Working with Excel
The iWork for iPad Numbers app can also work with Microsoft Excel files. Getting the files in to the iPad is a tad convoluted, though. The standard method is to use iTunes to sync the files you want on the iPad. With the iPad connected, you click on Apps, then at the bottom under File Sharing choose the app you want to work with and add the files you want to sync.
Simple! Not. Sort of a pain in the butt, really. And, if you are out and about with your iPad and suddenly realize you need to work with a file you did not sync up with iTunes you are out of luck. That is, unless you happen to store your data in the cloud. In that case, there is still some hope.
The iPad does not have any file management functionality per se, but if you have files stored using Box.net, or Dropbox, or iWork.com, or other cloud-based data storage solutions, you may be able to send the file to yourself as an e-mail attachment. Once you open the e-mail attachment, a button will be available at the top right of the display to allow you to open it using the appropriate iWork for iPad app.
With the Microsoft Excel file opened up in Numbers--whether you synced it with iTunes or e-mailed it from the cloud--you can now view and edit the data. The conventions for doing so are different as mentioned earlier--pinching, and zooming, and swiping are not terms normally used with Excel. But, the bottom line is that most of the functionality you need to work with the Excel files is there once understand the conventions used in Numbers and how to navigate around the features.
Final Call
Numbers is quite capable. For someone used to working with Microsoft Excel, or working with spreadsheet software using a mouse and keyboard, Numbers will take some getting used to. But, the built-in templates are nice for many quick tasks you might want to accomplish with a spreadsheet, and the functionality is there to do more if you want to dive deeper.
That said, Numbers is not a replacement for Microsoft Excel--especially not for hardcore spreadsheet users. The lack of a native file management capability, and the convoluted methods required just to get spreadsheet files imported or exported with Numbers can be quite frustrating.
The bottom line, though, is that Numbers will serve as a very capable proxy for Excel for mobile business professionals on the go. Simply forming the habit of storing data in the cloud where it can be accessed no matter where you are greatly enhances the business potential of the iPad.
The true answer is subjective, though--more a matter of personal opinion than anything else. There will be those who swear by the iPad as a mobile business productivity tool, and there will be those who consider that a form of heresy, and will continue to rely on traditional notebook or netbook PC's for their mobile computing needs.
Tony Bradley is co-author of Unified Communications for Dummies . He tweets as @Tony_BradleyPCW . You can follow him on his Facebook page , or contact him by email at tony_bradley@pcworld.com .
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