As soon as the iPad inspired a slurry of Android clones I’m sure more than a few writers thought, “Now I can write that novel or screenplay in bed, waiting at the doctor office, or yes, even while sitting on the toilet!”

But wait! Not so fast. How does the state of the art stack up for mobile writing? Can you actually use a tablet for writing just yet? Let’s look at the state of writing software on mobile devices.

Production

• Scrivener – From the Scrivener blog; “…the Scrivener team is looking at the possibility of an iPad version down the road.” Syncing from Simplenote is available. [Update]: Tablet usage of Scrivener for Windows on a Surface Pro, but not the Surface RT.
• SuperNotecard – No mobile app, but if you’re a registered user you can sign up for a profile and enter note cards on the Mindola website, which can be synced to SuperNotecard.
• Celtx – Mobile apps available.
• Final Draft – Nothing. No mobile app.

Mind Mapping

• Mind Manager – Mindjet has a mobile app.
• Freemind – Nada.

Docs & Notes

The news gets considerably better in the area of note-taking apps. There seem to be a ton of them for both platforms.

• Google Docs?(now Google Drive)?- iOS, Android.
• Evernote – iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry, Palm Pre.
• Catch – iOS, Android.
• Springpad – iOS, Android.
• Simplenote – iOS.
• MS OneNote – Windows Phone 7, iPhone.

Blogging

No shortage there either.

• Blogpress – Blogger app on iPhone/iPad.
• WordPress – iOS, Android.
• Tumblr – iOS, Android.

Verdict?

Spring for a highly expensive Windows tablet if you want to be able to run “everything,” otherwise the iPad is your best bet for things like Celtx. Software developers, game on!

P.S. Posted from WordPress for Android on Motorola Xoom.