Quickoffice Now Available for Android & iDevices, for Free

So, it looks like Google is fighting back.

The company on Thursday announced that its Quickoffice mobile app, for viewing and editing Microsoft Office files, is now free to anyone with a Google account. Previously, the app was only free to Google Apps for Business subscribers — everyone else had to shell out $14.99 for the pro version or $19.99 for the pro HD version.

I am not at all familiar with the capabilities of Quickoffice, so I will need to defer to others for some in depth analysis. If it’s anything like the “look alike” PDF Creator apps though,  both free and paid, then I will remain cautiously optimistic. My limited experience with any non-Microsoft Office product has been far short of satisfactory, despute what the “enthusiasts” (Microsoft haters) will tell you.

But assuming this solution is adequate for many users, what are we talking about here.

-The ability to create & edit Word, Excel & PowerPoint files (possibly, with some limited functionality) on your Android, iPhone & iPad devices

-10GB of Google Drive storage (for a limited time)

-FREE

vs.

Office 365 Home Premium, which includes;

-Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access 2013 – Installed on up to 5 PCs or MACs and up to 5 Mobile Devices (like Androids, iPhones & iPads)

-20GB of SkyDrive Storage

-60 Minutes of Skype calls per month

-Always Up to Date

-$99.99 per year, or $8.33 per month, or $19.99 per device/per year, or $2.86 per device/per app/per year. And if you include the mobile devices, that’s $10 per device/per year.

I don’t make a lot of money, but I still like nice things. If I am in the mood for a steak, I won’t go to Applebee’s. Instead I’ll save up some extra cash and get a “real” steak when I can afford it. My time isn’t as valuable as it used to be, but it’s still worth a few dollars a month to ensure that I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, on any device I want.

Oh, and that PDF dilemma. Had I just purchased Adobe Acrobat XI Pro for $299, last October, I wouldn’t have already spent $160 on products that are not even close to the real thing. Hoping to use my nephew’s Student Card to snag a copy of Acrobat XI for $139, which will put me back at $289 for the product. Live and learn.