The fine folks over at Ars Technica have done a very thorough review of what’s new in iWork ’09. Writing for Ars Technica, Iijitsch van Beijnum highlights what works in terms of the new features and what doesn’t.

New features reviewed:

• iWork Tutorials
• Template Chooser
• Send via email Share option
• iWork.com

Pages:

• Running word count
• Full screen mode
• Mail Merge
• Equations: MathType
• References: Endnote

Numbers:

• New number formats (duration, numeral system)
• Fill>Up, Fill>Left
• Formula List
• Reorganize Table function
• Category Rows

Keynote:

• Equations: MathType
• Share menu
• Touch gesture support for laptops with the latest trackpads
• Magic Move
• Text Transitions and Object Transitions
• Guide Lines
• New Presenter Display
• iPhone or iPod Touch Keynote Control app

Problems:

• No auto-save with any of the apps
• No support for OpenDocument format or SVG images
• iWork.com really doesn’t do much other than share documents

Pages:

• Endnotes & footnotes
• Equations: MathType

Numbers:

• Decimal point or comma and day and month still controlled by settings in System Preferences
• Reorganize Table panel is confusing

Keynote:

• No more export to Flash
• Send To>iDVD creates “terrible looking DVD’s”
• Missing some transitions from previous versions

van Beijnum concludes with:

“Other than the support for equations through MathType, and possibly references through Endnote, the improvements in iWork '09 are evolutionary, not revolutionary. When I look at the pros and cons in the iWork '08 review, they pretty much all apply to iWork '09, too. iWork.com and category rows are a nice try, but no cigar—yet. The only (possibly) compelling new feature is MathType. Everything else is mostly just polish.

So for the casual and non-mathematical iWork user, this upgrade isn’t really necessary. However, for the power users there is a lot to like, and for those who need an office suite, but don't have one yet, iWork'09 is a great value for the money. Microsoft Office may have more advanced features, and OpenOffice may be free, but neither of them is as polished, easy-to-use, or well-integrated with Mac OS X as iWork.”

If you’re on the fence on whether or not to upgrade, the review is a very good read. You can also download the 30 day iWork ’09 demo over at Apple.

Tags:review, iwork