Microsoft unveils Office for iPad, the best bits

Microsoft yesterday unveiled the new Office App that is now available for download on your iPad.

Executives demonstrated the new “touch-first” version of Office crafted specifically for the iPad which is available for download as a free app, but a subscription is needed to create or edit documents.

It actually consists of three mobile apps, Word, Excel and PowerPoint separately. So is it worth it? Well, here are some of the best bits.

Voice dictation:

This neat application allows you to speak at your iPad and it’ll convert your speech. Great to make notes on the fly, or perhaps draft a blog post in speech?

Collaborative working:

Several people can view and edit the same document, at the same time by working through the internet. So you can all read, review and change documents in real time without creating individual versions.

Pictures:

The software has been built for fingertip control so you can resize, move, tilt images by pinching. There’s no need to format or re-save, you just select from your Camera Roll or Photo Stream. The you can then even make them look all fancy by adding built-in styles to add things like shadows or reflections!

AirPlay:

For those who do powerpoint presentations this could revolutionise your meetings. You just stream your PowerPoint to the big screen by projecting your presentation wirelessly. No need for messy cables anymore.

So what do you think about some of these features? Would you use them?

I love to use my iPad at home and on the go, so I know that this new Office App will especially come in hand for drafting and reviewing documents, particularly blogs I write for Starts at Sixty!

So what do you think? Would having Office on your iPad be worthwhile for you?