Desktop version of Google Docs now on iPad, but still disappoints

9to5Mac brought us the news that the desktop version of Google Docs is now available on the iPad, coming just a few weeks after the mobile version debuted.

But, like the screencap above warns, not all features are available through the iPad and the clunky interface is disappointing. Viewing the desktop version of Google Docs is slow and a bit cumbersome as the screen reloads each time you tap on a different area. You are able to navigate menus and do things you can't do on the mobile version such as edit spreadsheets and add comments to documents, but the ability to use these features are overshadowed by the lack of basic tasks.

You're unable to select text, which means no copy or pasting. If you double-tap at the end of a sentence to get a period, you won't be rewarded with that particular mobile shortcut. There is no shift key; if you capitalize a word, all the text will be capitalized until you toggle the button off. Backspacing is equally slow, especially if you need to edit a large area of text.

For editing, I'd head for specific apps that can link to your Google Docs such as Documents 2 Go or Quickoffice. Otherwise, unless you're doing basic notating or spreadsheet editing, viewing the desktop version of Google Docs on the iPad is more trouble than the feature is worth.