March 27, 2014
Microsoft announced today the release of Office for iPad. These are not iPad versions of the lightweight dumbed-down apps that were released for the iPhone last year. Rather, they are (nearly) full-functioning versions of the desktop copies of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, optimized for the iPad touch environment. There is also an update to the OneNote app that is already out for the iPad.
I haven’t tested these yet (other than OneNote earlier), but all reviews so far indicate these are very powerful programs.
A couple points about this release:
- The apps are free, but you’ll need a paid Office 365 subscription to do any serious work with them.
- They require iOS7 on your iPad.
- Microsoft did not release an app called “Office.” Rather they released individual apps for Word Excel and PowerPoint, (and updated their existing OneNote app). You download them individually.
- Notice there is no Outlook in this collection; rather users could use the previous OWA app that Microsoft released for the iPad last year. Or continue to use the Mail app on iPad.
- While these are full-featured, some key features are missing. Example: printing. See review links below for full discussion.
- These programs go far beyond any corresponding touch/metro applications currently on Windows 8 tablets, which is rather ironic. Equivalent full-featured touch versions of Office are expected to be released for the Windows 8 tablet metro environment later this year.
Impact on 1MTD and MYN
There’s really no impact for 1MTD and MYN system users because 1MTD and MYN rely on e-mail and task management features—and there are no new e-mail or task management modules here. OWA certainly can be used in conjunction with this new suite for things like single-folder Exchange e-mail filing and category-based filing (as before). You’ll still want to use software like TaskTask to manager Exchange-based tasks. Or use Toodledo for tasks if you don’t use Exchange.
As I study this new iPad software, if I find things that do have impacts on 1MTD or MYN users, I’ll report them here. In the meantime, below are a couple good online reviews of these new iPad apps:
http://winsupersite.com/office/microsoft-office-ipad-review
Michael Linenberger
I would recommend checking out GTD Agenda.com for an online task manager.
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, and a calendar.
Syncs with Evernote, and also comes with mobile-web version, and Android and iPhone apps.
The release of Office for iPad marks a significant milestone in bringing productivity tools to mobile devices. In the article, the mention of Docutrend highlights their expertise in document management solutions. Docutrend offers a range of services that can enhance productivity and streamline document workflows. With Office for iPad, users can now leverage the power of Microsoft Office on their tablets, and Docutrend’s solutions can further optimize the management and organization of documents within this ecosystem.