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Formally announced in the App Store in September 2009 and with more than two years of total development, Mariner Calc takes using a spreadsheet on your iPhone to a whole new level. Significant in this latest version is the system-wide cut, copy and paste as well as the ablility to email (outgoing) files. All of the new features in Mariner Calc 2.0 have been tested and function on the iPhone 3.0 and 3.1 operating system.

"This review is part of a series of reviews of some of the most popular spreadsheet apps for the iPhone. In addition to the individual reviews I have also posted an article showing a side-by-side comparisons and additional details from the reviewers notebook.

 

Mariner Calc has most of the functions of a full spreadsheet with one exception. One thing that I think is key to formula entry is the ability to click (tap) a cell to reference it's address in the formula. When entering a formula or reference to a cell in Mariner Calc you have to type in the cell address. You can't just tap a cell to add it's address to the formula. If you are using it to access spreadsheets primarily created on a PC this shouldn't be too much of a problem, but it really slows down creating new files on the iPhone.

 

This app offers help on individual functions in the form of a popup dialog. Nice for on the fly, but I'd like to see a more comprehensive help feature. It has the other standard features and it did support VLookup/HLookup. As with all the other spreadsheet apps tested it doesn't offer entry validation and plotting functions. "

Clean Installation Did the app install easily and cleanly? (assigned weight-5)

10

Easy Configuration Was initial configuration simple and easy to understand? (assigned weight-5)

10

Configuration Options Does app offer configuration options to allow customization? (assigned weight-5)

10

Learning Curve Is app easy to lean and use? (assigned weight-5)

8

Support Website Does the developer offer a comprehensive support site? (assigned weight-4)

7

Feature Set - Does the app have a full feature set for the purpose? (assigned weight-5)

8

Help - Does app have built in help that is really helpful? (Direct access in app, access via web, or none. (assigned weight-5)

6

Bugs - Does the app work as expected, without bugs (assigned weight-5)

10

Load Time - Does the app load quickly? ( ready to use in less than 10 seconds on 3GS) (assigned weight-3)

10

Controls Does app offer adequate controls for purpose? (assigned weight-5)

8

Regular Updates Does vendor appear to keep app up-to-date? (updated or released in last 6 months, or app doesn't need updates=10, -1 point per month past 6 months) (assigned weight-3)

8

Alternate Language Support Does the app support alternate language options? (assigned weight-0)

1

Intuitive Interface Is the interface intuitive (icons, menus, and directional symbols) for average users and does it adhere to good iPhone design principles? (assigned weight-5)

8

Screen Layouts Are screen layouts logical and well-designed? (assigned weight-5)

8

Navigation Is the app navigation logical and easy to use? (assigned weight-4)

8

Readability Legible text and print size that is appropriate for the intended audience. Are fonts and interface elements easy to see and read? (assigned weight-5)

8

Recovery from Incoming Call Does the app recover after being interrupted by an incoming call or message? (to test interupt app during operation ) (assigned weight-5)

10

Restart/Pause/Shutdown If applicable, does the app allow user to pause or shutdown and restart at a meaningful and logical point after previous use? If game, does it restart to place in level, or can you pause before closing app. (to test close and reopen app to see if it restarts to a meaningful point) (assigned weight-5)

10

Graphics Quality Are the graphics of good quality and resolution; do images load within reasonable timeframe? (assigned weight-5)

7

Graphics Usefulness Are the graphics meaningful and useful? (assigned weight-5)

9

File Format Support Does the app support common file formats? (assigned weight-5)

9

Spreadsheet - Creation Test Overall was it easy to create a new spreadsheet project (budget example) (assigned weight-5)

9

Spreadsheet - Import Test How well did the app handle importing and using a basic spreadsheet created in Excel. (assigned weight-5)

8

Spreadsheet - Copy/Paste w/ update Does the app support copy and paste with automatic update. (assigned weight-5)

10

Spreadsheet - Range Selection Is it easy to select a range of cells for activities like copy/paste, formatting, and replication? (assigned weight-5)

10

Spreadsheet - Formula Entry - Ease Is it easy to enter new formulas. (assigned weight-5)

7

"Spreadsheet - Formula Selection " " Does the app support a wide variety of popular formula? " (assigned weight-5)

9

Spreadsheet - Lookup Support Does the app support lookup(vlookup, hlookup…)? (assigned weight-5)

10

Spreadsheet - Email as attachment Does the app allow the file to be emailed as a useable attachment? (assigned weight-5)

10

Spreadsheet - Formatting Does the app support popular cell formatting options. (assigned weight-5)

10