eWallet
I had keeping myself from using 1Password over eWallet for the last 7 months. I’ve got 1Password on a promotion last December and it was free. I got 1Password for Desktop Mac on a MacTree (forgot the correct promo name) for free around that time too. I’ve always liked eWallet but Illiumsoft’s downplay of the market on eWallet for Mac to be minuscule to that of the PC market leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Foolish and stupid – for loyal customers like me.
I’ve been a regular user of eWallet since v3.0 on my Windows Mobile phones about 4-5 years ago. I’d been happy with the user interface and usability of the password manager especially syncing it with a desktop companion on my Windows system. I’ve shifted to a Mac platform less than three years ago. Completely gone full Apple when I bought my iPhone classic and dumped my ETEN M600 Windows Mobile 2003 phone. I was glad eWallet had an iPhone app later that year. I’ve looked up the eWallet file I kept from my ETEN phone backup and loaded it to my iPhone. Voila! I got my eWallets back.
And that was just it. I updated a wallet or two but never opened the eWallet app unless I’ve got an existing wallet that has never changed for over a year. I had no way of syncing it to a desktop companion and have it backed up. The eWallet I keep on my iPhone has become volatile that I wouldn’t depend on keeping my passwords on an app that I can’t look up to on more than one device. (Yes, the iPhone has backup utility. But what if my iPhone breaks or gets stolen? How can I view my passwords now?)
I had been hoping that illiumsoft finishes their long-overdue promise to release eWallet for Mac but it seems like the release date gets pushed and pushed. I’d understand their concerns as I am a developer myself but as a customer I see it as no full commitment. Yes, the Mac market may be a fraction of the Windows PC market but can’t you count it with the number of potential users and sales you’d get from people they’d win over if they have a Mac desktop companion? eWallet started with a small user-base and thrived from there. Would it mean that maintaining a Mac version costs a lot more these days that they can’t put up time to have it released sooner? What’s with that?
1Password
It’s been nearly a year that I’ve waited for a desktop companion. I’ve got 1Password for the iPhone and Mac that I can switch to. I think it’s just but right that I’d switch now to have the convenience of syncing. Here’s hoping that 1Password would improve usability of the user-interface – a minor user preference issue I can live with, not like the neutered syncing capability of eWallet with Macs.
mobilejunkie 
Thank you for your mention of 1Password! I’m glad that you have found a solution for the Mac that works for you. We appreciate your feedback about the application’s interface and hope that by now you have seen TUAW’s article on enabling a sneak preview of the revised interface coming in the next major version.
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/07/31/sneak-peek-1password-3-0/
Again, thanks for your consideration of our software. Please don’t hesitate to write if you have any questions or feedback for us.
—
Gita Lal
AWS Customer Care
http://agile.ws/support
Thanks for the tip Gita. I’m checking out the new UI now. You can probably hear from me once I get more comfortable with the 1Password paradigm of storing wallets.
I am pretty much in the same boat than you with ewallet Mac desktop version. I have been waiting for almost a year for their desktop version and the capacity to sync with my Iphone version. I am starting to look for an alternative as I write and will let you know of my decision soon. Thanks for your comments…it makes me feel less alone in this situation.
I’ve been enjoying the convenience of desktop sync with 1Password. I was used to the UI of eWallet but the no-brainer desktop-to-iPhone syncing of 1Password grew on me. I realized that when it comes to applications, I just need something “that works” and 1Password does it. Now if only I’d win a free license for the 1Password 3 when it breaks from beta soon I’d be a happy camper! 😀
I am afraid I am in the same boat. I keep waiting for eWallet and nothing has materialized. In the meantime, eWallet is the only thing I have to keep XP for on my Mac. Is there a way to import data from ewallet to 1password, or do I have to re-enter everything? What a pain I didn’t see this coming a few years back, otherwise I would have maybe chosen differently.
The newest version of 1password made the decision easy for me. I’m glad illium finally has a beta out for a mac osx version of eWallet, but it’s too little too late. This comparison sums it up for me as well:
http://techenvy.com/iphone/agile-1password-vs-illium-ewallet