One of the biggest things that I hear about the Tablets, other than the lack of PIM functions, is the lack of proper Office document support. We’ve had an Excel spreadsheet app now for a while, but AbiWord has been one of the most asked about apps out there.

A few months ago, I got in on the closed beta, but the install process was about 15 steps, consisting of 6-7 packages that you had to install in a specific order, so one firmware update and the install was hosed. However, imagine my surprise today when I refreshed my Application Installer to see AbiWord there on the top of the list!

That’s right, AbiWord, which is a word processor application, is now available in an open beta through the Extras-Dev repository. The Extras-Dev repository is somewhat of a testing ground for applications that are not yet suitable for the official ‘Extras’ repository. You’re welcome to try them out, but beware that they stand a chance of messing your tablet up a bit.

Here’s the ITT thread covering AbiWord, and it’s a great place to get some help, though you should obviously register any bugs on the official bug reports area. It installed fine on my N810 running Diablo, which is great.

Categories: Applications
Tags: abiword, Features, word processor