Cha-chingTouch
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Intuit buys Cha-Ching after hiring developers
We've been pretty big fans of Cha-Ching, both the OS X app and the iOS version, over the years. Turns out Intuit liked the app a lot, too -- the financial juggernaut has acquired Cha-Ching and its code after hiring the app's developers a little while back. The website currently points to both Quicken for Mac and Mint.com, so presumably this is the end of the app -- its functionality will be brought into Intuit's other properties, used to smooth out Quicken for Windows, while Cha-Ching Touch's functionality will eventually show up in the Mint.com iPhone app. Too bad for users of the app currently -- I know the app was sold in at least one MacHeist sale, so it's definitely out there and fairly popular. There's no word on any upgrades at all. The Mint.com app is great (and free), but of course Quicken is $50 just to get started. Looks like if you depend on Cha-Ching for your financial planning but want upgrades in the future, you'll have to look elsewhere.
TUAW First Look: Cha-Ching Touch
Several years ago, I had a simple but wonderful checkbook app for my Palm. It was nothing more than money in and money out with some simple categorization (food, clothing, automotive, etc.). In other words, an electric alternative to a checkbook. Since I don't really write checks anymore, I no longer carry a register around. Plus, that old Palm is dead and gone (having accidentally spent one night in my rainy front yard), so I need an alternative.We've reviewed mobile financial apps before, like Pennies and Mint. Cory and Mike got to play with those, but I was lucky enough to nab Cha-Ching Touch for review. The GoodFirst things first. It's pretty. Every screen and icon is nice to look at and easy to navigate, even the Get Smart-style vault that requires a passcode at launch (note that this is off by default). To get started, create an account. Choose either Checking, Savings, Credit, Online, Loan or Cash. Each is represented by a unique icon which is a nice little touch. From there, enter an account number and associated URL if applicable. %Gallery-48624%
Sneak peek look at Cha-Ching for iPhone
Many Mac users have been using Cha-Ching to manage their bank accounts for some time. The guys at Midnight Apps are at it again, and this time their money management software is on the iPhone. Just like the Mac version, Cha-Ching mobile allows you to create multiple account and manage your budget, schedule payments, and add payees. Probably the most amazing feature is the ability to sync all of the data from the Mac version of Cha-Ching wirelessly to your iPhone/iPod touch. When you tap on the Budget icon in the toolbar, you have the ability to see at a glance your current budget. At the top is your overall budget showing how much money you have left on a scale. If you tap on the Budget icon a second time, a history of your budgets for each month will come up. When you're ready to set your budget, tap on "Edit" at the top. You can add or remove categories in the app settings.New to Cha-Ching is the scheduler section of the app. In this area, you can easily track upcoming bills. You can set the frequency, amount, category, account to subtract it from, and any notes that you might want to include. Cha-Ching mobile is also location-aware. When you add a payee you can have the app remember the location. When you sort by locations, the nearest payees will show up near the top. This is a great way to track your payees based on where you are. The app will also remember the category, location, and other details about the payee; this makes creating new payments simple because most of the details will be automatically filled in for you. In the settings section, you can easily see all of your accounts, set user-created categories, secure your Cha-Ching app with a 4-digit passcode, sync with Cha-Ching 2.0 on your Mac, and set scheduler options. Cha-Ching mobile should be on the App Store soon. It has a sale price of $2.99US. You can visit their teaser page for a quick movie demo of the app. %Gallery-45690%
