Jan 6, 2009 01:13 PM
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Just as rumored last week, Apple is taking iWork '09 online with file hosting and group editing services. Think of it as MobileMe, but for your documents. And that's not all.
The suite is getting a pretty strong set of new features— some fluffy, but many meaty and delicious. See the full list, updated as we get new info, below. But first, the cloud.
Pretty much the whole suite gets towed online here— Pages, Numbers and Keynote all now feature the same online storage and collaboration capabilities, including editing, notation and conversion services. There are two modes of access, too: An online interface, at iWork.com, and transparent integration into the actual apps.
The suite is clearly intended to take on Microsoft SharePoint and Google Docs, but approaches online document management somewhat differently. Rather than editing and organizing documents only through a web interface, Apple has integrated the online aspect into the familiar native iLife apps as well.
New Features:
Keynote:
Motion Move: This Keynote effect will create object transitions between slides, like when teenagers morph into werewolves on low-budget TV shows.
Interstitial slideshows: This interrupts your presentations to display standalone slideshows. Thanks?
Text transitions: There are some news ones! You can slide, twirl, shimmer, etc. All the things that made you hate PowerPoint can now help you hate Keynote, too.
Keynote iPhone Remote: This $0.99 app lets cue your Keynote presentation over Wi-Fi, from your iPhone. It's pretty basic, but also has the capability to display presenter's notes.
Integrated online file storage: Simultaneous group editing with revision control, a la Google Docs.
Pages:
Fullscreen: Pages should have always had a fullscreen-ish option. Now it does!
Advanced outlining, listing: A sensible alternative to a standalone outlining/planning application, it's meant help you plan out longer projects. It's also dynamic, so any embedded document links will automatically update on changes.
Mail merge: Mail merging with Numbers! Again, long overdue, but at least now you can easily do your Xmas cards on your Mac.
MathType: Are you a scientist, mathematician or student? No? Then this doesn't matter for you. The whole suite now has many more functions and full MathType capabilities, for writing formulas into your documents.
Numbers:
Boring! MathType is the biggest addition here, but users also get drag and drop formulas, new chart types, multiple axes, trend lines, and error bars, along with dynamic linked charts. And lest we forget, lots of templates.
iWork 2009 is available now from the Apple Store for $79, a $99 "family pack" for five licenses, or $49 with the purchase of any Mac. The subscription fee for iWork.com will be announced at a later date. Press release below.
Apple Unveils iWork '09
Introduces iWork.com Public Beta for Online Document Sharing
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today introduced iWork(R) '09, the latest version of Apple's popular office productivity suite, which adds powerful new features without sacrificing Apple's legendary ease of use. Keynote(R) '09 introduces advanced object transitions, which automatically animate objects with a choice of effects and Magic Move, an innovative way to create sophisticated animations just by applying a simple transition. Pages(R) '09 features a new Full Screen view that helps you focus on your writing and an outline mode to organize your thoughts. Numbers(R) '09 introduces a quick way to group and summarize data and a dramatically simplified way to create complex formulas. Apple also announced iWork.com public beta, a new service Apple is developing to share iWork '09 documents online.
"Millions of Mac users have fallen in love with iWork," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With iWork '09, Apple continues to demonstrate that innovation is possible in office productivity software, and that creating impressive presentations, documents and spreadsheets doesn't need to be complicated."
Keynote '09 introduces Magic Move, which allows you to apply a simple transition to automatically animate the position, scale, rotation and opacity of any image, graphic or text that is repeated on consecutive slides. New text transitions morph text from one slide to the next. New advanced object transitions animate objects off one slide while simultaneously animating objects onto the next slide with a choice of effects. 3D charts now include cylinder shapes, beveled-edge pie charts, new textures and four new 3D build effects. The Keynote Remote application, sold separately in the App Store, lets you view slides and presenter notes and control your presentation with your iPhone(TM) or iPod(R) touch.
Pages '09 Full Screen view lets you focus on your document without any distractions and reveals the menus, format bar and page navigator only when needed. Outline mode includes templates that help to quickly build the framework for your document and allow you to collapse, expand and rearrange elements, even inline graphics, with ease. MathType 6 support lets engineers, mathematicians and students easily add sophisticated equations to their documents and EndNote X2 integration lets users add and edit comprehensive bibliographic references. Pages '09 also includes 40 new Apple-designed templates, including newsletters, posters, certificates and coordinated stationery.
Numbers '09 provides a great way to quickly categorize data by column, which you can then collapse, expand and summarize to easily make sense of large sets of data. Numbers '09 makes formula writing dramatically easier with an enhanced function browser which includes built-in help for over 250 functions, and visual placeholders with tool tips that explain each variable in a formula. Use the new Formula List to view all formulas in your entire spreadsheet and jump directly to any formula cell with a single click. Expanded chart options include mixed chart types, two-axis charts, and the ability to apply trend lines and error bars. Numbers charts pasted into Pages or Keynote are linked, and can be updated with a single click.
Apple also introduced iWork.com public beta, a new service Apple is developing to share iWork '09 documents online. Using your Apple ID, just click the iWork.com icon in the Keynote, Pages or Numbers toolbar to upload your document and invite others to view it online. Viewers can provide comments and notes, and download a copy of your document in iWork, Microsoft Office or PDF formats. A consolidated online list of all your shared documents indicates when your viewers have posted comments.
Pricing & Availability
iWork '09 is now available through the Apple Store(R) (http://www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $79 (US). iWork '09 is available for $49 (US) with the purchase of any Mac(R) through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
iWork '09 requires Mac OS(R) X version 10.4.11 or Mac OS X version 10.5.6 or later, a Macintosh(R) computer with an Intel processor, PowerPC G5, or 500 MHz or faster PowerPC G4, 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended), 32MB of video RAM, QuickTime(R) 7.5.5 or later, a DVD drive for installation and 1.2GB of available disk space. iWork.com Public Beta is not included with the purchase of iWork '09. Account setup and activation are required. Fees may apply. Internet access and iWork '09 are required. Terms of service apply and are available at http://www.apple.com/legal/iworkcom/en/terms.html.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
(C) 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iWork, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, iPhone, iPod, Apple Store and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090106/AQTU044)
SOURCE Apple
Send an email to John Herrman, the author of this post, at jherrman@gizmodo.com.
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
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