Price/Platform: free/$9.99* (iOS)
Review Version: 2.6
Developer Website: http://www.apple.com/ios/pages/
Features: Pages is a word processing app and is closely related to the more feature rich OS X version. As a result, if you use the iWork OS X apps, you will be very much at home. The app really excels at the fact that it is simple to use, has over 60 templates and integrates cleanly into iCloud and documents picker. When actually creating documents, the interface is very straightforward- all of the formatting settings you need will be found in the little paintbrush icon, document layout and interface options can be found under the wrench icon and shapes and graphics can be added via the plus symbol. You will find all the formatting tools that you need for basic documents inside of Pages (pages alignment, fonts, paragraph styles, list, line spacing, and support for columns) and also support for different types of media, graphics and charts. The app also has some other helpful productivity features like tracking mark up changes, comment and highlight support, and it export to ePub, .docs/.docx, and PDF. If you enable iCloud sync, all of your document will sync between devices and iCloud.com version of Pages. The app also possess the capability to import existing Microsoft Word and Pages document into the app, however, depending on the formatting and fonts, it may or may not display or convert over properly.
Summary: Pages is well designed and strong word processor that is simple to use and familiar to prior users of the iWork suite.
Pro:
- Has a very nice interface and clean design
- Is very good at handling media content, with support for center/edge/spacing guide
- Has Coaching Tip feature that help familiarize you with key features
- Documents can also be accessed/edited via iWork on OS X and iCloud.com
Con:
- Does not always cleanly convert Word documents
- Lacks key features limiting it to basic and moderate document creation/editing
How I use it: Since the release of Word for iOS, I have been torn over which word processer to use… as a result, I now use both. I personally prefer Pages for more simple tasks or ones that I want to continue working on via my iMac. I also really like the clean and simple interface of Pages, and the well implemented iCloud and Document Picker support. I also like the ePub and PDF export options, as they are the two formats of choice if I am reading on my iPad. However, I prefer to use Word when I am using native .docx documents or have to create a document that is on the more complex side. Pages is still watered down a little too much, but they have been making progress on adding more robust features.
Platform/Price: The app is available for free to all newly purchased device, and is $9.99 for existing users. There is also a similar version of Pages available on the Mac App Store and iCloud.com.
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