MacWorld: iWork '09 is robust, yet budget conscious

I previously discussed the new iLife '09, announced at MacWorld on Tuesday. The new version of the iWork productivity suite, also announced at the MacWorld keynote, offers a host of enhancements, all for $79.

Here are a few highlights:

Keynote '09. There's a lot of new eye-candy, with particular emphasis on an animated/morphing transition effect they called the "Magic Move." There are also a lot of new charting features, including animation, and charts could be embedded directly from Numbers, for one-click updating. A separate iPhone app lets you run the presentation remotely via your phone (if, say, you left your remote-control at the office) . The kicker is that the next slide will preview on the phone, so the speaker knows what coming next.

Numbers '09. There are now more than 250 math functions, a new "categorization" command for organizing tables, and improved charting features for financial and scientific uses.

Pages '09. This sports new dynamic outlines, integration with Mathtype and Endnote, new templates, integration with Numbers charts with one-click update.

Apple also launched a new beta "iWork.com" web-services collaboration tool, which can be called up on the fly from within any of the iWork apps without having to leave them. Third parties can see shared files on any browser, annotate and update, or download a copy in any format.

While fully interactive with each other, (and the outside world, via iwork.com), the application suite also has a feature that flies under the radar: full compatibility with standard MS Office formats. So, for example, a small business owner or independent consultant startup on a tight budget can share work with their Office-wielding clients with no problem.

Next up: The new 17-inch MacBook Pro.

—Thomas A. Olson