Can tablets and mobile devices really be an alternative for heavy office users? Is it time to ditch the laptop in favor of your Ipad or Samsung Galaxy Tab? Read our review of Quickoffice Pro HD and find out how it compares to other mobile office suites.
Quickoffice Pro is available both for the Iphone and Ipad(HD), it is also available for Android devices and tablets. It is one of the more affordable alternatives on the market for tablet Office Suites. For $14.99 in the Apple Appstore you get Word-processing, Spreadsheets, Presentations and a PDF-reader. Compare that to Apple’s IWork where each separate application is about $9.99.
In the Word-processing application it is possible to do all the basic things, such as change font-size, add bullets change colors etc. If you would like to create more complex documents containing graphics, tables (it is possible to edit existing tables) or table of contents it will not be possible in Quick office Pro HD, but for writing memos, short summaries etc it works great. However Pages (from Apple) have most of the more complex features, such as inserting graphics and creating tables.
Similarly the Spreadsheet app works well for creating basic spreadsheets, with borders, different number formats, and developing simple functions (such as =SUM) etc. For more heavy duty spreadsheet work Quickoffice Pro HD will not be sufficient, for example you can’t use more complex formulas (such as COUNTIF, SUMIF etc).
Another downside with the Spreadsheet part is the lack of charting features, which actually should have been included, especially given the price for Quickoffice Pro. The feature is available in Numbers from Apple, according to Quickoffice it should be possible to view charts created in Excel. Presentations in Quickoffice Pro HD is one of the suites stronger points, here it suddenly is possible to insert images from the Ipad. Also editing and creating a presentations is easy, but it is however somewhat limited and can be difficult if you are having a lot of objects stacked in proximity because of the touch interface. There are no animations or transition options.
Using Microsoft Office documents in Quickoffice Pro HD was no problem, they rendered without any problems and looked ok both in Quickoffice and in Microsoft Office on the desktop. Formats supported are Word (.doc and .docx) and Excel (.xls and .xlsx). When it comes to presentations the .pptx is format is not supported but the original PowerPoint format is (.ppt).
A nice feature in Quickoffice Pro HD is the sharing and syncing options, for example it it possible to connect it to Google Docs, Dropbox, Evernote, SugarSync, Box, Huddle Catch and MobileMe. It is also very neatly integrated into the app using folders and is easily accessible. Quickoffice Pro HD also have built in e-mail capabilities, but they are a bit strange since it isn’t integrated with the Ipad or Android mail setup on the device. You have to manually enter your own e-mail address as well, when we tested the e-mail service it didn’t work and returned an application error.
It is also possible to read PDF-files and save existing documents to PDF, something that often is needed in a business setting. As a PDF-reader the app works likes a charm.
Overall Quickoffice Pro HD is a solid application for reading and editing existing documents and spreadsheets, it’s perfect to use when away from your desktop or laptop. It is also easy to understand the user interface.
When we tested QuickOffice Pro HD we used it a lot on flights and airports, where you probably will not do any longer editing, but still need to get some work done. However Quickoffice Pro HD is limited to basic writing and editing, and is in most cases no replacement for a regular laptop office suite such as Microsoft Office or iWork.
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Microsoft Office Web Apps is a free online office suite, it is a direct response from Redmond to Google Docs and Zoho Docs, and is a first attempt to bring Microsoft Office into the cloud.
Office Web Apps was launched pretty late compared to Google Docs, and many other competitors. The suite makes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote accessible from any web-browser using the familiar (to many) Microsoft Office interface.
To use Office Web Apps a Windows Live-account is needed, the rest of the suite is free. Using Office Web Apps is actually pretty easy, it’s fast (even on slower connections such as mobile broadband) and works well in a Windows 7 / Internet Explorer environment.
The interface is a stripped down version of the ribbon used in Office 2007 and 2010. Word is very similar to the desktop version, however creating and managing tables is a little bit different since there aren’t the same editing capabilities (for example resizing the whole table by dragging it).
Microsoft Office Web Apps connects with iStockphoto and similar services when inserting clip art imagery, it is also possible to insert your own images, links etc.
Using Excel is a nice experience, it is a basic version of Excel but strangely sufficient for most needs. For example it’s possible to use multiple sheets, create charts and a lot of functions are also available.
PowerPoint is also part of Microsoft Office Web Apps, it is however a bit limited when creating presentations compared to the desktop version. For example it isn’t possible to draw (but you can use the SmartArt tool), animations are not possible and the embedding video features is absent. However for creating basic presentations or editing existing ones created in the desktop application, it works.
Microsoft OneNote is also included, it isn’t as easy to work with as the desktop version since it’s slower to cut and paste images and other material into the notebook. However OneNote is a perfect complement to the desktop and also the recently released IPad app.
Finally Microsoft figured out what to do with its ugly duckling storage service, Skydrive. It is now an integrated part of Web Apps with sharing and collaboration options. For example it’s possible to upload a document from Office 2010 to Skydrive and continue working on it in the cloud.
Overall Microsoft Web Apps is a solid online office suite, the best part is that it is familiar to Office users and can be used in integration with already existing desktop applications. It is even better than Google Docs in the sense that it integrates with the most familiar Office suite out there. Some reports even suggest that Microsoft Web Apps even have more users than Google Docs, which is not surprising.
Microsoft Office Web Apps is sufficient for most needs, sure it isn’t possible to create advanced scripts, macros or templates, but then again I think most users actually do more simple tasks in Microsoft Office, meaning that the desktop Office suite from Redmond is overkill for average users.
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