HotDoc for iPad – App Review

There are tons of file managers out there for iPad. And the real question to answer when comparing various file managers is the following: Is it really better then Goodreader?

If you’re into file management on your iOS devices, chances are that you’re familiar with a few on the market. The primary competition of any file manager out there is Goodreader. So lets take a look at HotDoc and see how it stands up to one of the best. HotDoc has a relatively easy-going, simple design for the most part. It features several importing features, including cloud services like Dropbox, iCloud and many other accounts like AOL, Hotmail, 1&1, Rreenet, Arcor and a few more. There are some options here that Goodreader doesn’t have, but then again, it does have more options for cloud storage like Google Drive and Box. You can also transfer files via WiFi. If you’re familiar with WebDAV then you know what I’m talking about, if not, all you need to know is that you can type in an address in your web browser and upload files directly to your iPad. Both Goodreader and HotDoc have this feature. Both apps also allow for simple .txt file generation. Both apps also have PDF annotation features. What HotDoc doesn’t have is the ability to .zip and unzip files, which I find extremely useful especially when sending medium sized, source code-type files over email. In my opinion, this is one of the most useful features of a file manager on iOS.

Overall, HotDoc for iPad does serve many of the basic features of a file manager on the iPad, however, I did find that it was somewhat difficult to use and despite its claim of being ergonomic, I had trouble doing certain tasks because intuitively it was different then it was implement by HotDoc. For example when annotating a PDF, creating a note will produce a pop-up with text written on it and an (X) in the top left. You would be forgiven for thinking that an (X) will delete the note, but no. Apparently you must tap and drag on the (X) to move the note and tapping it will minimize the note rather then delete it. Just a small example, but there are a few like that. With some tweaking, I’m sure that HotDoc for iPad can be improved even more.

Check out HotDoc for iPad on the App Store!