Review: iPad spreadsheet Permanent doesn't really add up
Permanent is a new spreadsheet-ish app for the iPad. As something of a spreadsheet junkie, I was excited to see an alternative entrant in this rather staid marketplace. And “alternative” really is the proper word, for Permanent is unlike any spreadsheet you’ve ever used. Diving in, I was really hoping to love this app, to see real progress in the niche that is spreadsheets. Alas, it was not to be.
Permanent—which runs only in landscape mode—launches to a blank white canvas with a top and side frame. The side frame lists all your projects, while the top of the screen contains a few buttons and the title of the selected project.
The first time I tried to open the Demo Project, Permanent crashed. While this wasn’t encouraging, it opened successfully on the second try.
Once open, the Demo Project displays a work area with two overlapping worksheets, and two background images. On one sheet are the app’s 30 (yes, just 30) functions; the other shows some operators and examples of how they’re used. With only 30 functions, there’s obviously no compatibility with Numbers or Excel spreadsheets; only the simplest of spreadsheets would work. The two background pictures are apparently there to show you that you can, in fact, have pictures. That’s it as far as hands-on instruction goes; there’s no tutorial or manual to be seen.
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