Documents To Go for iPad provides 2-way support of native Office docs
I purchased the iWork suite of apps on my iPad right at launch since it was the only available Office application at the time. These are quite functional applications and have an unparalleled user interface, however as Joel previously mentioned there are severe limitations if you do not use iWork on your computer and I have been waiting for something more. I just finished an article for an upcoming issue of iPhone Life magazine covering the available Office applications and was lucky enough to have spent time with a beta of Documents To Go Premium. I actually finished making final edits while in Spain on my vacation using my iPad and Documents To Go Premium so I am very pleased to tell you all that version 3.3 is available now for everyone on the iPad.
Documents To Go version 3.3 is available for $14.99 and FREE if you already purchased it for your iPhone. There is a standard base Documents To Go product and the 3.3 update for this version has been submitted to Apple so should be available soon. The major update in version 3.3 is obviously support for the iPad and it's large display, but here is the complete list of what's new:
- Universal application (use it on iPad, iPhone or iPod touch)
- MobileMe iDisk support (Premium version only)
- SugarSync support (Premium version only)
- iPad-specific features:
- Supports iPad’s high resolution screen for displaying documents
- Supports iTunes File Sharing for moving files between your iPad & computer
- Support for inter-application document sharing (e.g. the built-in iPad email app can now open supported attachments in Docs To Go)
- French, Italian, German, Spanish & Brazilian Portuguese localized versions
Documents To Go is currently the only application that supports Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in a single application and for me the biggest reason to use this over the iWork suite is the two way support for Microsoft Office documents. $14.99 for the Premium version is half the price of the three iWork apps and IMHO much more functional. It may not have all the pretty looks and user interface elements of the iWork suite, but that doesn't mean much when you want to share files in native formats.
Stay tunes for a detailed article next week comparing Documents To Go 3.3 with the iWork suite where you will see why I prefer this over iWork.