Desktop Quality Apps for Android Tablets.

[Liam Perry]

So I've just picked up an LTE Samsung Note 2014 for university. It's going to be my only internet device, and work station. I'm coming from a Surface RT (First Gen) and for the most part I'm sort of appalled. I'm really going to miss Office RT.

I want to know if there are any serious desktop quality apps available for android, for a 10" tablet specifically. The iPad has a host of apps that are near-full desktop ports of pc programs. Is there anything like this for android?

(Ie. A Desktop style media player, Office Suite, Printing, Productivity etc.)

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! There are a lot of quality Office-like apps out there, and Microsoft themselves just announced that Microsoft Office Mobile will now be free. Google's Quickoffice is a decent app, and the native Google Drive apps (Docs, Sheets, etc.) are actually pretty functional, in my opinion. There are lots of 3rd party office apps, like Docs To Go, OfficeSuite 7, Kingsoft Office, Olive Office, etc. Most of them are either free or free to try, so you can see which ones work best.

 

[charles777]

Welcome to Android Central! There are a lot of quality Office-like apps out there, and Microsoft themselves just announced that Microsoft Office Mobile will now be free. Google's Quickoffice is a decent app, and the native Google Drive apps (Docs, Sheets, etc.) are actually pretty functional, in my opinion. There are lots of 3rd party office apps, like Docs To Go, OfficeSuite 7, Kingsoft Office, Olive Office, etc. Most of them are either free or free to try, so you can see which ones work best.

If I'm not mistaken full Office Mobile will only be available on iOS and Android phones. For tablets, no such luck for Android... iPads get a free Office Mobile viewer but to create/edit documents you have to be paying for an Office 365 subscription.

To the OP: For media consumption you have a lot of choices... MX Player for video is excellent, for music Poweramp is great... but there are so many ! There are Android versions for most of the apps you were using on Windows RT. It's a great tablet and I'm sure you'll end up finding the right apps to enjoy it to the fullest.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[B. Diddy]

If I'm not mistaken full Office Mobile will only be available on iOS and Android phones. For tablets, no such luck for Android

You're right, and that's a puzzling move on Microsoft's part. Why is it only available on phones? I guess they either didn't want to make a separate app for tablets, or didn't want to code it so that it would scale correctly for a tablet.

Oh well, I'm sticking with Google Drive and/or Quickoffice. Or Docs To Go. Or OfficeSuite 7 ...

 

[charles777]

You're right, and that's a puzzling move on Microsoft's part. Why is it only available on phones? I guess they either didn't want to make a separate app for tablets, or didn't want to code it so that it would scale correctly for a tablet.

Oh well, I'm sticking with Google Drive and/or Quickoffice. Or Docs To Go. Or OfficeSuite 7 ...

Good question. .. having it on phones keeps Office visible and current. Full Office on Android tablets would probably cannibalize Surface RT sales... not many other reasons to buy RT. For the iPad it makes sense that they want to keep iOS users attached to the Microsoft ecosystem (Office, OneDrive, OneNote, Skype) or they might lose them to completely to Apple... iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac etc. Just my 2 cents

Sent from my SM-P605 using Tapatalk

 

[B. Diddy]

Makes a lot of business sense. But irritating, nonetheless!

 

[Dale_M]

Yep...Google play will not let me install (download) MS Office Mobile in my p-600...

Probably best thing for other vendors.... Someday soon I hope apps vendors will discover there is a market (tablet) that is more demanding than just phones....

Dale

 

[aelaan]

So I've just picked up an LTE Samsung Note 2014 for university. It's going to be my only internet device, and work station. I'm coming from a Surface RT (First Gen) and for the most part I'm sort of appalled. I'm really going to miss Office RT.

I want to know if there are any serious desktop quality apps available for android, for a 10" tablet specifically. The iPad has a host of apps that are near-full desktop ports of pc programs. Is there anything like this for android?

(Ie. A Desktop style media player, Office Suite, Printing, Productivity etc.)

