Who needs Microsoft Office? 7 great free office suites for PCs, Macs, iOS and Android
You don't need to spend a penny if you want a free office suite for any of your devices.
Microsoft is being coy about when and if it will release Office for the iPad and Android tablets. Why wait? Here are seven free office suites for the a PC, Mac, iPad or Android device you can use right now.
Whether you've got a PC, Mac, or Linux machine, this free suite will run on it. It's been around for a long time, under other names, notably OpenOffice.org. No need to go into its long, and sometimes controversial history, but now it's with the Apache Software Foundation. It's got a word processor, presentation software, database, math program, drawing software, and more.
This is an offshoot of the original OpenOffice.org software (now Apache OpenOffice). Because of that, the two look and work much the same, although I favor LibreOffice.
Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2013
This one comes with a word processor, presentation software, and a spreadsheet. As with the other Office suites I mention, it can not only create documents, but open and work with Microsoft Office documents as well. There's also a free version available for Android.
Whether you've got an iPad, iPhone, Android phone or tablet, or a Chromebook, Google's QuickOffice has you covered. With it, you can create, open, and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, as well as open and view PDFs.
Google Docs is Web-based, so no matter your device, it's there for you. Of course, you'll need an Internet connection to use it. But it's likely rare that you're not connected.
In addition to working with PowerPoint, Word, and Excel documents, this app for iOS and Android lets you view .PDF, .JPG, .PNG, and many other file types. It also integrates directly with Dropbox, Box, Google Drive and SkyDrive, so you can get your files from the cloud.
This very good office suite comes pre-installed on many Android devices, so you may already have it. If not, get it for free from Google Play. If you're an iOS user, though, you'll have to pay for it.
