Apple updates iWork with Web-based document sharing

Apple introduced an updated version of its office apps suite iWork during Phil Schiller's keynote at the Macworld Expo today. All three apps, Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, got nice feature improvements -- and a new low price for those buying iWork with a Mac.

The most interesting feature announced today is iWork.com. iWork '09 users can upload their documents, spreadsheets and presentations to iWork.com allowing collaboration that puts Google Docs to shame. Apple promises the site is Mac and PC compatible, though I couldn't find a list of system requirements. The site, which is in free beta at the moment, will be fee-based in the future, Schiller said.

Keynote, the PowerPoint competitor, got a major boost. Phil Schiller touted the strength of Keynote in his appearance today, saying "I made this presentation in iWork '09, so you know it's really solid." The presentation software gains a new "magic move" transition builder which lets users grab individual objects on a slide and flip or spin them onto a new slide in a custom transition. The new app also has a wide variety of new themes and transitions to set Keynote users apart from their more boring PowerPoint-using brethren. The best new Keynote feature: An iPod Touch/iPhone app that acts as a remote for Keynote presentations. With the swipe of a finger, users can change slides and can see the next slide on the iPhone before it appears on screen. This is a natural app for the iPhone and is a nice integration of Apple technologies.

Pages, Apple's word processor, now has a fullscreen mode, which displays just a blank piece of "paper" across the entire screen -- blocking out distractions and letting users focus solely on writing. Pages now has dynamic outlining to assist with organizing long documents. It's a nice feature and a logical addition, but we'll see how Omni feels about potential poaching of its excellent OmniOutliner. Pages also has a stronger Mail Merge function which links up with the Numbers spreadsheet app, and connects with a pair of apps, MathType and EndNote, to enable easier writing of scientific papers and various types of bibliographies.

Mac-using accountants take note: Numbers, iWork's spreadsheet app, is slowly starting to appear more like an Excel competitor, covering even more basic spreadsheeting tasks than before. Numbers makes formula writing much easier, along with including 250 more common calculations like accrued interest and depreciation.

Data can be better organized into table categories, and Numbers now has even more options for creating fancy charts. Charts that were moved into Keynote or Pages documents also stay linked when their data is updated in Numbers.

iWork '09 is shipping today and is $79, $99 for a family five-pack or $49 with purchase of a Mac. I suspect the attach rates on new Macs will be excellent, perhaps nearing 70% in Apple Stores as the software replicates the functions of Microsoft Office for many users.

The software is also available in a new $169 box set for Mac owners who haven't upgraded in a while. The set includes the new versions of iLife, iWork and Mac OS X Leopard.