Google today announced that it’s releasing a version of its Google Drive Slides app for iPhone and iPad alongside updates to its previously released Docs and Sheets apps for iOS devices.
Released today, Slides offers the same functionality as Google’s web based version of the presentation software allowing users to create and edit new presentations, collaborate with others, and work with Microsoft PowerPoint files. Here’s a look at the new Slides app for iPhone and iPad available for free on the App Store now:
As for the Docs and Sheets apps, they both get updates that bring new features including the ability to open, edit, and save Microsoft Excel files in Sheets and Microsoft Word documents in Docs. Sheets also gets the ability to view charts, insert formulas, and use find/replace.
Google notes that with today’s release of the Slides app for iPhone and iPad, all three of its Google Drive productivity apps are now available across desktop, Android phones and tablets, and iOS.
Google Slides, and the updated Google Docs and Google Sheets are available on the App Store now.
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Seriously, who cares about Googles “productivity” junk. Google docks is good enough as txt editor, simple spread sheet, txt presentation or grandma. But for those who do real work and spend hours a day crunching numbers, writing up business plans and conducting presentations, there is no replacement that can compare to Microsoft productivity offerings.
I should have proofread…I hate auto correct.
You answered your own question. Googles “productivity junk” is for the people who don’t spend their entire day doing “real work and number crunching”, but want a web box of a computer and occasionally need to write a letter or make a spreadsheet for their Xmas card mailing list and don’t want to shell out $$$ for a full office suite.
It is also good for all the students being handed free Chromebooks to have their bundled work tools be continually improved.
I am a mechanical engineer and use all sorts of power-user functions in excel using it to drive dimensions and profiles in my 3d solid cad models in Creo and I use it to post-process test data and data sets from LabView, so no I would not be using GoogleDocs at the office any time soon, but come on, for most home use things its perfectly fine, completely free and has added benefit of being cloud-based.
I’m not a heavy office productivity suite user but I do use it occasionally both personally and professionally and it’s more than enough to get the job done, especially when it comes to sharing/co-editing documents with coworkers and keeping everything synced with my iPad.
…and I don’t have to pay a red cent to use it. That’s quite good enough for me. I nor anyone I know has ever considered Google Docs “junk”.
Like many google products, it looks good.
But what is the ‘privacy’ agreement for these apps ?
If I start writing documents or typing financial data into on of these apps, am I effectively giving that (possibly confidential) information to google?
As usual with google, am I effectively paying for ‘free’ products and services by giving away confidential information ?
No thanks. There are multiple excellent apps available for my iPad, free or at trivial cost.
Sure, great idea if I want Google to know what I’m doing. No, thanks. Why would I trust an ad company with anything I cared about?
They really need to improve connectivity to their own Google Drive with these apps.
Let’s remember a few things:
When I was in gradeschool (early 80’s) there were ][e’s everywhere. Microsoft made a great play by putting SOFTWARE in the hands of students, which meant PC’s and the begging of the TCO buzzword.
Students learned M$ Office, and that became the defacto standard. It’s the same thing they’ve done with Active Directory (which was a Novell ripoff) and as students became teachers, it only made sense to teach and use what they knew; inherently preaching the M$ gospel and creating sales with literally no effort.
The only way for anyone (in this case Google) to compete wiht that is to offer a product in the same manner, and with a name like Google (and the reputation) people will try the “free” product, as it integrates with Android (and iOS – free), and offers the ability to do a majority of the heavy lifting.
They are not a competitor to Microsoft Office, and they know it, so they’ll take the slice of pie they can get, and just like they’ve always done, make the most of it.