Google Giving Away its QuickOffice App for Free for Android, iOS

Who doesn't love free stuff? That's the question Google is asking with the announcement that its QuickOffice app is now free for all iOS and Android users. The app's biggest draw is that it allows users to access and edit Microsoft Word and .PDF files from your mobile device. But Google is further building on that by giving users the ability to create .ZIP folders and view Excel and PowerPoint files.

Even better, if you sign into your Google account through the updated QuickOffice app, the search giant will give you an additional 10GB of Google Drive storage for the next two years. In addition to giving away QuickOffice, Google has announced that all previous versions of the app , which includes QuickOffice Pro and Quick Office Pro HD, will no longer be available for download.

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Why is Google being so generous? It could be because Apple announced that it will begin offering its iWork productivity suite for free to all iOS 7 users who active their iPhone, iPad or iPod touches on or after Sept. 1. Like QuickOffice, iWork gained popularity due in large part to its compatibility with Microsoft Office.

While Google Drive is also compatible with Office, and accessible via any compatible mobile device, Drive has to convert Office documents in order to read them, which can affect formatting. QuickOffice, on the other hand, doesn't need to convert Office files, ensuring your document's formatting is kept intact. 

Daniel P. Howley
LAPTOP Senior Writer
A newspaper man at heart, Dan Howley wrote for Greater Media Newspapers before joining Laptopmag.com. He also served as a news editor with ALM Media’s Law Technology News, and he holds a B.A. in English from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.