Comparison of EIGHT major Office Apps [02/18/2013; NEW: SoftMaker Apps]

[funnycreature]

PLEASE NOTE:

I do not have an updated version of Polaris if available since I am running my TF101 on an excellent custom ROM. I also have not found it necessary to update the Documents to Go comparison since the version number increased marginally (and it was never good to begin with).
I also noticed that some apps might benefit from installing the right fonts into the internal memory into root/fonts. My comparison is based on a stock scenario where no additional fonts have been installed.


Updates
Here is the UPDATED overview table including the SoftMaker apps (although there is no "umbrella suite" like in the others). Please take some time to go through the features as some have actually improved!

I have also updated the next post (PowerPoint) and the Word comparison with the most recent office suites. Excel to follow soon!

I also took a screenshot of the "welcome" screen of each suite:

Documents To Go Market link

Picsel Smart Office2 Market link

QuickOffice Pro HD Market link

Polaris Office

ThinkFree Mobile for Tablet Market link

OfficeSuite Pro + Market link

Kingsoft Office Market link

SoftMaker Office Market link

 

[funnycreature]

PowerPoint comparison [Updated 02/15/2013]

This post is to illustrate the differences in rendering/interpretation of the different Office Suites. The PowerPoint file contains three slides; the first showing the different graphics, the second showing some text formatting, and the third one a table and a graphic with some MS Office 2007+ effects.

Updates
Here is the UPDATED comparison table including SoftMaker Presentations. Please take some time to go through the updated features as some have actually improved!

IMPORTED GRAPHICS

Original Screenshots from Microsoft PowerPoint 2010

Screenshot Documents To Go

Screenshot Picsel Smart Office

Screenshot QuickOffice HD Pro

Screenshot Polaris Office

Screenshot ThinkFree

Screenshot OfficeSuite Pro

Screenshot Kingsoft Office

Screenshot SoftMaker Presentations

TEXT FORMATTING

Original Screenshot from Microsoft PowerPoint 2010:

Screenshot Documents To Go

Screenshot Picsel Smart Office

Screenshot QuickOffice HD Pro

Screenshot Polaris Office

Screenshot ThinkFree

Screenshot OfficeSuite Pro

Screenshot Kingsoft Office

Screenshot SoftMaker Presentations

TABLES AND EFFECTS

Original Screenshot from Microsoft PowerPoint 2010:

Screenshot Documents To Go

Screenshot Picsel Smart Office

Screenshot QuickOffice HD Pro

Screenshot Polaris Office

Screenshot ThinkFree

Screenshot OfficeSuite Pro

Screenshot Kingsoft Office

Screenshot SoftMaker Presentations

 

[funnycreature]

Word comparison [Updated 02/17/2013]

Updates
Here is the UPDATED comparison table including SoftMaker Presentations. Please take some time to go through the updated features as some have actually improved!

PS: If you like this comparison, hop over to http://www.academia-nutcrackers.com and check out my book on Word 2007!

Here is the overview table for a quick evaluation of some common/important features:

PARAGRAPH AND FONT FORMATTING

Original Screenshots from Microsoft Word 2010

Screenshot Documents To Go

Screenshot Picsel Smart Office

Screenshot QuickOffice HD Pro

Screenshot Polaris Office

Screenshot ThinkFree Office

Screenshot OfficeSuite Pro+

Screenshot Kingsoft Office

Screenshot SoftMaker TextMaker

TABLES AND GRAPHICS

Original Screenshots from Microsoft Word 2010

Screenshot Documents To Go

Screenshot Picsel Smart Office

Screenshot QuickOffice HD Pro

Screenshot Polaris Office

Screenshot ThinkFree Office

Screenshot OfficeSuite Pro+

Screenshot Kingsoft Office

Screenshot SoftMaker TextMaker

LISTS AND TEXT BOX

Original Screenshots from Microsoft Word 2010

Screenshot Documents To Go

Screenshot Picsel Smart Office

Screenshot QuickOffice HD Pro

Screenshot Polaris Office

Screenshot ThinkFree Office

Screenshot OfficeSuite Pro+

Screenshot Kingsoft Office

Screenshot SoftMaker TextMaker

 

[funnycreature]

Spreadsheet comparison [updated 02/18/2013]

A good spreadsheet can be used for hundreds of purposes: Inventory, checklists, schedules, shopping lists, etc. I think that this is one of the most important reasons to have a powerful mobile computing device! Unfortunately, there are still severe shortcomings with the currently available spreadsheet apps.

Updates
Here is the UPDATED overview table including the SoftMaker apps (although there is no "umbrella suite" like in the others). Please take some time to go through the features as some have actually improved!

I have also updated the PowerPoint and Word comparison with the most recent office suites.

