Find tech advice for business here
Filling in a blank spreadsheet is an uphill battle, but one you can win.
(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)Ever since Documents to Go came out on iPhone--both the standard version and with Microsoft Exchange Attachments--the publisher has been keeping our interest with promises of a version that could edit Excel documents and create new ones in addition to just viewing them.
That version, Documents to Go 2.0, is now here. The update brings Documents To Go back to fairly equal footing with rival Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite, which added Excel creation and editing support a month before.
In addition to viewing Excel XLS and XLSX documents, both Documents To Go apps can now also create new spreadsheets and edit existing ones. After taking a quick spin through the features, we can say it looks as if publisher DataViz, like Quickoffice, has been able to cram a lot of core features into a small space. There's support for multiple spreadsheets, and the capability to resize rows and columns and search cells (the Find feature). There are also formatting and typeface tools, and support for older, even password-protected, worksheets.
While the addition of Excel support brings this app back into direct competition with the Quickoffice suite, what's true in both cases is that it's infinitely easier to edit an Excel document on the iPhone than it is to create one fresh. However, if you must put your tapping fingers through the pages, then the opportunity is now, finally, here.
(Credit:
Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)
Good news comes to the iPhone workforce on Thursday, in the form of an update to Quickoffice Mobile Suite. The latest version will now create and edit the Word and Excel documents native to Microsoft Office 2007 on Windows, and Microsoft Office 2008 on Mac. Prior versions did not support these DOCX and XLSX formats.
The change brings Quickoffice Mobile Suite ahead of its most threatening productivity rival in terms of editing support. Neither of the two Documents To Go applications for iPhone can create Excel documents; their capability is view-only. However, for some people, creating spreadsheets is overkill. For that set, Documents To Go and Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments are the more dollar-conscious choice at about $5, and $10, respectively, compared to Quickoffice's $15 mobile suite. Documents To Go creates and edits DOCX Word files.
Up until last week, Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite was the most sophisticated Microsoft document reader and editor in the App Store. When Documents To Go came out (with and without support for Microsoft Exchange attachments,) some of you asked for a head-to-head comparison.
We'll see your request and raise it to a collection of business applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch that can help keep you productive at home or on the road.
Quickoffice versus Documents To Go
The starkest differences between Quickoffice Mobile Suite and Documents To Go boil down to price, file support, and interface. Both can view Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDFs, and iWork documents. They are also able to transfer files via a USB drive hookup or through pairing over a Wi-Fi network.
In terms of image quality, both had commendably clear and faithful rendering of images and text. Both instances of Documents To Go are less expensive (at the time of writing) than Quickoffice; about $5 and $10 versus Quickoffice's Mobile Suite at $20. However, Documents To Go can only edit and create Word docs. Quickoffice can generate and edit Word and Excel files.
Editing tools are more easily accessible in Quickoffice.
(Credit: CNET/Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt)The Word-only editing limitation brings the standard Documents To Go app closer to the standalone Quickword product (iTunes link), also about $5 now that it's on sale (it's been dropped down from $13.) Quickoffice cannot create or edit Word or Excel 2007 files at present, but Documents To Go does support Word 2007 documents.
In terms of layout and usability, Quickoffice's menu systems are slightly easier to access and use than those on Documents To Go. However, Documents To Go's more premium app opens the door to reading attachments sent over Microsoft Exchange. It's got a trickier setup process than we'd like, but once that's been cleared away, the actual reading and saving are smooth.
For now, choosing the better of the two apps for your needs is a simple calculation. Those who actively work with Excel documents should stick with Quickoffice at this time. Those who rely more on reading e-mail attachments in their full glory (and especially editing the attached Word docs) should head for the premium version of Documents To Go. The set that mostly needs access to Word documents but rarely works with spreadsheets should let economic considerations guide them to the $5 version of Documents To Go.
However, since both applications have ambitious development schedules and strategies, the value proposition of each could rapidly change by the version number. We'll be keeping an eye on these as they continue to take their turns at bat.
See which applications made our top productivity picks for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Corrected on June 26, 2009 at 2:45 p.m. PT: Documents To Go can edit and create Word 2007 documents.
If you've set up an Exchange in-box, you can view attachments.
(Credit: CNET/Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt)Documents To Go is such an excellent business tool for viewing and editing documents on other mobile platforms, we were excited to see it emerge in the iTunes App Store earlier this week. We talked about the more basic version of Documents To Go for iPhone (and iPod Touch; $4.99) here, which lets you create and edit Microsoft Word apps, and additionally displays Excel, PowerPoint, PDFs, and iWork files.
Quite a few users, however, had trouble with the more advanced version, Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments. This version essentially adds an in-app Exchange in-box that asks you to set up a Microsoft Exchange account in order to view the supported attachments. Many comments in the publisher's iTunes app page echoed users' frustrations at getting it set up, and hours spent trying to connect it just to have it fail. I decided to try it out.
Although I had already added a Microsoft Exchange in-box to the iPhone, Documents To Go required that I repeat the process. Making your way around domain and server names can be tricky, and it's easy to mistype a strong password. After a minute or two, the app successfully created a second Exchange in-box that had a few parameters, like how far back it should scan for attachments. I stuck with the 2-week default and in another minute or two, the application presented a list of e-mail messages flagged with attachments.
Opening one took some more time--Documents To Go, it appears, resyncs the first time you tap the floating attachment. You shouldn't have to wait the next time you revisit the attachment, except for the few seconds it takes to render the document you open. The viewer rendered spreadsheets and PDFs with its characteristic crispness, and scrolled without lags.
Click in your Docs To Go in-box to open a synced attachment.
(Credit: CNET/Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt)At this early stage, the secondary features are a little weak. You can view attachments from your in-box, out-box, and drafts. You can also locally save the attachment, but apart from Word documents, you won't yet be able to edit. Still, the faithful rendering makes Documents To Go's viewer a truer experience than that built into the iPhone.
Is it worth the extra time it takes to set up a new mailbox, sync it, and open the attachment? If you're a business user who's often on the road, probably. It helps to feel comfortable with your Exchange settings, or to be in contact with someone from the office (like an IT admin) who does. That "probably" shifts into a "definitely" if you're willing to give DataViz some leeway while it builds creation and editing tools for Excel, PowerPoint, and PDFs into future iterations (attachment support for other Webmail clients would also be welcome.) These versions give Documents To Go a toehold, but are not nearly as strong as we would hope or expect, given the tiered applications' performance on other mobile platforms. Business users, stay tuned.
DataViz, publisher of the venerable Palm OS application Documents to Go, has announced its plans to bring a version of the application to the iPhone. The software allows users to view and edit Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and Excel Spreadsheets and offers many other features, including the ability to display graphic files.
Some features available on the Palm OS may not make it to the iPhone because of Apple's stringent developer agreement.
DataViz is projecting delivery of Documents to Go for the iPhone in 2009. The company asks that anyone interested in news or information about the software sign up for a mailing list here.
The DataViz web site does not supply any screenshots or other solid information about the application's features or pricing. A phone call to DataViz resulted in a push to sign up for the mailing list.
The iPhone has built-in support for viewing some Microsoft Office documents and Adobe PDF files, but the functionality is not as robust as Documents to Go for Palm.
Feedback? http://www.iphoneatlas.com/contact.
- prev
- 1
- next
