"I bought a new iPod Touch 64 GB and I'd like to load in some of my MS Word and/or Excel documents for referral when I'm away from my home computer. Is there any way to accomplish this?"

Although the iPod touch would potentially make an excellent PDA, the capability to view documents on it is possible, but not the ability to alter said docs. There are some special apps that can be used to make it possible to make and alter PDF, Word Docs, Excel, and other text files, as long as you are willing to pay the extra cost. If you need to alter these files while you are away from your personal computer, then it will be well worth the additional price for the app or apps.

QuickOffice Connect Mobile Suite



This download enables you to email, view and access formats such as PDF, HTML, PPT, and many other popular file formats. You can even make, open, and alter a number of Microsoft Office files, like XLS, XLSX, DOC, and DOCX. These files can be emailed directly or transferred via WiFi. Google Docs can also be used to remotely access files on the iPod Touch.

QuickOffice Mobile Suite



If you aren't concerned with having the ability to remotely access files, then this download might be a good option. It has everything that the QuickOffice Connect Mobile Suite has, except for the remote access, plus it costs a few dollars less.

QuickOffice Connect



You can still view, share, and email Microsoft word and Excel documents with this download, as well as Adobe Acrobat PDFs, Microsoft PowerPoint, and web pages. Files from external applications can be opened and remote access to files is available. The biggest difference with this download is that you aren't able to create and edit files that you view and/or share.

Transferring files with QuickOffice happens two different ways. One ways is by mounting your iPod Touch on the computer as an external drive or using the web browser to make the computer and iPod Touch communicate with one another. Files are moved and copied to the iPod Touch with the File Explorer in Windows when the Touch is mounted as a drive. When the browser is used, a Web interface allows you to search the contents and exchange the files you want.

Documents to Go



This app supports Microsoft Excel, Word, PDF, PowerPoint and many other files or attachments. It is also capable of two-way synchronization of files for both Windows and Mac. Microsoft Word can not only be viewed, but also created and edited in both landscape and portrait. Find and Replace, Word Count, Undo/Redo, and auto bulleting are also included. As for detailed features for Microsoft Excel; spreadsheets can be made, viewed, and altered in the same ways as on a regular computer. Version 2 is the one that works with the iPod Touch.

Both of these apps are around the same price and offer very similar features. Either one of these would work great for transferring your Word or Excel documents to your iPod Touch 64GB. Documents to Go can be upgraded to the premium version if you decide you need the ability to edit PowerPoint files. The regular and the premium version of Documents to Go both allow files to be sent and received as attachments in Gmail, which can prove very useful to people who travel a lot. QuickOffice does support Google Docs, which is a widely used service today. Being able to share files through email with this app basically makes it tied with the Documents to Go app.

There's no installation required for the QuickOffice, which some people find to be a huge advantage. Others aren't bothered by the need to install software to be able to use the Documents to Go app. However, to install Documents to Go you have to not only have an iPod Touch with iOS 3.2 or greater and 20.3 MB of free memory available on it, but also Windows 7, Vista, or XP on your computer.

Upgrading to the premium version of Documents to Go will give you the most benefit, but only if you are interested in the extras it provides. Simply needing something that allows you to load Excel and Word docs for future referral might make this upgrade a waste of money.

It's hard to say whether one of these apps is better than the other. They both have a lot to offer to people who need to have access to Word and Excel documents. You might choose one over the other because of price, or even due to the way it is set up on the iPod Touch but that would be a personal preference.