REVIEW: Quickoffice brings some Microsoft Office documents to smartphones

Editor’s Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week we’ll review a new wireless application or service from the user’s point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works and what doesn’t in the mobile content industry. If you wish to submit your application or service for review, please contact us at rcrwebhelp@crain.com.
Application: Quickoffice 5.0 by Quickoffice Inc.
Running On: Nokia E62
Yay: Ability to view and edit Microsoft Corp. PowerPoint, Excel and Word documents.
Nay: The application’s navigation menu is at times complex, although the same can be said of Microsoft’s desktop computer programs. Also, support for PDF files comes separately. And finally, perhaps the most significant knock against Quickoffice is that most Windows Mobile-based devices have many of the same functions built in.
We say: For users who don’t want to use a laptop, and who have a S60- or Palm OS-based device, Quickoffice might make a good fit.
Quickoffice (the company) graciously supplied me with a Nokia E62 loaded with Quickoffice 5.0 (the application). The company installed a few PowerPoint, Excel and Word documents onto the S60-based smartphone for my perusal. The application, which sells for $70 for S60-based devices and $30 for Palm OS-based devices, provides generally speedy and easy access to some Microsoft Office documents.
Viewing and editing the Excel and Word documents was a snap. Browsing through a Word document was simple and easy, and I was able to modify the text, add my own copy, and even insert tables and images.
The same was true for editing and viewing Excel documents. Although I’m not terribly familiar with Excel, I was able to skim around the pre-loaded Excel document, and create my own. The Quickoffice application supports Excel’s wide range of calculating functions, from simple math to complex formulas.
However, my travels through Quickoffice came to a grinding halt in PowerPoint. Although viewing PowerPoint documents was as expected — difficult with a small screen — modifying PowerPoint documents was quite challenging. I could manage the basics, such as inserting a title or text, but I ran into major troubles when inserting and moving tables or modifying images with additional graphics.
To be fair, I did not read any of the instructions for the application, but I’m assuming most users wouldn’t do that either. On the bright side, though, Quickoffice’s help files seemed extensive.
Despite my trouble with PowerPoint, I was impressed with the application’s thorough covering of Word and Excel. But I would expect the application to include a PDF file viewer (Quickoffice’s Adobe Reader costs an extra $20). Further, Quickoffice’s place in the wider business world is somewhat questionable, as Windows Mobile devices and laptops can accomplish many of the same tasks.
Nonetheless, those users with S60- and Palm OS-based devices who are desperate for mobile access to their Word or Excel documents have a safe place to go.