“Microsoft’s Word app for the iPad has proved something of a flop with users in the first month since it was made available, with an average user rating of just two and a half stars from more than 1,000 reviews,” Dan Worth reports for V3.
“Of 1,028 ratings for the Word app on iTunes, 500 users have rated it at just one star,” Worth reports. “This is contrasted with 303 five-star reviews, while the rest of the votes are split evenly between four stars (77), three stars (72) and two stars (76).”
“The bulk of the negative reviews cite the fact that using the Word app to any useful degree requires a full Office 365 subscription,” Worth reports. “The lack of printer support from within the app was another cause of irritation.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Life is better without Microsoft Office.
Related articles:
Business owners beware: What CIOs need to know about Office 365 and Office for iPad – April 2, 2014
We can live without Office for iPad – March 31, 2014
Ihnatko: Office for iPad a boon for compatibility with business, but costs $100 a year forever – March 28, 2014
Microsoft’s Nadella to Apple’s Cook on Office revenue sharing: Drop dead – March 28, 2014
Apple takes their usual 30% cut of Microsoft’s Office for iPad subscriptions – March 27, 2014
Microsoft releases hobbled Office for iPad; requires $100/year subscription to create/edit documents – March 27, 2014
Microsoft CEO Nadella to use his first press conference to talk a lot about Apple – March 27, 2014
Microsoft Office for iPad: 5 big questions – March 26, 2014
Microsoft CEO Nadella expected to finally admit holding Office for iPad hostage a failed strategy – March 26, 2014
Microsoft Office on iPad: Too little too late? – March 23, 2014
iPad generation shuns Microsoft Office; one of Microsoft’s biggest squandered opportunities – March 14, 2014
Apple makes the world’s most advanced operating system freeware – October 23, 2013
Apple’s new free OS X for Mac hurts Microsoft and the Windows PC industry in myriad ways – October 22, 2013
Apple exploits Microsoft’s confused hesitation on Office for iPad – October 22, 2013
Apple’s OS X Mavericks available today free from the Mac App Store – October 22, 2013
Apple releases next-gen 64-bit iWork and iLife apps for OS X and iOS; free with new Macs and iOS devices – October 22, 2013
Transcript of earnings call this week:
Steven Milunovich – UBS Securities: “Tim, I understand that the iPad is not as weak as it appears on a sell-through basis, but still it’s relatively flat over the last year in terms of sell-through. What are your thoughts in terms of why that is and can that accelerate with Office on the iPad going forward?”
Tim Cook: “…Office; I believe does help. It’s very unclear to say how much. I believe if it would have been done earlier, it would have been even better for Microsoft frankly, there is a lots of alternatives out there from a productivity point of view, some of which we brought to the market, some of which many, many innovative companies have brought. But I do see that Office is still a very key franchise in the enterprise, in particular. I think having it on iPad is good, and I wholeheartedly welcome Microsoft to the App Store to sell Office. Our customers are clearly responding in a good way that it’s available. So, I do think it helps us particularly in the enterprise area.”
I’d say he needs to start paying a little more attention to his business and stop playing political gadfly.
Yes, because Apple is doing very poorly right now. He needs to step it up, right?
Stop being such a slavish devotee (it’s not a religion, after all) and accept that Cook could always do better. Good supporters offer praise and constructive criticism both. I would not waste my time on a site that only contained sycophantic comments by unblinking myrmidons of Apple.
Signs of someone not bright enough to have real conversations:
* They think they can reliably generalize the character of the human being they are replying to with only a single comment for evidence.
* They can’t think clearly enough to simply respond to what the person said.
Eflop.
Much to expensive needs to be much cheaper.
Yeah and a non-cloud standalone app only version. Office suites by this point should be cheap commodities.
Sell it for $4.99 stand alone and it would sell 50 MM copies. Likely have more rev than the subscription service iMO.
Agree about the high cost. I downloaded the ‘free’ version just to see what it looked like, then deleted.
I don’t think it’s too expensive, but the tethered-to-billing model is difficult to manage for some people. Most people still want to buy-once and use forever, otherwise it does feel expensive and risky to use. Stop paying and do you lose your documents? Scary feeling.
The go old old word “FAIL” works here.
Too little, too late. I suspect that a port of Open Office would not fare so well either. iWork is more than adequate for most users as the need for Office is extremely limited.
Users can already view and print Office docs, and that’s more than enough for most users. This is great news for the people who do need the creation aspects of MS Office, but that is likely to be a very small percentage. Mr. Cook was very diplomatic, but if you read between the lines, his opinion matches my opening statement – too little, too late.
dmz
p.s. – lack of printing? Email yourself the file and BOOM!, you can print it!
