Tonido can put you in touch with all your files from any iOS device

Tonido is a free iOS app that, when paired to your home computer, gives you access to all your files when you are away from home, and even allows playback of video and audio files.

You run an app on your home PC or Mac, create a free account and a portal is created that can be reached through the Tonido iOS apps. Log in while on the road, and all your files and folders are there. You can download the files to your device, email the files to someone else or even get a direct download link. If you have media files, Tonido will optimize them for streaming, even if you are on a 3G network. (Watch those data caps!) The app has a built-in media player, and you can create playlists of audio files and even stream them out via Apple AirPlay.

If there are files you use a lot, you can have them appear in a “favorites” menu, and downloaded documents can be viewed in the app or opened natively if you have a proper application for them. You can edit them, then send them back to your remote computer.

I found the system worked as advertised. I had complete access to my files, over WiFi, 3G or LTE. I could view JPEG, GIF, PNG and RAW files. Video streaming was hit and miss, and I think it depended largely on my location on the cellular network. Sometimes it worked fine. At other locations it was either slow to start, or didn’t start at all; or maybe I just wasn’t waiting long enough. All the audio files I tried to play worked quite well. Video files that can be converted for streaming include AVI, MP4, MKV, VOB, WMV and XVID.

I did have a problem getting everything started, as I had a very old version of Tonido I looked at last year. When I downloaded the new version, the old one was not deleted, and nothing worked because the apps were in conflict. Deleting the old app fixed the problem.

Security is one issue people will worry about with an app like this. The company says “Tonido has been designed to be a secure system from the ground up with precautions including secure SSL-based connections, password always stored locally (unavailable in our servers) and even two-level login authentication (prevents phishing).”

Tonido is free for end users, and that makes it an incredible bargain. The company has Enterprise packages for sale, and of course, at some point, Tonido could become a paid service. For now, I find it an incredibly useful app that solves a remote file access problem in an easy, intuitive and no-cost way. Tonido has the potential to be one of those life-changing applications. You’re never going to be isolated from your remote files as long as you have some kind of internet access. Using the system couldn’t be easier, and i think most people will find uses for Tonido they never expected.

The app is universal, and requires iOS 5 or later. It is also optimized for the iPhone 5.

Tonido can put you in touch with all your files from any iOS device originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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