Just posted a Bento extra on the Web. It looks at Bento on iPhone and iPad, providing comparisons of the same library on both devices and on the Mac desktop.

Bento is a great companion for iPad: both of them demonstrate the beginning of a new chapter in software development. I know we've periodically had new chapters in software development (game changers, killer apps, and The Next Big Thing--all thousands of them), but this time it's real.

Don't take my word for it, take a look at the software. Bento on the Mac (it doesn't run on Windows), is a terrific personal database. The folks at FileMaker put their decades of database expertise into a new product that defines a specific space and fills it with features. You can see it in action here.

The Bento Book: Beautify and Simplicity in Digital Organization has been revised and updated to cover Bento 3... and to include a variety of web-based features including video tutorials, podcasts, and articles.

You can find the additional materials on the publisher's website, and articles also are posted on http://northcountryconsulting.com.

Bento 3 adds new features that make it even more useful than the first two versions. Perhaps the most important one is the ability to synchronize and share databases among several Macs. It's still a personal database and not designed for simultaneous use by a large number of people, but now it's easy to share your data with yourself and a few family and friends (up to five). A number of other features are incorporated with these new sharing options -- most particularly the ability to encrypt and protect your data.

There are new data types, and a whole new way of looking at your libraries: a grid view as well as the original form and table views. There's a lot more use of images -- not surprising because one of the major new features is integration with your iPhoto library.