During the special keynote event yesterday Apple announced all new versions of their productivity and creativity apps for Mac and iOS. All new versions of iWork and iLife which includes Pages, Keynote, Numbers, iPhoto, iMovie and Garage Band are now free with purchase of new Mac or iOS device. These updates are also free for existing users who purchased the older versions.

I own a Mid 2010 27-inch iMac which has been serving me well all these years. OS X Mavericks the tenth major software release for the Mac was also made available for free to iMac models dating back to 2007. After multiple failed attempts to download the software update due to Apple’s sever overload and then finally succeeding I was able to install OS X Mavericks.

After installing the new software update when I launched the Mac App Store to download other software updates I noticed Keynote as one of the app among other apps listed that had available updates. Now, this was interesting to me as I never purchased Keynote app for the Mac.

When I purchased the Mac I downloaded trial version of iWork (Apple did not have Mac App Store back then) and then later purchased only Pages and Numbers app as a digital download. Keynote app was still installed but never worked as the trial had expired.

After installing Mavericks I noticed under the “Purchases” tab it listed Keynote app with a purchase date of today. After the app was updated I launched it and it worked flawlessly.

In the past I’ve got lucky even with iCloud. Just when rumours about Apple announcing a cloud based service reached an all time high I registered for a free trial of MobileMe service. Since the trial was for 60 days and within a weeks time Apple announced iCloud I got extended storage of 25GB for one year without ever paying for the old MobileMe service.

iWork apps are also available on iCloud as web apps and now feature collaboration. The shift in Apple’s pricing strategy by listing its creative and productive suite of apps as free would certainly help in more customers experimenting with these apps and thus increasing its usage worldwide.

FileXChange Review: A great way to move files between your iPad and your computer, whatever flavor they might be.

Setting up FileXChange is super simple and the instructions are clear. You open the app on your iPad, and then open a browser on your computer, type in a numeric URL, and that’s it. You can now effortlessly move files to and from your iPad. You can even use your files right within the app without opening other apps, including documents and multimedia files.

FileXChange works with a variety of common file types including: PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and most image, audio, and video formats. It also works between the iPad and Mac, Windows, Linux, and other iOS devices.

It doesn’t sync your files, but it could be used as a pass through to move files from one computer to another, say from a work and a home machine. The app could also be used as another possible location for backing up critical files. And it would be helpful getting files moved between one operating system to another. You can even share files with other people, as access to an account is not required.

This is a super simple, super powerful way to move and access files between your iPad and other devices.

Pros:

• Simple
• Let’s you access the files within the app
• Cross-platform

Cons:

• Have to be on the same local wifi network
• Syncing not included

Creating documents, spreadsheets and even keynote presentations on the go while using your iPhone is certainly something we were hoping for since last year. This announcement comes in just a week before WWDC 2011. Apple certainly likes to keep the buzz going so the update is perfectly timed as this sets the momentum and excitement for the upcoming event.

Each app is available for $9.99 and you can download Keynote, Numbers and Pages from the App Store or hit the update option on your iPad. The latest version also adds new document management options where you can basically group your documents in folders. This is certainly a great feature for those who use these apps extensively and find it hard to manage an ever growing list of spreadsheets and presentations.

Apple wants to make sure that they utilize most of their time during the WWDC keynote presentation in announcing major updates and therefore released the update for iWork apps a week before.

On June 06 the Cupertino based company is widely expected to announce the next major version of Mac OS X called Lion and preview iOS 5.

Gallery (click image to enlarge)

The iPad guided tour focuses on how one can take advantage of its unique features and large display. We found a few details in the guided tour which we thought were interesting to note.

Safari

Safari on iPad will allow you to access your favourite sites by tapping the address bar to reveal new bookmarks bar.

Another interesting feature to note was that the browser will allow you to play videos without leaving the page.

Mail

The iPad mail app will display an image of the sender on the right side.

Photos

Apple’s native photos app for the iPad will enable you to to skim the pictures with the bar at the bottom in addition to viewing them by flicking your finger on the screen.

If you own an iMac and use iPhoto to sync your your albums then you will be able to view your photos in Events, Faces and Places.

When you tap the options menu in the Photos app you will be able to share photos by sending it to your MobileMe gallery.

Apple has enhanced the Photos apps to a great extent and expects you to use your iPad as a digital photo frame. You will be able to play your own Music from the iTunes library and select transitions from the available options (Cube, Dissolve, Ripple, Wipe, Origami)

YouTube

When you tap on a video to watch it you can see the details below the video. While the video is playing you will be able to add it your favourites, Share, Rate or Flag it.

When you are done watching the video, you can access the sidebar on the right to see related videos, more videos by the same user or add a comment.

iTunes

Apple has integrated Genius in the new iPad iTunes app, this will allow you to discover new music based on your existing music library and purchases.

iBooks

The iPad features a built-in dictionary which will enable you to look up a particular word while reading an ebook using the iBooks app.

The screen orientation lock will allow you to read eBooks in your preferred angle without changing the device orientation.

Keynote

Keynote for iPad is a powerful app to create stunning presentations and it features some advanced features which can be implemented with simple multitouch gestures. You can style the pictures in the presentations with picture frames, shadows, reflections, control the border, angle of the shadow and even adjust the opacity. You can add advance transitions  to your presentation by selecting Magic Move and let keynote build sophisticated transitions for you.

You can share your presentations via email, upload to iWork.com or export it as a keynote or pdf file.

Pages

If you’re working on a large document with many pages then you can use the page navigator by sliding your finger on the side to preview the pages and jump to the exact page you were working on.