You don't often see the words "free" and "Microsoft Office" in the same sentence – especially when it comes to iPad apps that let you access your Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on the go – but a new download called CloudOn does let you create, view, and edit Microsoft Office files directly on your tablet.

Before we get into the details, there are a couple of catches. You need a Dropbox account to store and access your files, but at least you can sign up for free. And if the name of the app didn't give it away, CloudOn requires an Internet connection to use, as all your files are stored online via Dropbox. Even though you can open an email attachment on your iPad though CloudOn, you still need an Internet connection to perform the task.

If you can get past these conditions, CloudOn can be a handy productivity tool.

I tested the app by first uploading a bunch of Microsoft Word and Excel files on my PC, and then launching the app on the iPad. You're first prompted to type in your Dropbox login information (including password) before you see your files. You can select to log you on automatically going forward or you can be prompted to enter the password each time.

Now you can tap on the file you'd like to open, such as abc.docx, and you'll see it full screen in landscape view. All of the Office options, tabs and pull-down menus at the top of the screen will be familiar to you. But once you launch the keyboard to edit the document, be aware it takes up a lot of the screen real estate -- too bad you can't view or edit files in portrait view. I tried to open a PDF document but it wasn't supported, nor can you access other types of files, such as music, photos or videos.

You can also create Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on your iPad, which are then saved to your Dropbox account to be accessed later on (even on multiple devices, if desired). It's also possible to rename and delete documents from within Dropbox; spell check, track changes and insert comments; and view and edit animation and transition sequences in your PowerPoint presentations.

Despite its limitations, CloudOn is a completely free way to give you Microsoft Office to go on your iPad, whether you're on Wi-Fi or 3G. While not perfect, it's hard to argue with a free solution that lets you access, manage, edit and create Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.