iPad's versions of iWorks apps not fully roundtripping

If you're debating about buying the iPad versions of Keynote or Pages, make sure that you don't care about presenter notes, comments, 3D charts, and other assorted pieces of functionality.

According to a post by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, a fellow ZDNet contributor, Apple has released somewhat crippled iWorks apps for the iPad, and users are frustrated. Apparently, there's a laundry list of features that won't make the trip from standard OSX to iPad. However, to find that list you have to dig into the FAQs like this Keynote for iPad one, or wait until you perform the conversion and then receive a detailed list of what didn't make the cut.

I'm glad that I spotted this news today since I've been debating about getting the Keynote and Pages apps, along with the video dongle. Bad roundtripping is something I dealt with for far too long with Windows Mobile--Microsoft finally fixed it--and I have zero interest in repeating the experience, especially with something like Presenter Notes and Comments not making it to the iPad. How is a presenter expected to do a solid job presenting without her notes?

There are plenty of alternative presentation options, including saving your original Keynote or Powerpoint as a PDF and then showing the PDF from the iPad. And that alternative didn't cost an extra $10.