Since there are no official Microsoft Office mobile apps, services like Quickoffice have ruled the mobile [editing Office documents] landscape. Google has recently scooped up the service to integrate it with its current offerings.
A nice size of the younger generation is more likely to open, edit, and share documents using Google Docs versus the Microsoft Office Suite of old. But, the majority of people use Office, so those .doc, .ppt, and .xls files aren’t going anywhere. Google Docs can handle Office filetypes with no problem…when you’re using a desktop. Smartphones and tablets are a different beast altogether.
Enter Quickoffice – Simply put, the app lets users open and edit Office Docs via their mobile devices. Google Docs does have some mobile capabilities, via an Android device or mobile-friendly website, but nowhere near the features Quickoffice offers.
Since acquisitions are what all the cool [tech] companies are doing these days, it’s no surprise that Google would acquire Quickoffice to integrate the app into Google’s existing services.
“By combining the magic of Google’s intuitive solutions with Quickoffice’s powerful products, our shared vision for anytime, anywhere productivity can only grow.”
No official plans were made by Google or via Quickoffice blog post, but its safe to say that Android devices will get a nice bump on the productivity level in the very near future.
Copyright © 2010 Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc.