Thinkfree Office

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Developer(s)Thinkfree Inc.
Initial release4 July 2000; 23 years ago (2000-07-04)
Operating systemOnline; read only: iOS, Android
PlatformWeb application
Standard(s)Office Open XML, OpenDocument: ISO/IEC 26300-3:2015
Available in14 languages
List of languages
Korean, English, German, French, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (United States), Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Thai, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional).
TypeOffice suite, project management
LicenseProprietary
Websitethinkfree.com

Thinkfree Office is a web-based commercial office productivity suite developed by Thinkfree Inc. It includes Write (word processor), Calc (spreadsheet), and Show (presentation software).[1][2][3]

They are compatible with Microsoft Office's Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. It also features collaborative editing.[4][5] The product is hosted on the client’s server.

History[edit]

In June 2000, Thinkfree Inc. released Thinkfree Office, based in Silicon Valley, California.[6] It is recognized as the world's first online office editor (predating Google Docs and Microsoft 365) and attracted significant media coverage, including reports on CNN.[7] In a magazine interview from 2001, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer highlighted Thinkfree as a significant competitor, considering it a potential threat to his company, second only to Linux.[8]

In 2004, Thinkfree expanded into other foreign markets. In January, Subsidiary Haansoft USA, Inc. was created in San Jose, California to begin formal commercial operations in the US market.[citation needed] At the same time, a partnership was established with Riverdeep with the purpose of improving marketshare.[9][10] In February, expansion into the Japanese market began. A commercial agency agreement was signed with PSI in Shinjuku, Japan, which allowed for localized distribution. In addition, a global agreement was entered into with Yamada Denki, one of the three main computer distributors in Japan, for a total of 180,000 units.[11]

In May 2006, Thinkfree Office received the "Product of the Year" award at the Well-Connected Awards, USA.[12] In January 2009, Thinkfree Mobile was launched at CES 2009 in Las Vegas.[13] In April 2009, Thinkfree Live, Korea's first web office service,[citation needed] was launched. In June 2018, a partnership was formed with Amazon Web Services to integrate Thinkfree Office into WorkDocs, an in-house office suite.[14]

Acquirement by Hancom[edit]

In November 2003, Hancom, an office software company, signed a memorandum of understanding and subsequently acquired Thinkfree.[15] In October 2023, Hancom split its online office business unit as "Thinkfree Inc.".

In 2003, the South Korean software company Hancom acquired the Thinkfree brand and software products.[16] In October 2023, Hancom spun off its online office business unit as "Thinkfree Inc.".[citation needed]

Supported file formats[edit]

Thinkfree Office supports ISO/IEC international standard ISO/IEC 26300 Open Document Format for Office Applications (odf, odt, odp, ods, odg).[citation needed] It also supports Microsoft's XML formats (docx, pptx, xlsx) and Microsoft's legacy binary formats (doc, ppt, xls).

Naming[edit]

The software was previously marketed under different names, such as Thinkfree Server, Thinkfree Online, Hancom Office Online, and Hancom Office Web.[citation needed] Eventually, the brand was consolidated under the name Thinkfree Office.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Krasnoff, Barbara (20 December 2006). "Review: ThinkFree Office Suite Attracts Users -- And Google". Information Week. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  2. ^ Cohen, Peter (6 March 2006). "ThinkFree Office Online adds Flickr support". Mac World. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  3. ^ Hopkins, Brent (1 February 2011). "ThinkFree Office Mobile Helps You Get Work Done on the Go". Pc World. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  4. ^ Golightly, Daniel (3 October 2017). "Thinkfree Brings Dex-Ready Office Suite To Galaxy Devices". Android Headlines. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  5. ^ Byfield, Bruce (25 May 2006). "Review: ThinkFree Online". Linux.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  6. ^ Mosher Zinck, Barb (24 July 2009). "Office Productivity in the Clouds: ThinkFree Online". CMSWIRE. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  7. ^ Cox, John (20 June 2000). "Free Java-based office suite to make debut". CNN. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Renaissance Now Shaping Another Breakthrough". SDF. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  9. ^ "한컴, 해외시장 공략 본격화". Sedaily. 22 December 2003. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  10. ^ "'한컴' 미국시장 공략 가시화". Korea Times. 11 February 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  11. ^ "[정보통신] 한컴, 미국이어 일본 공략 닻 올렸다". Sedaily. 1 April 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  12. ^ "한컴 '씽크프리', 美서 '올해의 제품상' 수상". Inews24. 3 May 2006. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  13. ^ Bhatt, Hetal (29 May 2009). "ThinkFree Unveils First Complete Office Productivity Suite for Android-based Mobile Devices". It Wire. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  14. ^ Barr, Jeff (21 June 2018). "New Collaborative Editing for Amazon WorkDocs – Powered by Hancom Thinkfree Office Online". Amazon. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  15. ^ "한글과컴퓨터, 씽크프리 인수". Naver. 11 November 2003. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  16. ^ Jee-hyung Kim, Kate (30 January 2012). "Hancom Takes Vision of Information Independence to the Globe". Korea IT Times. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
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