For everything iPhone can do, there’re quite a few glaring omissions in its feature set: copy and paste, Flash, MMS, video recording, wireless syncing, to name but a few. But thanks to Avatron Software, we can cross one of iPhone’s shortcomings off the list: file sharing.
Billed as “the easiest way to take your documents with you a view them on the go,” Air Sharing turns iPhone into a network drive (accessible via network address assignd by the application) that sits neatly on your OS X, Windows or Linux desktop. The drive functions like any thumb drive would, allowing for simple creation of folders and drag-and-drop functionality for any kind of file. (Of course, whether they’re viewable on iPhone is another issue altogether. Don’t expect Air Sharing to magically transform iPhone into a WMV or MOV player.)
The drive communicates directly with the Air Sharing app, and as such, cannot function unless an iPhone is a) on, b) within range of a Wi-Fi signal, and c) tuned to the Air Sharing app. Once connected, the Avatron technicians have set the app’s sleep default to 10 minutes, more than enough time for the 176MB video I tested; for larger transfers, sleep can be prolonged or turned off completely --- neither of which affects your iPhone’s global settings. And for an extra level of security, password protection can be turned on, too. Avatron has made it all as simple as possible, with a “familiar, Finder-like browser” and an unparalleled set of instructions.
Of course, Air Sharing doesn’t allow editing of any kind, but if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to dump files onto your iPhone without synching with iTunes, this app is a must-download.
If you’ve been e-mailing documents to yourself or sitting through long syncing sessions to add short movies to your iPhone, Air Sharing is a godsend.
Easy and quick way to transfer documents, videos, music to your iPhone. 
No editing. Raises the bar too high for future Avatron releases. 
iphonic
September 30, 2008 at 3:51pm
Try Clip2Mobile, if you want to send small snippets of info to your iPhone. you can create notes, add contacts, bookmark, launch maps..all from your Desktop. that's so cool. more info www.clip2mobile.net
c-dude
September 23, 2008 at 1:42pm
I grabbed this while it was free, thank goodness. LOVE it.
I used to keep lots of little text notes on my old Palm-based Treo, and not having any way to get notes ONTO my phone (for offline viewing in remote locations) was killing me. I want to see it instantly, not stick it online and have to wait for it to sync in (which I had to do with Evernote, which worked in a pinch but only if you have signal).
PDFs, text files, and Excel spreadsheets I need to reference periodically are now fully available at all times. Read-only, but that's fine for most of the content I need, and for anything else, there's still Evernote.
Eric Redlinger
September 23, 2008 at 9:55am
there are a lot of excellent, cheaper alternatives for Mac users, including DropCopy (http://10base-t.com/iphone-ipod-software/mobile-dropcopy/), and File Magnet (http://www.magnetismstudios.com/filemagnet/), to name a few...
