Microsoft seems to be preparing to release its Microsoft Office suite for both Apple's iOS and Google's Android this fall, although the company previously denied such rumors. According to a new Boy Genius Report (BGR) report on Wednesday, May 23, citing a "reliable source," the software is expected to be ready for a November release.
The new report from BGR falls in line with a previous report from The Daily back in February, which claimed to have seen a working prototype of Microsoft Office on an iPad. Microsoft rushed to deny those claims, dismissing them as "inaccurate rumors and speculation." Despite Microsoft's firm denial at the time, BGR's source now claims the opposite. "Our source has seen Microsoft Office running on an iPad first-hand and has said that it looks almost identical to the previous leak from The Daily a few months back," wrote BGR.
No Comment from Microsoft
Moreover, the loading screen of the Office app reportedly says "Office for iOS," which could indicate the application may also be compatible with Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. An Office app for Android tablets will also reportedly launch in November, along with the iOS version. Microsoft offered no comment this time, and pricing, features, and other such details of the software are still unknown.
Launching a mobile version of Office for both Android and iOS platforms would be a smart move for Microsoft. When it comes to market share, the software giant's Windows Phone trails behind larger competitors, and while Windows 8 is designed to be tablet-friendly, there is still no guarantee that other tablets will keep up with the market-leading iPad.
Popular Productivity Apps
Furthermore, as PCWorld points out, increasingly more users are turning to productivity apps. In the Productivity category in Apple's iTunes App Store, Apple's Pages, Keynote, and Numbers apps have constantly been featured in the top 10 bestsellers ever since the iWork for iPad was launched in January 2010. As of Wednesday evening, PCWorld notes, Pages ranked third, Keynote ninth, and Numbers ranked eleventh in the Productivity category. While such apps work fairly well, they do have their drawbacks and Microsoft can definitely build better support than Apple for its Office suite. Should this rumor prove to be accurate, it wouldn't be the first time Microsoft offers software options for Apple's iOS, as it has already offered options such as Bing, OneNote, SkyDrive, MyXbox Live, and other.
