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CloudOn MS Office app adds support for iPhone, SkyDrive

The latest update to CloudOn's iOS app now works with the iPhone and iPod Touch and lets you store your documents on Microsoft's SkyDrive.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
2 min read
CloudOn for the iPhone.
CloudOn for the iPhone Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET

CloudOn's Microsoft Office app has expanded its horizons beyond just the iPad.

Released today, version 3.0 of CloudOn supports the iPhone, the iPad Mini, and the iPod Touch.

It handles the iPhone 5, taking advantage of the new phone's longer screen. There's also a special reading mode for the iPhone, so you can easily scroll through a document without the Ribbon or keyboard getting in the way.

The app has kicked in support for Microsoft's SkyDrive. That means you can store your documents on SkyDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, or Box.

CloudOn lets you create and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents directly from your mobile device. You can store those documents locally or in the cloud, where they're accessible from other devices.

The app provides the standard Microsoft Office Ribbon interface with a healthy array of commands. Tapping on your document displays your device's on-screen keyboard.

I downloaded the app onto my iPhone 5, and it worked as expected. Of course, creating and editing documents isn't as easy on a phone as it is on a tablet. And I have one major gripe: the iPhone version works only in portrait mode and not in landscape. But a CloudOn rep told me the next version of the app will support landscape mode as well.

The app isn't just geared for iOS users. CloudOn offers an Android version that received its own update today.

Available in Google Play, the app now supports Android 4.1 or higher and the Nexus 7 tablet.

CloudOn's Android app on a Nexus 7 tablet.
CloudOn's Android app on a Nexus 7 tablet. Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET

I installed it on my Nexus 7. The app works fine, but the layout could use some attention. On a 7-inch tablet like the Nexus, the onscreen keyboard takes up more than half the screen, while the Ribbon commands are very small, making them difficult to tap. And overall, it doesn't leave much room for your document.

Still, it's handy to now have the option to view and edit my documents from any of my mobile devices, especially those files stored through my SkyDrive account.