One of the earlier handicaps of the Android OS was the lack of documents viewer, as well as a documents editing suite on the early models. While there were a handful of third party solutions available, these were quite off the mark and didn’t quite fill the gap.

Then came along the HTC Magic with a documents viewer from the Quickoffice, but no editing suite.

Thankfully, DataViz has stepped up to the plate with Documents To Go for Android, a full suite of documents viewer and editor.  Now, users can view and edit Microsoft® Word, Excel®, PowerPoint® and Adobe® PDF files without skimping on features on their Android-powered Smartphone. Documents To Go supports latest Microsoft Office & Adobe formats (doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx & pdf).

At this time, the competing QuickOffice application still does not support document EDIT or viewing of Office 2007 documents for Word (.docx) and Excel (.xlsx),so if you need editing, Documents To Go is the direction to look.

The good news is that the Documents To Go viewer is available as a free download from the Android Market.  However, if you also need to edit on your Android device, you will need to upgrade the suite for a fee.

I enjoy the Android OS and interface, its shortcomings notwithstanding. One of those shortcomings, as mentioned in my 10 gripes about the G1, is the lack of a documents viewer/editing suite onboard.

Initially, that was not a problem, as I was sure that I would be able to get a 3rd party application to fill this gap. Sadly, till date, I do not yet have a documents viewer and/or editor on my G1, and it does not look like I will get one soon.

No; it isn’t because there are no such apps for the Android platform. DataViz have Documents To Go for Android, and there’s also Quickoffice for Android. But the only way to purchase them (or even download a trial) is from the Android Market. “Great then“, you might say, “So go ahead and get ‘em!”

Ahem, the problem is that paid apps on the Android Market are not available for our region yet. Yes; at the moment, no-one using an Android device in Nigeria can purchase anything from the Market yet. I’m not sure if any African country is currently serviced by the market either. Free apps are available for download though – and I have benefited tremendously from those.

Both DataViz and Quickoffice say that their applications are available only via the Android Market. I am not sure how it will hurt them to make the applications available for download or purchase on their respective websites. It just sounds odd that their prospective users are denied an alternative acquisition platform.

Meanwhile, both DataViz and Quickoffice offer downloads of trial apps and purchased apps for other mobile OS platforms directly on their websites. Why this strange approach to the Android versions?

Anyway, here I am stuck with a superb device but cannot do something as simple as view my MS Word documents, muchless edit them.

Is this a deal-breaker for me? You bet; it is.

I haven’t had a smartphone in donkey years on which I couldn’t read my Office documents, so this is very limiting for me.

Checking the specifications of the upcoming Android devices, I do not see Documents viewer or editor listed for those either. Google, what’s going on here? This is a show-stopper, unless of course Android is being marketed as a consumer-targeted OS.

In which case, I’m out, seeing that I belong on the business end. I’ve certainly found one more reason why I will opt for a Symbian device – and this is a very strong reason.

I love Android, but I’m a fanboy of no platform or manufacturer. I use devices that meet my needs, especially those highest on my list of priorities.

Honestly, I am stumped at the moment. After using Android, it feels painful even considering using older mobile platforms like Symbian and WinMo.

But what alternatives do I have? I so need to be able to read and edit documents without having to boot up my PC. In the meantime, my heart will go on and on for Android… the lover I may not be able to continue with for now, unfortunately

Thanks to Symbian Guru for the heads up, all owners of Nokia E51, E52, E55, E63, E71, E72, E75, and E90 can now upgrade their QuickOffice application to the latest version 6.0. The new version has full support for viewing, editing, and creating Microsoft Office 2007 documents, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The update is available through the QuickOffice application on the phone. Launch the application and go to the Quick Manager area to initiate the upgrade.

I was able to successfully download an upgrade for the E51 with me.

If you own an E-series device, go ahead and download your free update right away.

Here’s the official press release:

Quickoffice® Offers Free Updates for Select Nokia® Eseries Devices

Latest version of Quickoffice, office viewing and editing software suite, now available for download via on-device, e-commerce portal Quickmanager™

Dallas, TX – June 15, 2009 – Quickoffice, Inc., the leading global provider of mobile office productivity software, today announced it will be offering free upgrades to the latest version of Quickoffice for users on certain Nokia Eseries phones. Currently this program includes the Nokia E51, E52, E55, E63, E66, E71 (excluding AT&T E71x model), E72, E75 and E90 devices.

Starting today, users of the above devices can download Quickoffice 6 as a free upgrade via Quickmanager®, Quickoffice’s secure on-device, e-commerce portal. Quickoffice 6 includes more advanced document viewing and editing functionality of Microsoft Office 2007 documents, ZIP file support, password-protected file handling, Excel 2007 chart viewing and multiple usability enhancements. Subsequent software updates released by Quickoffice for these select devices will also be available on a continual basis, including PowerPoint 2007 format support. Quickoffice 6 will initially only be available in English and a fully localized update will follow in the near future.

“Through our long-running partnership with Nokia, most S60 users have already benefited by receiving Quickoffice on their devices as part of their phone’s initial firmware, providing users with essential viewing and editing functionality of Office documents,” Gregg Fiddes, VP of sales and strategic partnerships for Quickoffice. “Recently, we’ve been working with Nokia to provide these S60 users with an easy and reliable way to update their Quickoffice software. Now, through Quickmanager, they can easily access the latest version and begin utilizing these new enhancements and feature improvements we’ve developed.”

To subscribe to an RSS feed of all Quickoffice’s news, please visit http://www.lewiswire.com/us/lewiswire/Quickoffice/c/117 and click subscribe. To sign up for Webinars from Quickoffice to learn about the latest product updates, visit http://www.quickoffice.com/webinars/.

About Quickoffice
Quickoffice is the world leader in providing mobile office productivity software and solutions for mobile devices. The company’s robust product suite includes its flagship smartphone office suite, Quickoffice® Premier, its Content Transformation Solution (CTS) infrastructure and the Bitflash® Rich Media Engine. Quickoffice Premier is an award-winning smartphone application that provides native viewing and editing of Microsoft® Office documents in over 47 languages. The software ships as an on-device solution on tens of millions of smartphone devices annually. The CTS client/server infrastructure offers network optimized, anytime, anywhere access to digital content and high-definition viewing of such content. The Bitflash Rich Media engine is the industry’s highest rated SVG-T engine providing rich user experiences on over 300M mobile devices worldwide. Platforms supported by Quickoffice include Symbian®, Palm ®, Blackberry®, iPhone® and Android. Privately held, Quickoffice Inc. is based in Dallas with offices in London, Ottawa, and St. Petersburg, Russia.

More information is available at www.quickoffice.com, twitter.com/quickoffice, and on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Quickoffice/80930822730

Press Contact for Quickoffice:
Katie Eakins / Amy Robinson
LEWIS PR for Quickoffice
619-677-2700
quickoffice@lewispr.com

Quickoffice is a trademark of Quickoffice, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective holders.