Great news for anyone looking for a spreadsheet app...

[wildland]

Having had a "Pocket PC" something like eight years ago, I figured it was a no-brainer that I could get a good spreadsheet app on my new Incredible, but it seems I was wrong - none of the ones I tried could handle the simple equations I have in the spreadsheets I use every day...

I contacted Stephen Bye of Bye Design Ltd., the creator of the fantastic "Spread*" series of spreadsheet programs (SpreadCE for windows mobile and Spread32, a fast clean windows spreadsheet) and asked him if he's considered an android app - here's his reply...

Hello Josh,

Thank you for your message. I plan to start work on an Android version of the software very soon. I just need to make a few more changes to the Windows Mobile version first, but that shouldn't take very long.

Regards,

Stephen.

So hope is on the horizon... In the mean time I'm using a google documents form to do data entry to a temporary spreadsheet, which I can then copy to the real files on my laptop (the google documents mobile interface is too clunky for me to use full time .) I sure wish Google would put out a true Documents app.

 

[mcatdtDROID]

I simply bookmark googledocs spreadsheet that I have already prebuilt at home on the computer. Nothing too fancy, just a mileage tracker (for 2 vehicles) and list of associated business expenses (food, hotel, etc)

all I ever do on the droid is simply input starting mileage and ending mileage. Everything else I do when I get home (gas reciepts, food reciepts, etc). However, I could enter everything in on the web-spreadsheet if I want. I would not want to build a spreadsheet from the phone, but I suppose I could.

Why I like the web based google documents is
1. I have access to it from ANYWHERE i have inet access....home, work, on the road through the droid, at the hotel, wherever.
2. I can print my documents (for taxes) straight from the website, so there is no syncing, or fees for syncing.
3. Each year, I just copy the formulas over to the next year, make any minor adjustments to overall setup, and it's saved beside the previous year. I have records dating back 3 years online, and filed away as a hard copy at home as well.

I will always look at spreadsheet apps that come out, and mileage trackers, but I simply can't justify making the move to an app that can't be tweaked to my personal needs as much as I would like or need

 

[wildland]

I agree with you and I'd like an all google docs solution, except I often spend time where I don't have internet access or phone coverage and I want access to my spreadsheets, so I've been looking for an on device app... Also, I don't feel like google docs has really polished their spreadsheet to anywhere close to the level of excel (or even Open Office). And their mobile interface is crap for data entry.

I found Documents To Go today and bought it - works like it should, and while it's expensive for an "App", it's damn cheap for an office suite ...

By the way, if you are mostly using your phone to add data to your google spreadsheets, and you haven't yet checked out the "Form" functionality they offer, you ought to, it's pretty sweet... you can create a form which can be used as a stand alone data entry page, embedded in an other page, or embedded in an email, and entries in the form auto-populate a corresponding spreadsheet page in your google docs account... Here's a sample. (it's live), and here's some sample results...

 

[nightfishing]

Docs-to-go is excellent and it's compatability with Office is VG.

A number of third party "attempts" be it for PC or mobile just cannot keep up with Office formatting and being incompatible makes them close to useess for anyone who NEEDS to work with xlsx, and docx.

Docs-to-go is very cheap on Android (comparably) and they have been basically giving it away for the past 10 days at $5.55.

 

[kayst]

Does documents to go allow you to password protect a spreadsheet file?

 

[pavirotten]

Another vote for Docs-To-Go.

Spreadsheets, documents, pdfs, even slideshows can all be created and edited with D-T-G. The only gripe I have is that D-T-G cannot create a Word 2007 document, can only edit and save (as well as save as).

 

[mcatdtDROID]

yeah, I could see why if you aren't around inet availability, an app would be better. I re-played on my google doc today as I haven't actually used it yet since I got the droid (I'm a ref and the season is over, so I need to verify everything before November, when season begins again) Either way, worked well again. But I'm not at places without inet or 3g availability since I'm usually at a school somewhere. The school I work at is the sorriest reception of all the schools I actually go to, and it works 'enough' to enter in starting mileage.

But I sound like a google.doc salesman here.... I'm just a spreadsheet fanatic, and have built some 20 page doozies. Hell, my gradebook is a spreadsheet and it's friggin awesome in my humble opinion lol. I may end up putting it on google.docs though next year as grade entry is going to be online too. So that means I can enter grades (officially) whereever I have inet.


Either way, google docs is free, a spreadsheet app or mileage app, has to AT THE VERY LEAST be free for me to consider.

good luck to all

 

[pequeajim]

Docs-to-go is excellent and it's compatability with Office is VG.

A number of third party "attempts" be it for PC or mobile just cannot keep up with Office formatting and being incompatible makes them close to useess for anyone who NEEDS to work with xlsx, and docx.

Docs-to-go is very cheap on Android (comparably) and they have been basically giving it away for the past 10 days at $5.55.

Where are you getting it for $5.55? I looked on the market and it is on sale for $19.95, help me out here...

 

[wildland]

It was on sale last week - I found it right after the price started to climb again .

 

[pequeajim]

It was on sale last week - I found it right after the price started to climb again .

Bummer, I'll just watch for it to go on sale again I guess. $19.95 is to much for what i would use it for.

 

[Mikeyz]

Bummer, I'll just watch for it to go on sale again I guess. $19.95 is to much for what i would use it for.

Give a shout out here when you find it at a lower price. I'll wait for a price break too.

 

[fokrogh]

Hi,

I just want to ask if you got any suggestion on how to implement this form-based access to Google spreadsheet (adding rows) from App Inventor?[/I]

Regards

Frank

I agree with you and I'd like an all google docs solution, except I often spend time where I don't have internet access or phone coverage and I want access to my spreadsheets, so I've been looking for an on device app... Also, I don't feel like google docs has really polished their spreadsheet to anywhere close to the level of excel (or even Open Office). And their mobile interface is crap for data entry.

I found Documents To Go today and bought it - works like it should, and while it's expensive for an "App", it's damn cheap for an office suite ...

By the way, if you are mostly using your phone to add data to your google spreadsheets, and you haven't yet checked out the "Form" functionality they offer, you ought to, it's pretty sweet... you can create a form which can be used as a stand alone data entry page, embedded in an other page, or embedded in an email, and entries in the form auto-populate a corresponding spreadsheet page in your google docs account... Here's a sample. (it's live), and here's some sample results...