Best iPad Word Processors

Pages for iPad is undoubtedly one of the best iPad word processor applications available. Desktop-grade tools are at your fingertips for text manipulation and changing styles of text with just a few taps. Templates have always been Apple's specialty and Pages does not disappoint. Over sixty templates come with the app to let you make great documents. Of course iCloud sharing is front and center within Pages and you can share the document for realtime collaboration with another person. Just like in other editing suites, Pages will update your project as you both work to perfect it.

Take the traditional word processor and turn your iPad into a text-entry machine with iA Writer. Gone is the standard iOS keyboard, replaced with an extra row of buttons to skip around by word, arrow left and right, and enter special characters. An aperture icon focuses your text to three visible lines to help you focus on the words you're typing in. Syncing of your manuscript is key with iA Writer offering both iCloud and Dropbox support. Sharing options include: email as text, email as attachment, print, and the ability to open the file in other apps.

While document use with iCloud is great, many use Google Drive. Quickoffice was purchased by Google in 2013 and instantly made a free app. This app can access everything on Google Drive. Create, edit, and share all your existing documents with ease. You can also store items on your iPad locally. One powerful tool is the ability to use Word's Track Changes feature. This helps make Quickoffice very powerful when collaborating on that important project.

The developers of iA turned heads with the release of Writer Pro. This app is another desktop-grade word processor. It looks to stand apart from the crowd based on features, workflow, and price. Its big standout feature is the innovative Syntax Control. This scans the syntax of your text. Then it will highlights parts of speech such as: adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions or conjunctions. Writer Pro sets up your writing into three categories. The app wants you to take notes and brainstorm first. Then it wants you to write, and finally edit the work. This structure works for many, but it can be a bit constricting. Finally, iA has priced this app at almost $20. It relies on iCloud for all file storage. The feature set may work for many at that price, but the lack of Dropbox support (unlike its cousin iA Writer) can be a deal-breaker for many.

The classic books have been digitized and brought to iOS. Moleskine takes its iconic books and transforms them into virtual ones you can color coordinate. One interesting part of this app is the fact that you can brainstorm within it. That means pictures, doodles, and anything else can go within its virtual pages. It also has an interesting wine journal feature if spirits are your forte. It's not a pure word processor, but the popularity and versatility of a moleskin cannot be understated.

This is an interesting app because its feature is about a lack of features. OmmWriter wants you to focus on your writing. Sound easy? Sit for a moment and it's quick to see our lives are filled with distractions. OmmWriter looks to change that with a clean interface. It wants to calm you as you write. Soothing music plays as you work, while your canvas can resemble a number of serene backgrounds. It's easy to pass up this app as a one-trick-pony, but there's something to be said for simplicity and relaxation. The quality of your work may just improve from that lack of mental stress.

If you do not need to work with spreadsheets then this app may be for you. The app takes all of the great things of Office2 HD and simplifies it to working with Microsoft Word files and other text based files from the various Internet services. If you enjoy the way Office2 works, but simply need it for text, then this is a great app to have. It may be worth it to you spend the few more dollars on Office2 HD to future proof in case you might need Excel support in the future.

If you have a need to edit Microsoft Office files on your iPad, then this will come in handy. The app allows you to edit both DOC and DOCX files on your iPad. The app can also edit XLS files. The app also integrates with Google Drive, and Dropbox. The app fully supports AirPrint to allow easy printing of your documents. The word processor includes paragraph and character formatting. The app supports images, undo and redo, auto correction, and a spell checker. The app is a great option for those that need to work with Microsoft Office files on their iPad.