Gadgetory

Microsoft just released office for iPad we downloaded Word Excel and PowerPoint from the App Store and this is what they look like Microsoft Office has long been the productivity suite juggernaut on the desktop and now it's trying to claim some new territory the iPad since office is also on the iPhone and the web Apple users will now have an easy way to sync and work on office documents across all of their devices Microsoft does a good job of translating the apps for a tablet too they look clean and stylish right at home on an iPad but still distinctly part of Microsoft's family each app is a really similar interface to so it's easy to pick each of them up and move between them on their editing screens there's a brightly colored toolbar at the top and then plenty of room for your document below the dual bars each have a few different tabs you can switch between letting you view basic editing tools layout options review functions and another feature specific to the app everything is nice and big for the touch screen to all of your documents are set by default to automatically save to the cloud though you'll of course be using Microsoft onedrive and onedrive only the good news is that sync worked once you close out of a document on the iPad it'll be updated and ready the next time you open it on the desktop or where anywhere else just make sure you have an internet connection otherwise you'll be out of luck each of the apps is really polished and sleek where it does a great job of letting text images and shapes mix together on a page Excel is a custom keyboard for punching numbers unless you build formulas just by tapping on cells and PowerPoint still has more transitions than you could ever ask for I'm not sure if you'll find every single one of their desktop counterparts options in here but I was definitely able to find all the ones that I wanted so the apps are good but there's one potential deal-breaker and it's a big one when you down the apps are free you can only view them if you want to create and edit anything you'll have to pay for the home edition that's nearly $100 per year that's a steep price to pay considering that Apple offers its own productivity suite for free however all these apps are looking good even though these are just our first impressions you can download all three in the App Store right now you