12 Oct Top 4 Word Processing Apps For Your iPad
The iPad is a great productivity tool, particularly for those on the go who need to jot down ideas or work on documents on the fly.
To get the most out of your iPad, we’ve come up with a list of the best word processing apps, ranging from a simple writing app to a fully fledged document creator/editor.
Pages ($10.49)
Because Pages has been designed exclusively for iDevices by Apple, it offers a beautiful, seamless app that has been optimised for the iPad.
This app features clear and easy to use menus, all housed within a beautiful design. If you need to create something in a hurry, Pages offers 16, Apple designed preset template options to suit various needs, such as letters, reports, flyers, cards, and posters. The large, clear screen offers plenty of space for the on-screen keyboard and typing at speed is as intuitive as using a physical keyboard with no lag between input and page display. Text can be aligned, formatted, tabbed and manipulated at speed using custom toolbars at the top of the screen, while also offering robust customisation options for the document in regards to the colours, fonts and textures.
Formatting corrections are as easy as tapping or dragging over the area of interest and hitting the Inspector tab, which then displays the full range of formatting options available for that region. Additionally, text errors can be corrected using the iPad’s native dictionary function. You can add images to your document using the Media Browser and create footnotes and endnotes as well as view word counts with character, paragraph and page counts.
Pages works with iCloud, which means your documents stay up to date on all of your devices automatically, particularly as Pages automatically saves your documents as you make changes. iCloud also allows you to export your documents as a Pages’ 09, Microsoft Word or PDF file, and access it on any device. You also have the option of sending it your contacts via Mail or printing your document wirelessly with AirPrint, which includes page range selection, number of copies, and two-sided printing.
One downside to this app is the inability to track changes within a document, which is a feature within Word Documents.
While a bit on the pricey side, Pages offers an aesthetically pleasing and highly capable word processing solution for the iPad.
Office2HD ($8.49)
Office2HD by Byte2 offers a significant advantage over Pages, in its ability to handle not only Word Documents (.doc, .docx) but also Excel files (.xls, .xlsx) and Powerpoint presentations (.ppt, .pptx). It is essentially an all-in-one office productivity suite.
However, as this list is focusing on word processing apps, we’ll focus on the app’s word processing capabilities.
The app offers the editing and formatting features you would expect from Microsoft Word, including support for multiple columns and images. It also allows you to add comments, footnotes, endnotes, column breaks, section breaks and (unlike Pages) allows you to track changes made within Office2HD. Images can be added to text, while also supporting undo and redo, auto correction and spell checker. 
However, though the app cannot apply paragraph or character styles to text, it does preserve the paragraph or character styles already in your document. You can search, but not replace, nor apply or edit embedded hyperlinks.
Office2HD integrates with Google Docs, Dropbox, Microsoft SkyDrive and iDisk, allowing you to keep your documents updated and accessible everywhere. However, it does not integrate with iCloud, which may prove a deal breaker with iPad users who use iCloud exclusively for cloud storage. You can also transfer files from within the Mac Finder or Windows Explorer or any web browser, making it easy to access and edit files on your iPad. The app also supports iTunes File sharing.
iA Writer ($0.99)
If a simple writing app is all you’re after, take a look at iA Writer. It focuses on providing the user with a simple, easy to use interface so you can just focus on writing.
There are no settings, except for the ‘Focus’ mode, which allows you to concentrate only on the current three lines by fading everything else away. The minimalist, clean interface will be visually appealing to many, particularly those that are not concerned with formatting their text. 
iA Writer also integrates with Dropbox. The app allows you to create folders in your Dropbox account within the app, as well as making accessing any .txt file within your Dropbox account as simple as a menu tap.
If you don’t need any of the bells and whistles of Pages or Office2HD, or you’re looking for a cheap, simple way to simply write, iA Writer is the app for you.
Daedalus Touch ($0.99)
Daedalus Touch by The Soulmen GBR, offers a slightly different and rather interesting approach to word processing.
The app does away with conventional files and folders for document organisation, and instead implements stacks of virtual paper. You navigate between these stacks, and drill down to deeper levels, entirely through swipes and pinches. Each sheet of “paper” can be as long as you like, and you just swipe left to add another sheet. In use, it is fast, simple and totally intuitive.
The keyboard has an extra row above the keyboard, which contains keys for tabs, parentheses, double quotes, a dash, a colon and a forward delete. These, however, are just the defaults, so you can customise this row to include anything you like. The app also features a TextExpander option, which allows for larger text making it easy to read. It also has the capability of handling large documents i.e. 20,000 words or more.
Daedalus Touch offers character and word count, as well as three different font choices and four different colour choices including a “dark mode” for writing at night. As an added bonus, the app has a built-in web browser to quickly look up or post stuff on the internet.
In terms of integrations, Daedalus Touch allows you to sync with several Dropbox folders simultaneously. This means that you can add an existing folder from your Dropbox and all of the documents therein will appear as a separate stack. The app also gives you the ability to print or export to PDF and via email, iTunes sharing and the iPad’s “Open in…” service. Daedalus Touch also has full support for iCloud backup to keep your documents up to date.
With its low price tag of $0.99, Daedalus Touch is an attractive and full featured word processing app alternative to the more expensive apps out there.