When Microsoft Corp. announced that its venerable Word software was coming to the iPhone, I was reminded of a few things. I remembered that five-hour car ride with my kids. I recalled that college buddy who stayed on my couch for “just a few days.” I recalled that time I placed a tub of mom’s pot roast in an overhead aircraft bin. All of those things had one common denominator: I knew they were going to end badly. And they did (sorry again, guy in Seat 16C). Word on a phone, I thought. That’s going to end badly too.
I may never be able to eat pot roast again, but I will be eating humble pie. I was wrong about Word—dead wrong. This iPhone app (an Android version is expected soon) is an exceptionally well-designed piece of software. More than that: It’s smartly designed. Too many apps try to provide bells and whistles without thinking about how those features can best be presented and used on a phone. It sounds great on paper and proves disappointing in practice. Microsoft, on the other hand, has clearly looked at the many, many limitations of a phone and has come up with clever solutions. You won’t want to create every document on your iPhone—that’d be madness. But when all you have is your phone, rest assured: You will be able to work in Word, and do it surprisingly well.
