Pogoplug has been wonderful at showing its love for Apple mobile devices, and the PogoplugHD app for iPad offers the excellent functionality of the iPhone app in a larger version optimized for the infamous tablet.  Read on to find out more about what the iPad app for Pogoplug has to offer.

Upon booting up the app, first you'll be met with a familiar login screen.  Log into the My.Pogoplug service, and upon successful login, you'll see the main PogoplugHD screen.  The layout is intuitive and simple: you'll be able to select a connected device or sort by music/videos/etc. on the series of buttons on the left pane, and files and folders will appear in the right pane - with thumbnails, if applicable.  Browsing through files and folders is then easy as pie - you can create folders as well.

Listening to Music and Watching Movies

I've always loved the mobile music experience with Pogoplug.  It has enabled me to effectively take my entire music library with me when I'm working remotely or on the go - sometimes, I even use it to stream music in my car!  

The PogoplugHD app offers the same great experience, with a look and feel that is right in line with typical Apple fare yet unique to Pogoplug.

In addition to the basic functionality of being able to search by album, artist, etc., you are also able to easily switch tracks, pause, or enable repeat via the bottom toolbar.  A polished Apple-y "Now Playing" widget makes its appearance, too - a nice touch.

Assuming your videos are encoded properly, the iPad does an excellent job of streaming them through the Pogoplug iPad app, and can be viewed in much the same manner as you listen to music.  In my experience, streaming an MP4 formatted video file was stutter-free and effective.

Viewing Documents

The larger screen real estate of the iPad makes it ideal for document viewing.  Much like the My.Pogoplug web app, you can view PDF, DOC, and other common file formats right within the app.

Pogoplug Printing on iPad

Of course, mobile printing is enabled here and feels very natural.  In the lower left hand corner you can see the "action" button which enables you to print the file.  Select the print option, and much like the My.Pogoplug web app, you'll be presented with a pretty standard printing dialog box.  Select your printer of choice and other options and you're ready to go.

Viewing Photos with Pogoplug on iPad

Browsing through photos was one of the most enjoyable experiences I had with PogoplugHD, right behind music streaming, of course!

I typically use iTunes to manage my photos, so I don't have an impressive folder structure to show off to you - but the Pogoplug is able to organize photos automatically for you by date.

You can easily share, print, upload, or save photos.  You have the option of saving directly to the PogoplugHD application itself or to your Camera Roll.  In addition, it's very simple to smoothly swipe through your memories very much like the Apple Photos app, or play a slideshow via the "play" button on the bottom toolbar.

Conclusions

The Pogoplug iPad app is a wonderful addition to the Pogoplug's mobile app arsenal.  At this time, I don't have any complaints - the app works as advertised, is available completely free to users, and exhibits the typical attention to detail as other top apps in the App Store.  I haven't yet experienced a crash or something that didn't play or function.

If I were to suggest an improvement, I'd love to see an easier way to browse through a large quantity of folders/artists/etc.  For now, you either have to page through, or click "load more files" to see anything beyond "A" and "B" in an alphabetical list.  On a mobile connection, this makes sense, but it would be cool to be able to turn a "full view" on or off.  I also noticed a small quirk - such as when viewing a PDF, a white space appears next to the right of the document view.  This doesn't impair the experience but seems to be a bug, the sort of which I'm certain the Pogoplug folks are working hard to stamp out as we speak!

I hope that this app receives the same treatment as the iPhone app and gets background streaming as well as fast app switching when iPad makes the transition to iOS 4 this year.  If that happens, I'll be one happy Pogoplugger.

For now, iPad and Pogoplug owners should *definitely* snag this app, as it's fantastic, free, and functional. (App store link)

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