App Review: ‘FTP On The Go’

FTP On The Go Current version: 2.1 (rel. 8/25/09) Size: 0.7 MB Price: $6.99

Whether you’re a Web designer or system administrator, you probably don’t see too many days pass without logging into an FTP for one reason or another. Personally, I find 90% of the issues I deal with when away from my office are technical in nature– and 75% of that 90% could be solved by a robust mobile FTP client.

Let me say first that I am a huge fan of free apps (or nearly free– let’s face it, 99 cents is almost free), but that said, I understand that a powerful FTP client is no small project and given the niche value of such an app I bumped my willingness to pay up a few notches to between $5 and $10.

First, here’s a few features of “FTP On The Go” I found useful:

• Upload video or pictures directly to FTP from iPhone
• Web browser tab to quickly view your modifications to a site
• Pause file transfers
• Download from FTP and save locally
• Uploading a file renames overwritten file in filename.old.html format

Of course “FTP On The Go” performs most of the features you would expect from a basic FTP client like creating or removing directories, changing user permissions (chmod), etc. (see screenshots below)

However, I searched the App Store far and wide and didn’t find a single app that rivaled “FTP On The Go” in terms of features.

With all of that productivity comes a few drawbacks. Most notably, exiting to the home screen does not save your session and you must login again. Additionally, the lack of a landscape mode makes editing lengthy HTML or PHP files a bit of a chore.

Those few issues aside, “FTP On The Go” is a great way for a developer to stay connected to their desk, even when waiting in line at the local Starbucks.