iPad: Two Things Needed For School And Business

The iPad is being pushed for the education market. Personally, I think things would have gone much better for me at school if I had the iPad waaaay back then. But there are two things I think would help the iPad really take off for school.

Printing and Microsoft Office.

WSJ On "Preview" Version of Quickoffice

WSJ does a pretty good tech segment.  For those of you who have full access, you can attest to this fact.  Here's one where Quickoffice for the iPhone was semi-reviewed.  So let's get into it.  Two years into the iPhone's product cycle, Quickoffice is the first full-blown office suite. 

For folks who use Palms and Blackberries for work, you might be familiar with the app.  Quickoffice's arrival couldn't have come at a better time as more and more businesses are opening up to the idea of adopting the iPhone into their rank of tech gears.  How does it stack up?

When I first heard about Quickoffice, I was puzzled why they didn't simply wait until iPhone 3.0 is out so that it can take advantage of the new features.  Regardless, it is out and WSJ's post on the app has allowed me to save $20 until a more robust version is out.  So, what did WSJ's reviewer like or dislike about it?

• Liked the cut-and-paste.  However, this isn't iPhone 3.0's implementation.
• Able to save files locally.  Able to retreive or send files from a PC, Mac, or online storage.
  
• Has an e-mailing function.
• Unable to open attachments from Mail.  An OS limitation.  Not Quickoffice's fault.
• No spell check.
• No autocorrection.
• Landscape editing limited to word processor.
• Unable to happen Microsoft's newer file format.

WSJ think it's an "OK" start but needs work.  I think it's a great start just to have Quickoffice available.  There is definitely a lot of work that needs to be done before the iPhone version is as robust as other Quickoffice versions.  In fact, it would do the iPhone owners great service by incorporating some iPhone specific features like multi-touch.

Source:  WSJ

Note:  Speaking of the Wall Street Journal, there is also a WSJ app in the iTunes App Store.  It's free to download and you have full access to the paper.  Free for now.  Reportedly, RM isn't happy with that so access to WSJ may not be free for much longer.

Dataviz Taking Sign-ins For Documents-To-Go For iPhone

MacNN is reporting that Dataviz is readying its flagship product, Documents-To-Go, for the iPhone.  For folks who don't know about Dataviz, DTG is an application that a lot of Palm users are familiar with.  It's compatible with Microsoft Office data formats and allows users to create and edit documents on the go.

Since the iPhone came out, there has been no office suite app for the iPhone.  We have different spreadsheet editors and word processors but nothing as unifying as DTG.  Perhaps one of the main reason is the lack of copy-and-paste function.  And yes, DTG for the iPhone will have copy-and-paste.

Just last week, Google enabled spreadsheet editing for Google Docs for Webkit browsers.  So, for iPhone mobile warriors who need (want) to work on the go, the time is near.

Please visit the following links for more details and pics.  Personally, I had hoped that iWork for iPhone would be available but from what I see, DTG is pretty cool and badly needed.

• MacNN
• MacCityNet

You can sign in for notification here.  There's no word if this is for the beta or when it's finally in the app store.

Note:  You can bet this app won't be $0.99.  

Office on iPhone

You can do it on Windows Mobile, Palm, and Blackberries.  What is it?

Edit Office docs.  I'm a bit torn on this issue.  There are certainly limitations to working with documents on a small mobile device.  I've tried it before, and perhaps I should have given it more of an effort, it was not really my cup of tea.

However, of all the Office applications I want the most has to be Word or Page.  I've sent megabtyes upon megabtyes of text already.  I can see myself sending more be it attachment or something else.

Editing spreadsheets?  Not so much.  I've used DocumentsToGo to create workout schedules and expense trackers but nothing really elaborate.  And in the end, I hardly used either.  But that has nothing to do with the spreadsheet app but more with my routine.

I don't even want to get into a Powerpoint-like app.  I find the need for a presentation app rather than one that allows editing.

Like to hear what you think about this issue and what your experiences has been.