5 Apps to turn your iPad into a mobile office

The iPad is a truly universal device – it can be used for pretty much anything, from browsing the Web and playing games comfortably in bed, to being a very nice in-car entertainment system/ GPS navigator and even being a full desktop replacement if you get the desktop stand and a keyboard.

But Apple’s top selling tablet is also a great choice for anyone who needs to do office work while traveling or commuting. The device’s display has the perfect size for portability and comfortable work, and with a few apps downloaded from the iTunes store, you can quickly turn the iPad into a full blown mobile office. Here are the top apps that will help you do just that:

Microsoft Office Web apps. Microsoft has had their Web apps for quite a long time, with Calendar, Hotmail and OneNote being the most interesting offers, but they really took it to the next level with SkyDrive and the new Office web apps. The new service offers Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote as a remote service accessible from any browser, and the experience is pretty stellar – you get almost everything you need to do any kind of office work that you’d usually need a full Office installation for. It’s better than Google Docs, and that says a lot – moreover, it’s free (for now), so do try it out on your iPad!

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/web-apps/

Apple iWork Suite. Apple’s iWork suite came out for the iPad 2, and it has become a staple in the app list of anyone who wants to do office work on their tablet. The suite includes Pages, Numbers and Keynote, which are just as good and even better than their Office alternatives – you can create documents from scratch, edit them, and output or save them in any way you want right on your tablet – no more need for a desktop (or Internet connection).

http://www.apple.com/iwork/

OnLive Desktop. If you absolutely need to use Microsoft Office or any Windows software for that matter, but you don’t want to use a PC or buy and install Windows using Bootcamp, your best bet is OnLive Desktop. The app lets you use OnLive’s powerful service that provides you with a full Windows machine for your personal or business use. You can access it via secure RDP and it’s the closest thing to Windows on an iPad you can get. You can install any software, and Office can come pre-installed (depending on the subscription), making OnLive Desktop the perfect choice for serious office work on the go.

http://desktop.onlive.com/

GoodReader. GoodReader is a must have if you always need to open and view PDF files. It’s the best viewer out there for sure, and it has enough features to satisfy anyone. You can open eBooks, forms, documents and any other files in PDF format and view them, fill the forms, highlight text, place bookmarks and do pretty much anything that you can with a PDF file. Moreover, GoodReader has excellent support for sync with Dropbox, SugarSync, SkyDrive, and a slew of other services using the good old WebDAV, FTP or SFTP protocols.

http://www.goodreader.com/goodreader.html

Evernote. Evernote is the best note taking app in the iTunes Store, and that’s a very good reason you should at least try it if you need to do any office work on your iPad. The app lets you take any kind of notes (text, picture, video, audio, etc.) with descriptions, tags and other tools. You can then sync your notes with your remote account and through that, any other device running Evernote – this makes it the perfect tool to keep all your ideas, notes and information handily available anytime, anywhere.

http://www.evernote.com/

The iPad is a perfect device not only for entertainment, but also for serious work. Don’t let it go to waste – be sure to check out the apps above if you need to edit documents or do any other office work on the go!

Source

5 Apps to turn your iPad into a mobile office