can also say that support from Ascendo is top notch.

Echo that comment here. I hadn't even mentioned anything to them, but Marc saw my comment above re: some issues, and he contacted me! That's support!

[Workingmen]

Has anybody used the desktop versions of Crypt or DV with windows Vista yet?

[kevinvale]

Do the desktop versions of any of these programs work on a Mac?

[Jay Kyle]

..I can also say that support from Ascendo is top notch.

Gotta echo that comment also. The latest version did away with the quirky IE7 issues I was having on my Dell laptop.

Marc and the team were quite responsive to help me sort it out, as well as solicit other improvement related discussion.

Kudo's to the DataVault team at Ascendo.

Jay

[BerryCool]

Originally Posted by Stinsonddog

The issue with DV on the BB is that I can't copy to clipboard from the menu on DV whereas I can on Crypt so I am using that more right now. They are both good.

Hi Stinsonddog,

We added Copy-to-Clipboard to Ascendo DataVault for BlackBerry Version 4.2 along with c-key shortcut from View mode. Thanks for your suggestion.

To see all Version 4.2 improvements, click here.

Marc
Ascendo Inc.
Ascendo DataVault - Password Manager for BlackBerry

[djm2]

In Post 31 above I mentioned that I had a couple of small issues with Categories in DataVault. In V 4.22 these have been completely handled. Kudos on the customer support! I am quite pleased with this software on both BB and the desktop.

I also discovered the e-mail encryption feature. Given that this is something that could be quite useful in many different avenues, one suggestion that I have made is that they look at enabling encryption/decryption on the desktop as well. That way the solution would be a bit more generalized than just BB to BB emails. I hope to see that in a future release.

I can recommend this product. It seems to be a full-featured solution.