Getting work done

[EggoEspada]

So right now I'm looking into buying an iPad or Galaxy Tab 10.1 at the end of the month. I will be heading to college and want something that's lightweight, has reliable battery life, use for researching/eBooks and can do the basics in keeping me organized. Both devices are really great in all those departments, but there's one things I'm not sure about - 'getting work done'. I need something that I can maybe edit word documents, presentations, etc. I'm well aware of the limitation of these tablets and have a home computer to do heavy work. But I want something to at least edit some documents and presentations while I'm away from my computer. I read up on iWorks for iOS, and that seems like a great alternative for doing these things, but have yet to see anything for Android tablets - specifically the Galaxy Tab 10.1. This will probably tip the scale as which tablet would better work for me.

So does anyone know any apps to help me out? I had high hopes for Google Docs, but Google really let me down on the app version.

 

[rmmorse81]

So right now I'm looking into buying an iPad or Galaxy Tab 10.1 at the end of the month. I will be heading to college and want something that's lightweight, has reliable battery life, use for researching/eBooks and can do the basics in keeping me organized. Both devices are really great in all those departments, but there's one things I'm not sure about - 'getting work done'. I need something that I can maybe edit word documents, presentations, etc. I'm well aware of the limitation of these tablets and have a home computer to do heavy work. But I want something to at least edit some documents and presentations while I'm away from my computer. I read up on iWorks for iOS, and that seems like a great alternative for doing these things, but have yet to see anything for Android tablets - specifically the Galaxy Tab 10.1. This will probably tip the scale as which tablet would better work for me.

So does anyone know any apps to help me out? I had high hopes for Google Docs, but Google really let me down on the app version.

Android has documents to go and quick office hd. Both provide a honeycomb version of basic office editing. don't expect a full office experience but it is much better than i works and having to sync office docs through i tunes.

 

[Menno]

So right now I'm looking into buying an iPad or Galaxy Tab 10.1 at the end of the month. I will be heading to college and want something that's lightweight, has reliable battery life, use for researching/eBooks and can do the basics in keeping me organized. Both devices are really great in all those departments, but there's one things I'm not sure about - 'getting work done'. I need something that I can maybe edit word documents, presentations, etc. I'm well aware of the limitation of these tablets and have a home computer to do heavy work. But I want something to at least edit some documents and presentations while I'm away from my computer. I read up on iWorks for iOS, and that seems like a great alternative for doing these things, but have yet to see anything for Android tablets - specifically the Galaxy Tab 10.1. This will probably tip the scale as which tablet would better work for me.

So does anyone know any apps to help me out? I had high hopes for Google Docs, but Google really let me down on the app version.

I don't have my Galaxy Tab (yet) but I did have a Transformer briefly (had to return because of physical defects). I own the premium version of Docs to go, and while this isn't optimized for honeycomb (yet) it does work rather well and it's excellent for basic word editing/typing. As a bonus, you can even set it up to access your Google Docs account and open those documents on your device.

The Transformer also shipped with a tablet optimized version of Polaris Office that was a lot better with the "eye candy" elements for processing, and I preferred their version of an Excel program. If this isn't available in the market yet, it will be soon.

Worst comes to worse, you have LogMeIn type applications so you can remotely access your computer from your device.

Of all the word processors I've tried, iWork is definitely the best when it comes to mobile space as far as advanced features, but if you can do everything you need in Google Docs (Computer version) Docs to Go or Polaris (or another option) should be sufficient. If you need a full featured client, iwork is nice, but even that doesn't wholly replace a desktop experience. (and I personally find iwork's proprietary save format beyond frustrating)

One thing to keep in mind though, is that Tablets (no matter the type) are still primarily consumption devices. They're made for viewing content, or maybe some light editing. But I don't think I could do a research paper on one.

 

[Baconator]

Well I think when the update for Samsung's Touchwiz is available it will feature Polaris office. THis is the description from Samsung's website:

 

[EggoEspada]

Its a shame that tablet can't be on par with the desktop experience quite yet, but I'm not really expecting it to be. It's more like a companion to work with my computer, not replace it. I checked out QuickOffice HD and all it's features and I think between that and Google Docs the experience should be sufficient enough to do some work on the go. Does anyone know if with QuickOffice if you can import/export Microsoft Word docs?

 

[rmmorse81]

Im pretty sure it can