iWork for iCloud Beta Now Available

If you have an Apple Developer account an iWork for iCloud beta is now available.

iWord for iCloud is the recently announced browser based office suite from Apple. Like Google Docs and Office 365, iWork for iCloud allows you to create and edit text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations within the browser and even upload Microsoft Office documents for editing on Apple devices.

iWork for iCloud feels slicker than Google Docs, featuring smooth animation and a more attractive interface, but missing are many of the collaboration features that Google Apps boasts and Office 365 will be making available later this year.

The software also feels fairly barebones in its current state. Pages works well, the Keynote interface is nice but limited, while Numbers feels awkward and slow to use.

In addition, the failure of Apple to provide any central user account management system makes recommending using iWork for iCloud difficult for use in education.

It’s great to see further competition in this area, a strong push by Apple can only be beneficial to customers.

General release of the service is expected later this year.