Microsoft has gone ahead and released "Office Everywhere, For Everyone". The company explained that "The world has changed. People expect to use Office on all their devices, and now they can". To implement its vision Microsoft is releasing new core Office apps for both iPhone and iPad, a preview of Office for Android tablet is said to be coming soon and these mobile users will all be able to create and edit Office documents without needing a subscription. In other Office news Windows touch users will be getting an optimised version of Office for Windows 10.
The new mobile Microsoft Office apps for iPhone and for iPad are available to download now. Existing users should opt to update to enable the expanded features and "do more and achieve more". Both types of iOS devices get updates to the core Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps so they can create and edit on the go.
Android tablet users need only wait until "early 2015" for their Office apps to arrive. We expect the features and functionality to echo that on the iPad and the core apps of Word, Excel and PowerPoint are said to be destined on the Google mobile OS. There was no mention of a version of Office customised for Android smartphones. Interested Android users can sign up for the preview starting today.
Inking in Android Office
While the above mobile apps are/will be free for the creation and editing of documents what are the benefits of Office 365 paid subscriptions for mobile users? Obviously the subscription gives you the desktop computer Office suite and Microsoft says that subscribers also get "advanced editing and collaboration capabilities, unlimited OneDrive storage, Dropbox integration and a number of other benefits".
The long awaited touch version of Office for Windows touch users has also been previewed by Microsoft. A few screenshots of 'Office for Windows 10' are revealed in a press release (scroll to bottom of page) and we are told that "additional details will be shared at a later date".
Excel for Windows 10
With its recent surprise move to partner with Dropbox and this free Office on mobile initiative it looks like Microsoft is really putting an effort into crushing the office productivity software competition.
