After much speculation and discussion about mobile versions of Microsoft Office heading to Android and iOS, there’s now a report suggesting it could be available as early as March next year. It’s a strategy that would increase Microsoft’s presence in the mobile world, even though it might take attention away from its own mobile operating systems.
According to sources cited by The Verge, an official iPhone and iPad version of Microsoft Office will be available in March, while the Android version is slated for a later release in May. There are a couple catches, though.
The Android and iOS apps will reportedly only allow users to read their Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. They will not be able to edit them from their mobile device. That is, unless users pay for a premium subscription to Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud-based platform that gives users access to their documents from any computer (and now it seems any device, too).
So this looks to be a way to get users to sign up for Office 365, which so far has not really garnered a lot of mainstream attention. It also keeps a competitive advantage for Windows Phone 8, which has more robust Office integration built in.
Microsoft has not made an official announcement just yet about the expansion of its mobile Office presence, but it certainly seems like a natural extension of the company’s mobile strategy. Of course, Microsoft has been enhancing its mobile strategy for a couple years now, and when is the last time you heard someone rushing to the store to pick up the latest Windows Phone?
#Nice one
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