The Smoking Apples team uses iWork for document editing, so when it came to reviewing an app that deals with Microsoft Office files on the iPhone, we had to call upon an ardent Windows fanboy, Manan Kakkar. Read on for what he makes of the new QuickOffice for iPhone productivity suite.
Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite is probably the first office suite for the iPhone, something that has been missing from the impressive line of iPhone applications. QuickOffice is known for its Office productivity suite on platforms like the Blackberry, Symbian, so it was inevitable that their suite landed on the App Store as well. You can create, edit, and send Word and Excel files, for which QuickOffice guarantees 100% integrity and compatibility with Office applications.
Cutting the gibber-jabber, here is what the app offers:
- Transfer files from PC (& Macs) to iPhone over Wi-Fi.
- Download-Upload files from your iDisk.
- Create & edit *.txt; *.doc & *.xls formats.
- Sort into folders.
Getting your documents to the iPhone
You can either upload documents using your browser, mount as wireless drive in Finder, or just upload them to iDisk and access them at any time. To upload files using the browser you enter the url (which involves your IP address, so better bookmark it). You get a good overview of all your files right within the browser web interface. Adding files is a snap.
The iDisk support brought some cheer while using the application. Hassle-free, smooth transfer of files to & from your MobileMe accounts makes you want to use the app. Uploading files to the Public folder of iDisk directly from the iPhone adds the ability to let others send you documents. Adding multiple MobileMe accounts only makes it sweeter. You can even add the public folder of other users.
Document Editing
Very well implemented. It’s fairly quick to open up files, and has a good set of options to take care of your edits. With options like:
- Bold/Italic
- Font color
- Highlight & Font format (in Word)
- Cut/Copy/Paste (in Word)
- Bullets (in Word & txt)
- Cell background (in Spreadsheets)
- Adding/Deleting Rows & Columns
- Quick access to files
- Undo/Redo actions
The biggest reason for Apps not being able to edit documents on the iPhone is the lack of Cut/Copy/Paste. While Apple has already announced the feature for the iPhone 3.0 software, QuickOffice has developed their own. It’s very similar to what’s coming, and works very well. All the editing features are available from a small bar at the bottom makes using the app pretty easy to use.
You can do editing in Portrait, or hack away in landscape mode, which is geared towards hacking away at the keyboard or getting a larger overview of your Excel spreadsheet. Excel editing has remained largely unchanged since MobileFiles Pro, which Smoking Apples has reviewed earlier.
Now for the Misses
1. No Powerpoint Support
Needless to say no Keynote support either. This is definitely a let down.
2. No OOXML Support
That is you cannot edit any of the newer docx or xslx files using QuickOffice. They are still only read-only. A major disappointment. As much as Milind doesn’t want to face the reality, Microsoft Office is still the most widely used Office Suite, not supporting all of it becomes a bone of contention. [Milind: I do however realise that nobody really uses docx or xlsx, so I don’t think it’s a major problem]
3. Open Email Attachments
I assume Apple is partly to blame here. Not being able to save documents you receive in mail, edit & attach them renders this suite of little use to most people & here is where iDisk’s ‘Public’ folder helps. You’d require a MobileMe account for it though.
Decision Time
Quickoffice offers 4 apps in the App Store:
- Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite (Word, Excel, WiFi) - $19.99
- Quicksheet (Excel, Email & WiFi) - $12.99
- Quickword (Word, Email & WiFi) - $12.99
- Quickoffice Files (Email & WiFi) - $1.99
If you’re a Microsoft Office user and want to edit your files on the go, QuickOffice is your best (and only) bet. Moreover, if you just Word or Excel, you can choose between Quickword & Quicksheet which make good sense. Considering that the full QuickOffice can be your document manager, iDisk access, and edit documents on the go, QuickOffice might just be the killer app on your iPhone.