I am somewhat in the same boat as I am exploring the tablet for business use. On the device coming totally free are an overwhelming amount of programs, Samsung is giving you a lot like Polaris office and getting the free video editing tools and autodesk sketch are some to mention. With music tools plenty on the device you wil find simple players like "Music" and you have not even needed to download anything not pre-installed. I too use a windows tablet and I love both ecosystems. I also installed the Citrix application, so at the coffee shop I am just as much at work and I did invest in some small apps I have carried with me for my Google years. I love the Note for its battery life and beautiful screen. Feel free to reach out, you have a very powerful device with a super operating system in your hands.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[SpookDroid]

Kinda off topic here, but Microsoft didn't 'decide' not to build an Android tablet app for MS Office. They confirmed an Android version is coming on the very same conference they announced the iPad version. Why is it not here yet? Because whether we like it or not, development takes time, and developing a good app for the myriad of Android configurations out there (I'm calling BS to everyone saying that Android fragmentation is no longer a thing) takes even longer. So, they focused on releasing a quality app for the iPad that's got everyone excited and have now begun to focus on developing for Android. But fret not, it's coming.

 

[slackerjack]

Kinda off topic here, but Microsoft didn't 'decide' not to build an Android tablet app for MS Office. They confirmed an Android version is coming on the very same conference they announced the iPad version. Why is it not here yet? Because whether we like it or not, development takes time, and developing a good app for the myriad of Android configurations out there (I'm calling BS to everyone saying that Android fragmentation is no longer a thing) takes even longer. So, they focused on releasing a quality app for the iPad that's got everyone excited and have now begun to focus on developing for Android. But fret not, it's coming.

I agree...I don't think os fragmentation is as big a deal these days...but dealing with the huge gamut of resolutions and how to best leverage screen real estate can be daunting. Think about Android tablets for a sec...the mainstream resolution out there is still 12*800 (thanks Tegra 2), with the second place coming in at 19*12, and then there's the crazy specced 25*16 tabs...lot of variance there!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[bclinger#IM]

The need for the "real" office application may be there; however I am unwilling to go the subscription route. I do not mind a one time payment. For most of my needs, Documents To Go has been sufficient.

Via my Note 3

 

[SpookDroid]

Fortunately, once it hits the Android tablets, I can just use my work account to activate it (my office already pays for the Office subscription, so using your work e-mail will work to validate your iPad copy now... and A LOT of companies already pay for it, so chances are you're already using a corporate account with a valid subscription).

Also, and although this shouldn't be how it is done, you can also ask a paying friend (or find one online) to activate your copy. At least right now, there's no enforced limit to how many copies of the app can be activated (but it is limited on the TOS, just not enforced yet).

 

[SpookDroid]

I agree...I don't think os fragmentation is as big a deal these days...but dealing with the huge gamut of resolutions and how to best leverage screen real estate can be daunting. Think about Android tablets for a sec...the mainstream resolution out there is still 12*800 (thanks Tegra 2), with the second place coming in at 19*12, and then there's the crazy specced 25*16 tabs...lot of variance there!

Posted via Android Central App

It's not just resolutions, it's all the different specs! Tegra, Qualcomm, Exynos, Intel... all with their own internal structure and variants and special instruction sets. Heck! I've even seen apps that will work fine on one unit but don't work on another phone of the same model (I'm looking at you, NOVA 3 ??). The day I no longer see a 'device compatibility' list on Google Play and it gets replaced by an 'Android Version compatibility' list, THEN will I finally accept the "Android fragmentation is no longer a thing" argument.

And people still wonder why most games and apps come out on iOS first...

 

[B. Diddy]

All good points. Still, I'm willing to deal with that in return for having such a great variety of devices to choose from. I think that variety contributes a lot to innovation and excitement.

 

[SpookDroid]

Yeah, me too! That's why I love Android and have been sticking to it since the OG MotoDroid. But from a developer's point of view, if I get the choice of which platform to develop for FIRST, I'd choose iOS, even if it stinks (OK, it doesn't stink... it's just emanating a funny odor every now and then Apple Patent Pending).

Eventually Android will have to get to the point where, like Windows PC's, if you develop for the OS in general, you can be sure your app will run in most devices as long as they meet the minimum HW requirements like RAM or processor power, and we're getting closer to that, but the breach is still there.