More attractive to as many owners of «smart» devices as possible, the giants Microsoft, Google and Apple are trying to make their office suites, either by adding new features or developing new versions to support a wider range of devices. Each of the companies has different motivations for the evolution of its «package» of programs, taking part in this competition for which software is the most user‑friendly and functional for creating documents, spreadsheets or presentations. Regardless of the reason, the result is that the three suites have been upgraded recently, offering even more capabilities to those who use them.
As for Microsoft's suite, undoubtedly the biggest news was the announcement of «Office for iPad» at the end of March. The first version of Office for tablet, which actually makes a debut on a model that does not run Windows, the «Office for iPad» includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The programs have been designed from the ground up to be completely usable via the touch screen, resulting in impressions that have left experts and non-experts very positive, as is our opinion as well. Therefore, it is probably normal that, within just one week, installations reached 12 million.
In the period since the launch, the American company made sure to incorporate the ability to print directly from the iPad, which was initially missing. Additionally, it made its suite more attractive also in terms of price, for those who want to edit Office files on their tablet. And this because at the end of April it launched the «Office 365 for personal use» service, through which one can with a subscription of €7 per month (or €69 annually) combine the «Office for iPad» with Office for a PC or Mac. Until that time, the tablet suite was offered exclusively with the «Office 365 for Home use» service, with a monthly subscription of €10 (or €99 per year).
Just a few days ago, Google «responded» to the appearance of Office on the iPad, launching for all «smart» Android and iOS devices Google Docs and Google Sheets, two applications for creating documents and spreadsheets respectively. As well as Google Slides for creating presentations, which the internet giant will launch soon, the two applications are the first equivalents from Google that give users the ability to store the files they create on their device, without therefore needing an internet connection. Until now, to gain access to the American company's suite from a tablet or «smart» phone, one would have to use the «internet hard drive» Drive, which was also the only available option for storing the files.
One of the significant advantages of the programs is that they are completely free, while they are the only ones compatible with all existing smartphones and tablets – except for phones with the Windows Phone operating system. Also, they give the ability to «lock» it, setting the password of one's choice. At the same time, however, they include fewer functions than the comparable programs of the two companies, which are actually even fewer in the case of Google Docs and Google Sheets for the «smart» devices of Apple. Thus, for now at least, for example Google Docs on iPad does not allow the insertion of images and charts, or the creation of headers and footers.
On the other hand, Apple leverages its iWork suite as an additional «powerful paper» for Macs, iPhones and iPads, since last October it provides iWork for free to anyone who purchases any of the above products. In the last month, however, it made this paper even… more powerful, intervening in the design of the three suite programs (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) and adding the file‑sharing option with other users, without them having the ability to edit them. The company also made several minor functional improvements to the three programs, while upgrading the web version of the suite, the «iWork for iCloud» to support machines with Retina screens.
For mobile
It may be that the three internet giants are giving increasing weight to their office suites for «smart» devices, but that does not mean that inevitably the corresponding programs developed by less known companies are being eclipsed. A typical example is Microsoft's move to offer, since the end of March, the Office version (Office Mobile) for free for iPhone and Android smartphones. Office Mobile provides the ability to view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, and is fully compatible with Office for PC and Mac, with the drawback, however, that it does not allow storage on the device and therefore requires an Internet connection. Even if someone chooses Google's applications as an alternative solution, the problem in this case is that it cannot «open» attached files in mail.
Thus, for Android phones, three suites that do not have the above restrictions are the free QuickOffice and Kingsoft Office, as well as OfficeSuite Pro 7 which costs 7,23 euros. The three suites can also be used on tablets with Google's operating system, from which, anyway, are missing» the products of Microsoft and Apple.
On the other hand, regarding iPhones, Apple's iWork solution is cost‑effective even for smartphones purchased before last September, as in this case the American company offers Pages, Numbers and Keynote at a price of 9 euros each. The same applies to owners of an Apple tablet that was also purchased before September, who also do not want to choose the subscription «Office for iPad».
