Scorecard: Best Android office suite shoot-out

Thanks to mobile devices, you no longer need a laptop to stay productive on the go — just the right software to turn your smartphone or tablet into a portable work powerhouse.

To help transform your Android device into a laptop replacement, I tested five popular office suites to find the best overall productivity setup for Android users: DataViz’s Documents to Go, $15 for the full premium version (needed for most features); Google’s free Google Docs service, now part of the Google Drive app; Kingsoft Office Software’s free Kingsoft Office; Mobile Systems’ $15 OfficeSuite Pro; and Quickoffice’s Quickoffice Pro, $15 for smartphones and a separate $20 purchase for tablets. (Quickoffice also offers a free version to paid Google Apps for Business subscribers.)

To assess the quality of each contender, I analyzed how it handles word processing, spreadsheet editing, and presentation management. I took into account the app’s interface — on both the smartphone and tablet form — as well as the breadth and quality of the features it offers. I also tested several stand-alone apps to find the best Android tablet tool for PDF manipulation, as most office suites don’t natively provide that function.

(Note: Google acquired Quickoffice last summer but has thus far continued to offer the company’s products as stand-alone non-Google apps; a Google spokesperson was not able to confirm if or when that approach might change.)

Check out the the full breakdown and my recommendations for the best overall office package for Android devices in our “Best Android office suite shoot-out” slideshow.

This story, “Scorecard: Best Android office apps,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in mobile technology at InfoWorld.com. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.