iWork for iPad adds file transfer, better Office support
Apple on Wednesday released updates to its three iWork apps for the iPad. Version 1.2 of Numbers, Keynote, and Pages feature improvements to file-format support and file transferring, adding the ability to transfer files …
Context & Ripple Effects
Version 1.2 of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers lands while the iPad is still in its first year on the market, and the two headline fixes — file transfer and Office file-format support — both target the same thing: getting real work documents onto and off of the device. Coming a day after coverage noted Apple's outsized share of mobile industry profits (September 2010), the update reads as Apple smoothing the edges of its own productivity suite rather than chasing a competitor's announcement.
First-order effects
- iPad owners who work with Office users gain a direct path: documents created in Microsoft's formats can move through iWork with fewer conversion problems, and moving files on and off the device gets simpler.
Second-order effects
- Better Office compatibility lowers the practical barrier between iWork and the installed base of Office documents, putting pressure on the file-format lock-in that has historically kept buyers inside Microsoft's suite.
Third-order effects
- If tablet productivity apps keep closing the interchange gap, competition shifts from owning proprietary formats toward whoever handles other suites' files best — making interoperability table stakes rather than a differentiator.
The trend: Tablet-era productivity software is converging on Office-file interoperability and easy file movement as the price of entry for business use.