<p>Most people have gotten past the sentiment that tablets can't be used for "real work". The simple reality is that a tablet is capable of doing most of the core functions a traditional PC can perform: email, Web surfing, social networking, instant messaging, and so forth. But, before you rush out to get a tablet to replace your laptop you should be aware that your choice of productivity apps may be dictated by your mobile platform.</p><p>Why? There are a variety of factors involved, and it depends on which combination of office suite and mobile platform you're talking about.Choosing a tablet may depend on which office software is available for which platform</p><p>Google has stated that it has no current plan to develop for Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8. I assume the existing versions that work with Windows 7 will continue to work in desktop mode on Windows 8 systems, and that Google is referring specifically to developing apps for the Modern UI to be offered through the Windows App Store.</p><p>Clay Bavor, the product management director at Google Apps, told tech blog V3, "We have no plans to build out Windows apps. We are very careful about where we invest and will go where the users are but they are not on Windows Phone or Windows 8. If that changes, we would invest there, of course."</p><p><a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2020272/office-wars-microsoft-google-and-apple-jockey-for-position.html">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://blogs.cio.com/operating-systems/17632/if-you-dont-need-office-do-you-still-need-microsoft">If You Don&#039;t Need Office Do You Still Need Microsoft?</a> (CIO (blog))</p><p><a href="http://beta.fool.com/joekurtz/2012/12/13/not-so-fast-microsoft-no-guaranteed-short/18595/">Not So Fast, Microsoft Is No Guaranteed Short - AAPL, DELL, HPQ, MSFT, SNE ...</a> (The motley Fool (blog))</p><p><a href="http://blogs.computerworld.com/windows/21498/google-users-dont-care-about-windows-8-or-windows-phone-so-we-wont-release-gmail-and-other-apps-them">Google: Users don&#039;t care about Windows 8 or Windows Phone, so we won&#039;t ...</a> (Computerworld (blog))</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dIJzbVMoK21_qHMcwjlvAvvKt-3BM&ned=us">223 additional articles.</a></p>