Here is the overview table for a quick evaluation of some common/important features:

TEXT AND CELL FORMATS

Original Screenshots from Microsoft Excel 2010

Screenshot Documents To Go

Screenshot Picsel Smart Office

Screenshot QuickOffice HD Pro
(It took forever to open the file and to switch tabs)

Screenshot Polaris Office

Screenshot ThinkFree

Screenshot PlanMaker

Screenshot OfficeSuite Pro+

Screenshot Kingsoft Office (taken form 2003 .xls file)

TEXT AND CELL FORMATS

Original Screenshots from Microsoft Excel 2010

Screenshot Documents To Go
(note: this is obviously a montage; the charts are NOT shown and need to be viewed one by one)

Screenshot Picsel Smart Office

Screenshot QuickOffice HD Pro

Screenshot Polaris Office

Screenshot ThinkFree

Screenshot OfficeSuite Pro+

Screenshot Kingsoft Office (had to use 2003 [.xls] format since .xlsx kept crashing)

Screenshot PlanMaker

 

[funnycreature]

Version 3.003 of Documents to Go was released. I haven't done in-depth evaluation yet but judging from the change log and the minimal increase of the version number, I don't expect much of an improvement regarding the short-comings of D2G's functionality.

changes:

What's in this version:

3.003 (961) 5/19/11
•Support Desktop Sync on Honeycomb (full version)
•Improve main UI for Honeycomb
•Various fixes/improvements -
Fix registration on Moto Xoom
Fix hyperlinks in PDF (full version)
Improve PDF stability (full version)
Improve overall stability
Support external SD/USB on Acer A500

 

[freeza]

Looks like Polaris is the overall best?

 

[funnycreature]

Looks like Polaris is the overall best?

I wouldn't dare say that because it still lacks some features but in general it is pleasant to use. What do you want to use it for?

 

[freeza]

I wouldn't dare say that because it still lacks some features but in general it is pleasant to use. What do you want to use it for?

Well I don't want to do any major editing but I would like something that's going to be an overall better product for viewing and slight editing. Minor quirks are to be expected on a mobile pl.

 

[stuntdouble]

Added to ultimate thread. Nice job.

 

[cky2000]

WOW!! Awesome work funnycreature. Thank you.

 

[neok44]

you sir are a god. i've been looking for something like this ever since i got my TF.

Good to see that basically Polaris is the best for word, which is what i use the most.

personally my only gripe against polaris is that it can't save in docx format which my school requires, but it also can't spell check if i'm typing from the TF keyboard, so i have to bring it into my windows PC anyway to review.

 

[rpavich]

Very nicely done, easy to follow, thanks for doing that.

I also see that Polaris Office is best for me (when they fix the non-pasting bug)

 

[funnycreature]

you sir are a god. i've been looking for something like this ever since i got my TF.

Good to see that basically Polaris is the best for word, which is what i use the most.

personally my only gripe against polaris is that it can't save in docx format which my school requires, but it also can't spell check if i'm typing from the TF keyboard, so i have to bring it into my windows PC anyway to review.

thanks! I m trying to keep it updated. If users want me to test anything special then let me know! I plan to test the MS Equation object soon.

Sent from my TF101

 

[byhoung]

I really appreciate how ASUS included competitive apps instead of halfassed ones that we will never use.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

 

[ankas]

I was wondering if you have yet connected the transformer to a projector/beamer and started a presentation with polaris office? Did this work well? Could you easily go a slide further?
I was also wondering if any of these apps had handwriting recognition in Word? I mean writing on the screen with a capacitive stylus and the writing being recognized and changed into a word script. This seems to work very well on Win7 tablets with Word so hopefully on Android too.
And Thank you so much for the fabulous comparison.

 

[funnycreature]

I was wondering if you have yet connected the transformer to a projector/beamer and started a presentation with polaris office? Did this work well? Could you easily go a slide further?
I was also wondering if any of these apps had handwriting recognition in Word? I mean writing on the screen with a capacitive stylus and the writing being recognized and changed into a word script. This seems to work very well on Win7 tablets with Word so hopefully on Android too.
And Thank you so much for the fabulous comparison.

I have not done either but I wouldn't get my hopes up too much. If you do a search there are some threads out there about using a stylus with the TF and about programs that do work with it. So far I have not come across handwriting support in the office suites but maybe someone can prove me wrong!

 

[Pepi70]

Yep, Polaris Office is the best, but not yet good. I hate how is managed the showing of the soft keyboard, writing text, and the impossibility of correct selected text.
This is only an example.
Hope this app will be improved soon...

 

[funnycreature]

Yep, Polaris Office is the best, but not yet good. I hate how is managed the showing of the soft keyboard, writing text, and the impossibility of correct selected text.
This is only an example.
Hope this app will be improved soon...

I know ASUS isn't the developer of Polaris but if they have the same or even just a similar updating schedule we can hope for great things! However, I wouldn't get my hopes up too much!

 

[Parafly]

What do you guys think of this vs. Google Docs ? I've been using Google Docs for a while. The download seems pretty decent at least for getting by while you are on the go.

 

[funnycreature]

I am so jealous! It's time developers realize the productivity potential of Android tablets!

http://www.bgr.com/2011/05/31/apple-iwork-now-available-for-iphone-and-ipod-touch/#bXpulseX

Sent from my TF101