Ever since the portable device became mainstream, there has been the need to somehow make sure that the data on the device was backed up. iOS devices can be backed up through iTunes, but that isn’t convenient for sharing data—just guarding against disaster. There are now applications that have Mac OS X and iOS versions that can use the same data. If you want to make sure you are always working with the most recent data across all platforms, there has to be a way to synchronize the data.
Apple is pushing developers to use iCloud for their synchronization services. Anyone who has an Apple ID has free access to iCloud. In addition to synchronizing your mail, contacts, and calendar data, any app can take advantage of storing data in the cloud. iWork already takes advantage of this, and other apps are following suit. However, one limitation of iCloud is that you must have iOS 5 and OS X 10.7.2 to take advantage of it. Anyone running Snow Leopard or earlier can’t use iCloud, so any apps that rely on syncing through iCloud won’t work. (While Windows can use iCloud for Outlook synchronizing, it does not appear likely that Windows applications will be able to use iCloud for other data storage.)
Some programs require you to synchronize via a Wi-Fi connection. While it does work, it means that you have to sync before leaving your network. If you take off for a business trip and forgot to sync, you are out of luck. It also means that you have to set up a one-to-one relationship between your device and your computer, so you can’t sync your iPhone at work, take it home, then sync that same data with your home computer.
Programs like DropBox and SugarSync are valuable for passing data back and forth between systems. They have the advantage of being cross-platform, but you have to manually tell them what files to synchronize. If you’re playing Angry Birds on your iPhone and you want to make sure your iPad sees your game save, DropBox won’t do this; you have to use iCloud. If an application is written to use DropBox, however, then it works just fine. Up until last year, 1Password required Wi-Fi to sync between your Mac and your iPhone, but now it uses DropBox.
Other developers have chosen to use their own servers for synchronization. Things, a great to-do list application, is currently limited to Wi-Fi sync, but has been beta-testing their own cloud solution for about a year now. Another example is Evernote, a free program where you can create notes and lists. Evernote uses their own servers for storage, which means yet one more login and password you have to remember, but it releases them from the iCloud limitation. You can use their app on just about any platform and OS out there. The downside of this is that you need a server capable of handling everyone’s data all at once. Companies like Mozilla are large enough to support a server farm, or hire out a data center, to store their customer data, but your average lone developer isn’t going to have that kind of cash lying around.
Regardless of the app or the method, make sure there is some sort of sync service available. It will make your life easier!