That’s too long of a process when you should be able to print directly from the app
Riiiiight. I wanna have to jump through stupid hoops for basic functionality. /S
Oops, I should have added a /s to my p.s., sarcasm WAS intended!
dmz
A port of Open Office, Libre Office or similar apps, would clearly do better. No major on-going costs. Undoubtedly, printing would be available. Other benefits. True that many have already chosen apps that work well for them, but its many current users would be happy to see it. They just don’t have the low or unpaid manpower to do everything. I have not even checked availability.
Open Office is fugly, an antiquated geeky mess. Truthfully, I’d rather do Microsoft, but will not pay for any subscription from them or Adobe.
Open Office is not my preference for an open source suite. I took that as simply the example, above, of a MS alternative. I do have both Libre Office because of some of its conversion capabilities, and also Neo Office. There is no subscription cost and I know, if ported, that they would print. I do not think there would be the same 500 one star reviews for a port of a free suite that there are for MS Office. If you prefer MS, then I suppose it works for you. There are many options out there. My point is that I feel one of the open source options would fare much better than EyeSchool suggests.
I don’t miss not having any Microsoft apps, Pages and other apps are just fine for me. i don’t do subscriptions, so these companies better consider that particular audience who feels likewise.
That works for MS then.
As long as it sells it’s good enough and to bell with usability.
Funny, I just read another article that said it was a raving success on the iPad. Maybe until people finally got a look at it or realized the extra monthly expense. I think people in general are tired of that monthly nut (how many can anyone afford?) which is great for companies with a guaranteed stream of money flowing in but not exactly always a great value for consumers.
It is probably a success on the basis of sales. However, if users are satisfied using it is another question entirely.
Renting software still makes no sense to me and I doubt I would ever do it.
Designers are stuck doing it, no choice really Adobe and it’s Creative Suite—or Creative Cloud as the rental version is called, is the only real professional game in town for designers and they’ve gone to the monthly hostage plan. Sad but true.
You clearly haven’t shopped around. Pixelmator is a very high-calibre alternative to Photoshop and comes at a significantly lower price. And there’s several other options. People are just afraid of having to change what they know.
Another example… I have a client that refuses to move away from Windows and Microsoft and Google products. She is a sucker for the “big name” game, thinking that small players just don’t match, but it’s quite often the opposite. The small players quite often offer a better product and user experience. That’s a reality, but convincing these old-timers that the world has changed is an impossible task.
That client sounds too much like a loss leader. I’d be inclined to let some local IT doofus take on that burden.
True, Pixelmator is adequate for retouching photos and doing some effects. But MacRaven is talking about actual designers.
As far as I know Pixelmator can’t handle CMYK files. Designers also need a page layout app. Adobe and InDesign have all but totally exterminated the only realistic competitor: Quark Xpress. And there’s virtually nothing to compare to Illustrator for vector art since Adobe bought out FreeHand and strangled it to death.
It’s not about being afraid to change. It’s about not being able to do your job. It’s about the fear of sending some wonky file to the printer, having it print wrong, and eating $40k worth of printed material.
I can guarantee you most designers would be glad to try anything other than having Adobe rape them every month.
QuirkDpressed exterminated itself. It is the worst design application ever created.
Can’t really disagree, but it’s still the only realistic competitor.
Pixelmator is nice but its a toy, it only just got cmyk ffs
pros need adobe, there is no other
Exactly. As a professional who uses Pixelmator it always makes me laugh to see adobe shills post that Pixelmator is only good for retouching photos. I’ve create web comics, games and websites without the cost and bloat of PhotoShop.
Same for me on the web pages and print materials.
Trouble is, when you’re using InDesing and Illustrator and Photoshop and Acrobat for your workflow, the key word is FLOW and the other plus is seamless integration. Tried bits and pieces of other software in years past like Quark. Just a pain. Adobe has us by the short hairs and they know it. For the non-graphics pro, or just someone altering photos, I’m sure Pixelmator would work fine.
I downloaded it, because I wanted to see what it was all about, trying to keep an open mind. If it actually seemed better than iWork at working with some documents, I would consider keeping it.
I opened the app, but before I could do anything else (like create a new document), Office insisted that I give them my email address to register with Microsoft. It gave no explanation why it would need my email address just to do word processing or spreadsheets. It gave no assurance that it would not sell my email address to spammers. It would not accept a fake email address without verification. The app refused to do anything remotely useful unless I give it an email address.
I did think about creating yet another throw away email address. But it’s a hassle, one very rudely imposed on me, for no given reason, from a new app that has yet to prove itself useful to me in any way.
So, I deleted the app and gave it 1 star review.
Your experience sounds so extremely… Microsoft.
Yep, that’s definitely the word for it.
It’s a modern app and they want you to “log in” to their services.
I don’t care for it either.
I don’t know how great an iPad is for this use anyway. It may not be a problem with Office, it may be the wrong tool for the job. I’m not particularly thrilled using Pages and Numbers on the iPad, and I would rate both of them only 1 or 2 stars. For any real spreadsheet or writing work, I am 10x more productive on my Powerbook.
PowerBook! Your post just seems to fake.
Powerbook. Well, productivity on a Powerbook would indeed be better than a MS app on more current equipment.
The thing that allows me to be productive on my iPad is my bluetooth keyboard. Without it, I would do less. Apple still does not allow us to configure the on-screen keyboard in other configurations but it supports external alternatives.
Dittos on the Bluetooth keyboard for productivity. I don’t do any serious writing on the iPad without it. A little editing when I am out and have the time, but writing more than a couple of sentences, no.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPad, but seriously? Write 2, 10, 20, 100 pages? No
I disagree. A tablet is conceptually a great medium for spreadsheets, even compared a laptop like a vintage Powerbook.
Navigating a spreadsheet by touching the cells directly is far more intuitive than a mouse or arrow keys. Using a virtual keyboard, that can automatically change depending on if you’re working with words, numbers, currency, or math formulas is far more intuitive than using a standard keyboard. Being able to hand the tablet with spreadsheet to someone and say “hey, check out these figures”, or simply lay it flat on a table for everyone to see, is far easier than trying to crowd multiple people around one laptop.
people actually “crowd around” to see a spreadsheet?
They do for mine 🙂
heh.
do you play Words With Friends?
I am Mikhail Botvinnik on WWF, challenge if you DARE!
I tried WWF once. I was beaten by a girl. Still better than losing to a guy over a Chessboard or Scrabble board, where they do a little dance of glee, so unseemly for hard bitten warriors. Promise me you won’t gloat.
Gloat is my middle name, de guello and all that, no quarter, scorched earth, leave no survivors.
Did I ever tell you about the time my ex-wife threw a bishop into my sternum?
Sharpened mitre first, I expect.
yes, it stuck. The hardest I laughed in my entire life. However, I see no challenge from you on my iPad, I’ll understand if you’re terrified.
Very well. I hope you’ll understand that I need to prepare.
As my ol’ buddy, Edmund Dantes said, “Consider the gauntlet thrown.”
I await your challenge with unbridled anticipation.
It will take me a little time to re-read the OED.
Is that a proposal?
no, a challenge!
I am known in WWF circles as The Scourge Of God, The Prince Of Tiles…I will make you cry like leedle girl.
Thank you for thinking of me as a little girl. It’s a boost to the self-esteem.
I am immune to the wiles of women and their “ways.” Your self-esteem is generated by you, not others. The gauntlet remains thrown, an opportunity to re-assert your self-esteem and leave an old, doddering artist on the brink of despair.
“Doddering”? It isn’t only women that ply their ‘wiles.’
Miss Jane, I use a cane to type. I watch “Matlock” reruns all day and eat ramen noodles. Derek Jeter is younger than my oldest child. I can barely see to walk to the mailbox for my latest AARP offer. Please be kind to me.
And here I thought my ex was the biggest bullshit artist of all time.
hey, I saw your ex the other day, cops had him pulled over. Cop asked him “weren’t you married to Jane?” So, he says, “yeah, man.” Cop says, “Okay, you’ve suffered enough, go on home.”
The first part of our marriage was very happy… but then, on the way back from the ceremony…
take my wife…please.
It’s your move
P-p-p-p-PowerBook
Incredibly negative reviews. Very high proportion of one-star, with an average of 2.5 stars.
Hmmm. In other words, about the same as Pages 5, which has a very high proportion of one-star for all versions, including most recent — and, after six months of updates, is still only at an overall average of 2.5.
However, unlike Word, where it says a lot of complaints are just about the subscription, the complaints about Pages cover a wide range of specific, concrete points about missing functionality. (And no, it’s not functionality that only advanced users need.)
Word for iPad is an App that’s not going to change any time soon.
MS want another ‘cash cow’ to take over from the PC version as home users switch to tablets.
I’m not into subscriptions be it – music/TV/Film etc. but would happily pay a one-off $20. M$ heading for irrelevance
I like it and happy with it being available to iOS users. MSFT simply does Office right.
Printopia! Just came to me, and had to say the word.
I am downloading Office right now just so that I can give it a one star rating and delete it.
you are letting your fellow Indians down, shame on you 🙂
heh, excellent.
If I wanted to do old school wysiwyg word processing, I’d get a used mac IIci and a copy of mac write then print it off on a LaserWriter. Anyone paying $100/yr subscription to do that sort of shit needs his head examining.
This article is out of date. The latest numbers are:
Average Rating: 3 Stars – 3,377
5-Stars 1,197
4-Stars 203
3-Stars 217
2-Stars 213
1-Star 1,547
(The ratings are fairly similar for Excel)
So most people gave it 1 star or 5 stars. That’s not entirely unexpected. Since it’s a free-to-download app, anyone can download it for free and write a review. That’s going to pollute the pool a little, and more likely that’s going to pollute the pool on the 1 star reviews from people who hate Microsoft.
Personally, I can’t believe you can’t print from Office. I don’t understand how that wasn’t like one of the first 3 basic requirements the first being open and the second being save (which they also kinda screwed up). Also insane is that print services are built right into iOS 7, and pretty much every other Office compatible app can print.
The subscription/cloud thing is pretty much the deal breaker for me. My strategy is to not buy into Office until I actually have a need to use it, and then buy without hesitation. However, for this to happen, I need to be in a situation where no other Office compatible app will do the job. So far, not only hasn’t that happened, but they’ve done the job better by being able to print and better move/save documents.
While the number of 1 star reviews shows a significant number of people are finding Office to be worth it to them on the iPad this early on, I think that shows that this arrangement is helping Microsoft a lot, since these numbers most likely represent already iPad owners who then downloaded Office.
On the other hand… you’ll not that the Office apps are no longer in the top app lists under general or even under Productivity.
So Word, just out, is actually doing better in reviews than “Pages” 5.
No. Word has a 3 star average, while Pages has a 3.5 average. Pages has far more 5 star ratings and a much higher 5 star to 1 star ratio. Pages also has a much more evenly distributed rating.
Nothing I said should be taken to say Word is doing better than Pages on the iPad. If anything it’s just the opposite, although it’s too early for the certainty of that conclusion.
The app store is showing me 2 stars for the current version and 2.5 average.
And almost double the number of one star compared to five.
I don’t know what you’re looking at, but here are screenshots from the iTunes app and from the iTunes website. I’m getting the same results even when I VPN to the iTunes stores around the world. They all show 3.5 stars:
All these Microslut office users bitch about how pages isn’t great at word conversion of docs. Here’s a thought: create your shit in pages, then you won’t have a compatibility issue.
@trondude
I wouldn’t have agreed otherwise, but your use of slut, bitch and shit was really convincing.
Very well stated. ‘trondude’ can sound so intelligent.
That’s not the issue. The issue is of receiving docs from others and sending docs to others. I prefer Pages over Word for my own personal use, but for work related sending* and receiving of documents, Word, Excel and PowerPoint are tools that I need to be compatible. It sucks, but it is what it is and it’s nothing new… I remember running ClarisWorks back in the day.
*When I can, I’ll work in Pages and send PDFs.
Why do we need an app for professional document creation on the iPad? We need to be able to review and correct some text and positions, but no one I know uses a plain iPad for creation. Hence, MSWord on the iPad isn’t worth much to most people.
If you create a 50-100 page document like my team just finished, then yes you want advances features and you definitely want a laptop at least to be able to quickly create and edit; but not on an iPad.
Enough with the half truth! I pay for Office 365 and it covers 5 PC’s or MAC’s or a combination of both and 5 mobile devices along with 20 Gig OneDrive. In other words, it is money well spent and gives me access to the best of MSFT Office suite across the board.
MS is like dog shit and you guys stepped in it wearing shoes with deep tread patterns, and no matter how many puddles you walk through or how many times you wipe your feet, it never will come out yet there you are, still wearing those shoes. Meanwhile, the rest of have to sit next to you in public places and smell it.
you’re magic with words.
While I’m not about to defend Microsoft (I’m very much of the “too little too late” camp, and an iWork suite user), this article uses outdated facts and a misleading headline. Word (et al) aren’t flops: Office 365 is a flop.
I gave Word and Excel and PowerPoint a spin during a 30-day free trial of Office 365, and frankly I have to say Office for iPad is the best thing MS has put out in roughly two decades IMHO. It’s fantastic, very much the equal of Pages, better than Numbers, not quite as good as Keynote but still pretty close. But I have zero desire to pay even the discounted $65-ish per year one can find if one hunts for Office 365. I can see it being worth it for some people, but I’m an occasional document creator on the iPad, and already have Pages, so there’s no real value in MS Office for iPad for me.
Hey man 500 stars is a lot.