Why isn't there a full-featured word processor

[wesrk]

Not being able to track changes is a deal breaker for me too. I work with lawyers quite a bit in the work I do, and as picky as they are with the way a document is worded, being able to track changes is a must.

There are a lot of other features missing in iWork and mobile office that make it unreasonable to use for anything work related. Plus, importing a word document into mobile office or iWork screws up the formatting of the document in my experience. Not worth the hassle IMO.

iWork and Mobile Office are fine for very basic document creation (never going beyond typing text), however in going beyond basic document creation or in needing to export the file outside of the iPad, they are lacking signficantly.

I was using Pages on my mac and after using the versions feature heavily during one late working session, I can see how this could be *very* useful if implemented on the iPad.

 

[thelookingglass]

Actually, when you use a bluetooth keyboard with the iPad it becomes much more functional. Obviously, it still lacks the ability to see a document creation project through to completion, but it can get surprisingly far with drafts, revisions, proofreading, etc. Learning the keyboard shortcuts is the key. I used to miss having a mouse for editing, but not anymore.

Agreed. With a bluetooth keyboard, all that's missing is ... you got it ... a full-featured word processor. I don't think it's true at all that the iPad can't be a serious content creation device. It's the software that's lagging behind.

 

[iOSWriter]

It probably has to do more with the avergae iOS customer being too cheap to dish out more than $10 for any app but willing to upgrade his or her hardware every year for $800. They just arent willing to see iOS more than a time waster or even the iPad as a serious product beyond just a status symbol and a coffee table reader.

 

[radiogoober]

I'm the biggest apple fanboy here, and I'll tell you that the iWork apps on iOS are painful to use. Yes, they are beautiful, slick, etc. But they are dreadfully painful to use.

I primarily use Pages, and it's a very hard to edit tables. You have to tap in certain ways to get the correct cell or row or column selected. If you're in the middle of a table and want to insert a row, you have to drag some weird bar down to add a row to the bottom of the table, and then drag that new row up in place. Where as on a computer you simply right click, add row. It's literally 15 seconds vs half a second.

It's pretty painful.

Has Microsoft made *anything* for iOS yet? Kinda strange they haven't put out a "lite" version of their office for iOS. After all, they are a software company!

 

[Hammie]

[...]

Has Microsoft made *anything* for iOS yet? Kinda strange they haven't put out a "lite" version of their office for iOS. After all, they are a software company!

The only official Microsoft app for the iPhone (no native iPad version) is OneNote, which I do not have a need for.

 

[AndyMulhearn]

Actually, when you use a bluetooth keyboard with the iPad it becomes much more functional. Obviously, it still lacks the ability to see a document creation project through to completion, but it can get surprisingly far with drafts, revisions, proofreading, etc. Learning the keyboard shortcuts is the key. I used to miss having a mouse for editing, but not anymore.

I think I would still prefer a mouse - pushing at the screen is not an approach I find usable. In fact didn't SJ say there would never be a touch-screen iMac because the operation of the screen at arms length would be too user unfriendly.

As for the keyboard and creating content, I use the combined keyboard/dock and it works fine, though can be a little wobbly on occasion. Not as user friendly as the bluetooth version but you can get up a surprising speed typing with it. As you say, for creating drafts it's fine, i's just the more advanced editing that you can't get done without a more capable set of hardware.

 

[jsh1120]

...
Has Microsoft made *anything* for iOS yet? Kinda strange they haven't put out a "lite" version of their office for iOS. After all, they are a software company!

And if they weren't planning a Microsoft Tablet they might be more interested in doing so.

But you also pointed to another reason for Microsoft to avoid putting the "Office" label on crippled software. They own the word processing business and outstrip virtually any competitor in terms of functionality. No need to invite invidious comparisons between a "lite" version of Word and the real thing. Besides, they already have a "lite" version under another label: Microsoft Works.

And I strongly suspect it will be included free of charge on the Microsoft Tablet.