FileMaker Inc.’s FileMaker Go–which brings databases created with the Windows and OS X versions of FileMaker to iOS devices–just got a bit more powerful.

As before, the new 1.2 versions for iPhone and iPad aren’t fully standalone apps: You use it to view and edit databases created with full-blown Filemaker Pro, and can access databases both by syncing them onto the device and by connecting remotely. (That’s a different approach from FileMaker’s more consumery Bento database apps for iPhone and iPad, which can be used in conjunction with the Mac version or on their own.)

You can now use Apple’s AirPrint to print wirelessly to recent HP printers. Charts–a feature introduced in last year’s FileMaker Pro 11–can be viewed, updated, and edited. And you can capture signatures into FileMaker Go on an iPhone or iPad, and then transfer them back into a FileMaker Pro database. (The FileMaker folks say that Go is often used to automate processes that would otherwise be handled with paper and pen.)

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A couple of months ago, I wrote about FileMaker Go, the iPhone/iPad version of the venerable database that does such a good job of blending power and simplicity. The company has released a version 1.1 update that makes its mobile offering a bit more powerful still.

Among the changes: The new version lets you e-mail copies of your databases, create PDFs of them for sharing, and insert photos you shoot with an iPhone or have stored on your device. There’s also an intriguing option that lets developers of third-party apps transfer information–such as a bar code–into FileMaker Go. (It’s intriguing partially because it’s easy to forget that there’s any way for iPhone apps to talk to each other at all–it’s neat to be reminded that they can.)

As before, FileMaker Go is $19.99 for the iPhone version and $39.99 for the iPad one, and it’s not a completely stand-alone product–it’s for working with databases created with the Mac or Windows version. (The company also offers iPhone/iPad versions of its more consumery Bento database that can work in completely standalone mode.)

FileMaker Go 1.1 is available at the App Store now.

Apple’s FileMaker subsidiary offers two database applications: Its namesake, FileMaker Pro (aimed mostly at business users) and Bento (meant mostly for consumers). Bento showed up on the iPhone in 2009 and was one of the first iPad apps. But FileMaker itself hasn’t been available for either of Apple’s iDevices until now.

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This is definitely a minority opinion. But when I sat in the audience at Apple’s iPad launch back in January, the single thing that got me most excited was the demos of iPad versions of Apple’s iWork office-suite apps. Computer manufacturers have been trying to sell tablets as productivity devices for eons, but Apple actually reimagined its programs’ user interfaces for tablet use, rather than slapping a few touch features on otherwise mundane desktop software.

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When Apple’s FileMaker division told me that it had iPhone-related news, my first guess was that it was announcing a version of its flagship cross-platform database application for its parent company’s phone. Not quite. It released a database for the iPhone yesterday, but that database is Bento, a $4.99 mobile version of the company’s consumer and small-business database application, which until now has run only on Macs with OS X 10.5 Leopard.

Bento for the iPhone (and iPod Touch) isn’t the first database for the iPhone, but it may be the most thoroughly Apple-esque one to date. (Which makes sense.) A cover-flow like browser lets you choose from dozens of templates, like the ones you get in Bento for the Mac–everything from an equipment log to a digital media collection to expenses to notes to a record of your diet. There’s also a blank template. Once you choose a template and create a database–which Bento calls a Library–you can customize the fields and their order, then populate them with information.

On the Mac, Bento’s biggest distinguishing characteristic is its pretty, flexible layouts. On the iPhone, sensibly enough, everything’s organized into the typical iPhone list-like format. It’s less flashy but makes good use of the available real estate, and it’s easy to browse records, update old ones, and add new information.

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Here’s the first bit of product news from Apple for Macworld Expo week, and it’s something noteworthy that Phil Schiller won’t even mention: Its FileMaker subsidiary has released FileMaker 10, a new version of its extremely venerable, extremely easy-to-use database manager for OS X and Windows. The most striking thing about the new version is the complete makeover that’s been given to the program’s user interface and bundled templates, which had barely changed in a long, long time. This is the first version in many years that doesn’t look a little long in the tooth, and it’s even more inviting to database newbies than its predecessors.

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