Earlier today, Google announced that its popular cloud-based word processing and spreadsheet application will be incorporating a documents editor that supports editing on mobile browsers.
Individuals and organizations of all sizes that have grown addicted to the ease, accessibility and price (or lack thereof) of Google Docs will now certainly embrace what is already a killer web-based application on their mobile devices. The great tease of accessing Google Docs on iPhones, iPads or Androids up until now is that while viewing documents on the fly has value, the real benefit of the application is to share edits and modifications with others in your work group.
While it is still a pain to incorporate heavy edits on small screen devices, with Google officially accommodating the capability, we should expect independent developers to create applications that bring more simplicity to the process.
The implications are even greater for iPad owners or consumers planning to purchase Android-based tablet computers. Having editing functionality on the go with functionality that mirrors and expands upon Microsoft Word and Excel will make traveling without a laptop even less necessary than it already is.
By the time the next iPad and even smarter Android-based tablets come out in the coming months, this new productivity-oriented functionality may even make owning an increasingly bloated laptop device unnecessary altogether.
