

Googe productivity apps for iOS now support Office file formats - simonh
http://googledrive.blogspot.com/2014/08/docssheetsslidesios.html

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simonh
Not surprising given Google's acquisition of QuickOffice. There are a few
interesting angles to this story.

One the one hand there's the native app versus web app issue. Modern mobile
devices have a ton of horsepower compared to the early devices, but Google
continues to heavily invest in native client apps on mobile. Do they still see
this as being a stopgap before device performance and mobile browser
capability make native apps unnecessary or are native apps here to stay? What
impact does this have on Google's web app strategy generally? I'm wondering
what Google's long game is for these productivity apps. Are they a strategic
play in themselves, or are they supporting services to somehow complement and
protect Google's revenue generating services? I'd love to understand how
Google's own understanding of the role these apps play in Google's portfolio
has evolved, and how that has mapped to reality over that time.

The other issue is platform support. I understand these capabilities have been
available on Android for some weeks now, so how does iOS support fit into
Google's plans? I know Google wants to support and promote Android, but
ultimately Android makes them no money. It's only purpose is to try to ensure
there's always a web and Google services friendly option available in the
Mobile world, so of course Google will support those services on competing
platforms with significant market share. However, to what extent is platform
support a political football within Google?

