Best Web-Based Office Suites – Free Online Office Suites
A funny thing just happened to Microsoft Office – It’s become free of charge. OK, so we’re not talking about gratis boxes copies of Office 2010 here, but a version that can be used in a web browser.
This might seem like crazy move by Microsoft but online office suites are now commonplace an d Microsoft has had little choice but to play catch-up.
Ultimately, this situation is good news for computer users. Established online office suites – from the likes of Google and Zoho – have a new powerful competitor. So how does it math up?
GOOGLE DOCS | FREE | RATE 5/5
Last year, Google Docs is the best web-based office suite but this was before the lunch of Microsoft Office web Apps. Nevertheless, Google Docs has snatched the top prize again and it remains an easy win.
Although Google Docs lacks many of the feature available in the full Microsoft Office Suite, it’s still nimbler and more consistent than Office Web Apps. Simply register for an Google Account and you get instant access to all the Google Docs tools. these include a word processor, spreadsheet tool, presentation software, forms and drawing tools – the later being a recent addition.
Sharing and collaborating remain the major draws for Google Docs and both have been improved over the past year. It’s now possible to co-edit documents, for instance, with changes being reflected almost instantly for all parties.
Furthermore, Google Docs has some great file-conversion tool and 1GB of free storage in which to house them. Uploaded file can be automatically converted between the common document formats and Google Docs will even run optical character recognition (OCR) on images, to turn any picture containing text into editable documents in short. It’s great stuff.
ZOHO | FREE | RATE 4/5
Zoho’s strength has always been to provide every conceivable office application and its catalogue of tool has now increased to well over 20 categorized as Productivity, Collaboration, Business and Utility. However, these labels are somewhat arbitrary and there’s plenty of crossover between them (Zoho Mail fits all categories bar Utility , for example).
While Zoho certainly has the bases covered, it suffers from annoying inconsistencies. to switch To menu in Sheet but the Zoho Apps menu in Writer – it’s nonsensical and confusing. Moreover, different menus often don’t list the same applications and you route back to the homepage isn’t always clear.
However, these are minor quibbles and Zoho has plenty of plus points, not least of which is speed . A calender application has also recently been added to its line-up, and about time too.
MICROSOFT OFFICE WEB APPS | FREE | RATE 3/5
Perhaps the biggest attraction of Office Web Apps is that, if you’re familiar with Office 2007 or 2010, you already know how to use it – the online version uses the Microsoft Office ribbon interface, which is loved and loathed in roughly equal measure.
The included apps are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, and all that’s required to get started is a Live.com account. Then simply choose an application, supply a filename and you’re good to go. But while it’s easy to get started, Web Apps problems soon show themselves, Microsoft Word doesn’t autosave, for instance, while other Web Apps do, and it’s this kind of inconsistency that gives the impression that Web Apps is a bit of a rush job.
Annoyingly, all documents are saved in Microsoft’s XML formats and you can’t convert older formats in Web Apps itself. On the plus side, Web Apps uses Microsoft’s SkyDrive service for storage, with a generous 25GB doled out for free.
THINKFREE ONLINE | FREE | RATE 3/5
ThinkFree has messed with its previous clean and simple proposition – which was to mimic the core Microsoft Office 2003 apps in a free online version – and has instead come up with a very confusing homepage. to be fair, all the apps remain intact (with minor improvements to some) you now have to look harder to find them.
But by far the bigger problem is performance. last year we criticized ThinkFree online apps for its sluggish operation but this seems to have grown worse. Previously it was frustrating; now the experience can be unbearable. what a shame.
A funny thing just happened to Microsoft Office – It’s become free of charge. OK, so we’re not talking about gratis boxes copies of Office 2010 here, but a version that can be used in a web browser.
This might seem like crazy move by Microsoft but online office suites are now commonplace an d Microsoft has had little choice but to play catch-up.
Ultimately, this situation is good news for computer users. Established online office suites – from the likes of Google and Zoho – have a new powerful competitor. So how does it math up?
GOOGLE DOCS | FREE | RATE 5/5
Last year, Google Docs is the best web-based office suite but this was before the lunch of Microsoft Office web Apps. Nevertheless, Google Docs has snatched the top prize again and it remains an easy win.
Although Google Docs lacks many of the feature available in the full Microsoft Office Suite, it’s still nimbler and more consistent than Office Web Apps. Simply register for an Google Account and you get instant access to all the Google Docs tools. these include a word processor, spreadsheet tool, presentation software, forms and drawing tools – the later being a recent addition.
Sharing and collaborating remain the major draws for Google Docs and both have been improved over the past year. It’s now possible to co-edit documents, for instance, with changes being reflected almost instantly for all parties.
Furthermore, Google Docs has some great file-conversion tool and 1GB of free storage in which to house them. Uploaded file can be automatically converted between the common document formats and Google Docs will even run optical character recognition (OCR) on images, to turn any picture containing text into editable documents in short. It’s great stuff.
ZOHO | FREE | RATE 4/5
Zoho’s strength has always been to provide every conceivable office application and its catalogue of tool has now increased to well over 20 categorized as Productivity, Collaboration, Business and Utility. However, these labels are somewhat arbitrary and there’s plenty of crossover between them (Zoho Mail fits all categories bar Utility , for example).
While Zoho certainly has the bases covered, it suffers from annoying inconsistencies. to switch To menu in Sheet but the Zoho Apps menu in Writer – it’s nonsensical and confusing. Moreover, different menus often don’t list the same applications and you route back to the homepage isn’t always clear.
However, these are minor quibbles and Zoho has plenty of plus points, not least of which is speed . A calender application has also recently been added to its line-up, and about time too.
MICROSOFT OFFICE WEB APPS | FREE | RATE 3/5
Perhaps the biggest attraction of Office Web Apps is that, if you’re familiar with Office 2007 or 2010, you already know how to use it – the online version uses the Microsoft Office ribbon interface, which is loved and loathed in roughly equal measure.
The included apps are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, and all that’s required to get started is a Live.com account. Then simply choose an application, supply a filename and you’re good to go. But while it’s easy to get started, Web Apps problems soon show themselves, Microsoft Word doesn’t autosave, for instance, while other Web Apps do, and it’s this kind of inconsistency that gives the impression that Web Apps is a bit of a rush job.
Annoyingly, all documents are saved in Microsoft’s XML formats and you can’t convert older formats in Web Apps itself. On the plus side, Web Apps uses Microsoft’s SkyDrive service for storage, with a generous 25GB doled out for free.
THINKFREE ONLINE | FREE | RATE 3/5
ThinkFree has messed with its previous clean and simple proposition – which was to mimic the core Microsoft Office 2003 apps in a free online version – and has instead come up with a very confusing homepage. to be fair, all the apps remain intact (with minor improvements to some) you now have to look harder to find them.
But by far the bigger problem is performance. last year we criticized ThinkFree online apps for its sluggish operation but this seems to have grown worse. Previously it was frustrating; now the experience can be unbearable. what a shame.
