Hog Bay Software on Thursday released WriteRoom 2.0 for iPhone, an update to its $5 Macworld rated 4.5 out of 5 mice iPhone note-taking utility that adds improved web-syncing features.
As opposed to the Mac version of WriteRoom ( Macworld rated 4.5 out of 5 mice ), which is a powerful long-form writing tool, the iPhone version was intended for jotting short notes on the go. Previous versions let you edit and view notes on your computer via a Bonjour-based system -- essentially, the program runs a small Web server on your iPhone, and you connect to that in order to connect with your documents. This new version offers an improved version of that sharing method, but adds an entirely Web-based approach as well.
Powered by Google's App Engine technology, the new writeroom.ws Web site syncs your documents with the WriteRoom iPhone app automatically. You log into writeroom.ws with your Google account, on both the Web and on the iPhone, and then you have access to your notes from either location. The program syncs with the Web service, merging changes to ensure no data loss.
In addition to sharing features, WriteRoom 2.0 for iPhone also provides a new "full-screen mode," inspired by the full-screen editing experience of the Mac version of WriteRoom. On the iPhone, what this means is that if you put two fingers on your screen and spread them, instead of zooming in, WriteRoom makes the document's title bar and the iPhone's status bar vanish. (You'll still need to use the on-screen keyboard to type things in, though.)
WriteRoom 2.0 requires the iPhone 3.0 software update and is compatible with iPhone and iPod touch.
