Zoho Taps Google Gears to Let Customers Access Documents Offline
--Zoho customers can now work with their Zoho Writer documents while offline via the new Go Offline feature in Zoho Writer. Additionally, Zoho Writer’s new Comments feature lets users add contextual comments to their personal and shared documents.
The offline move is Zoho’s first step toward making its online office applications available for offline use via the open source Google Gears™ platform. To see Zoho Writer's Go Offline feature in action, visit http://www.viddler.com/explore/Raju/videos/7/.
“When our customers ask for new features, we do our best to implement them as quickly as possible,” said Raju Vegesna, Zoho evangelist. “For Zoho Writer, we added support for nine languages last week, comments and offline support this week, and yet another significant new feature will be added next week.”
Offline Option, Collaborative Comments
Initially, Zoho users will have read-only access to their Zoho Writer documents when offline. Read/write functionality will follow shortly. Going forward, Zoho plans to bring offline capabilities to other Zoho applications.
Zoho users can work offline by logging on to Zoho Writer and clicking the “Go Offline” link at the top of the Zoho Writer screen. Zoho Writer automatically downloads their personal and shared documents and takes them offline. Once offline, users access their documents using Zoho Writer’s browser-based interface at http://writer.zoho.com/offline.
Zoho relies on Google Gears to enable Zoho Writer to run offline in Internet Explorer or Firefox browsers, bringing offline access to Windows and Macintosh computer users.
Continued Zoho’s Vegesna, “Originally, we had been working on our own platform for enabling offline web applications. Now, supporting Google Gears makes more sense because Google made it an open source project, so we can contribute to the technology when appropriate. In that regard, Google deserves a lot of credit for making it possible to take web applications offline.”
Zoho Writer’s new Comments feature simplifies collaboration among several users working on the same document. When users add comments inside a document, a small icon appears in the content. When the document is shared, the comments may be used for discussions among multiple users within the document. Comments can also be viewed and edited from the “Comments” icon in the status bar.
Offline Accolades
Zoho customers and industry watchers are already giving positive feedback on the Go Offline feature.
Zoho Writer: Now With (Limited) Offline Functionality
“...when offline editing capabilities are added, Zoho will be well ahead of Google Docs and Spreadsheets and leaps and bounds beyond desktop offerings for those that value portability and collaborative editing.” Scott Gilbertson, Wired
Zoho beats Google with its own product!
“Zoho Writer has features that beats Google Notebook hands down, and with this new functionality they have moved farther ahead. ... Zoho has been one of my favorite Indian start-ups and the way they are going that “favorite” tag is going to remain for a long time to come.” Trak.in’
Zoho Writer gets offline support through Google Gears
“With this release, Zoho is staying one step ahead of Google’s office offerings. ... Compared to Zoho, Google takes its own time to come up with new features. This nimbleness on the part of Zoho makes their products much more attractive to users.” Krishnan Subramanian, TechBizMedia
One Step Closer to Ditching MS Office for Zoho
"... I don't think the Zoho developers ever sleep, considering how quickly they crank out new features and apps. ... I'm impressed with both Zoho and Google here, and I'd sure like to see this offline trend continue." Erik Larkin, PCWorld
Zoho Writer going offline with Gears!
“Zoho are constantly one step ahead of Google and other online office tool providers.” Steve E, 23 Musings
For more information on Zoho, please visit www.zoho.com and http://blogs.zoho.com/.
About Zoho and AdventNet
Zoho is creating the most comprehensive suite of affordable, online productivity tools for today's knowledge workers. With over 150 developers working on the Zoho suite, the company maintains an active dialog with customers, listening to and acting on their feedback. To date, Zoho has launched 16 different applications and more are in the works. For more information on Zoho, please visit www.zoho.com and blogs.zoho.com.
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