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Microsoft Has 'No Current Plans' for Office on iPad
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I never thought this was likely (the MacBU always seems overworked and is still striving to get feature parity with the windows version), and a full version of office would be too much for an iPad device.
Still, this is a real bummer for people who need MS office compatibility for their jobs. Maybe the answer is an "office lite" suite- no need to port over all the features but at least bring something to the iPad that can allow me to edit an office document without permanently screwing it up (formatting, etc.).
Still, this is a real bummer for people who need MS office compatibility for their jobs. Maybe the answer is an "office lite" suite- no need to port over all the features but at least bring something to the iPad that can allow me to edit an office document without permanently screwing it up (formatting, etc.).
It dominates because it is an excellent product. Sure, most users don't take advantage of the more complex portions of the software (like a lot of the great things excel can do) and the tracking feature. Those are great features that might not be able to be duplicated in such a small format in a usable fashion. I enjoy iWork at home and personal stuff, but it cannot handle what I do for work -not even close. I imagine the iPad will be used to read such documents, but not edit in any real manner. Maybe document tweaking.
......and the sky is blue here in Los Angeles.
This does not surprise me at all.
A wait and see approach is the right one for MS at this point.
MS is hoping that one of their PC manufacturer buddies is able to build a competing tablet that will kill the iPad. Once that doesn't happen (I mean, I guess it could, but based on the iPhone/iPod touch dominance....), that's when we'll see Office on the iPad.
This does not surprise me at all.
A wait and see approach is the right one for MS at this point.
MS is hoping that one of their PC manufacturer buddies is able to build a competing tablet that will kill the iPad. Once that doesn't happen (I mean, I guess it could, but based on the iPhone/iPod touch dominance....), that's when we'll see Office on the iPad.
So, Windows users will get an iPad. They will not be able to get Microsoft Office, they will get iWork and decide they like it better. This is good for Apple, not so much for Microsoft. Come on Microsoft, Apple and Google both need competition, get off your backside and put something good together. Lets make this a three way race.
And that announcement killed the iPad for many businesses. iWork is not a replacement, as the iPad versions of Keynote and Numbers can only save files in their own file format or in pdf. That means you can't edit Numbers and Keynote documents (generated on an iPad) on a PC!
PS: And why does Apple ignore millions of sales by not releasing a Windows version of iLife and iWork?
PS: And why does Apple ignore millions of sales by not releasing a Windows version of iLife and iWork?
As most have said, no big loss. I can't wait to get rid of Office for Mac once I'm done with school this August.
Texteditor and my screenwriting software is more than enough and worthy rather than the headaches and cost of MS frustration (which I get too much of at work already).
For those that need office for business needs, sorry.
Texteditor and my screenwriting software is more than enough and worthy rather than the headaches and cost of MS frustration (which I get too much of at work already).
For those that need office for business needs, sorry.
Not a good strategy. If people are able to use iWork on the iPad for their MS files, people will get used to iWork and buy it for their next Mac instead of Office for Mac.
Seriously, Apple is going to win this war... while M$ twiddles their thumbs.
Seriously, Apple is going to win this war... while M$ twiddles their thumbs.
I'd like to see Office:Mac Touch show up for the iPad. I don't like iWork or any other competitors. In reality, while competitors are gaining ground slowly but surely, Office is still the standard in most industries.
Office:Mac and iWork have two different target groups. Just look at the screen shots on the Apple and the Microsoft Website. Apple's show things like "Soccer league table" or recipes. Microsoft's show business related examples.
My thought exactly. With iWork probably being ubiquitous on iPads due to their low price for their functionality and due to their heavy advertisement by Apple, iWork needs to be improved in order to handle almost full compatibility with Office docs. I say "almost full" because I acknowledge that it's very hard to get 100% accuracy with every type of document no matter how arcane its settings or contents. But if they can cover 95-99% of the cases, it's good enough for almost everyone.
And if that happens, no need for Office. In fact, with Google Docs available on the Web, and iWork on the iPad, I can't see any purpose for Office on the iPad.
I think we are reaching the post-Office world.
In no particular order...my thoughts:
1)I'm sure MS is waiting to see if the iPad is even remotely successful for MS to re-code MS Office for the iPad
2)I, an Excel, Word, and PPT user, wouldn't see much value for CREATING MS documents on an iPad. Sure, writing a very simple Word doc or a simple PPT...sure. But to actually create lovely documents, my fingers have far less control and accuracy than a mouse (margins, highlighting, etc) as well as using keyboard shortcuts (copy, paste, bold, italics, etc).
3)Building on #2, I would say there IS a market for people who simply want to READ an Excel or Word or PPT doc.
4)Remember, you can't print on the iPad...so that's a big problem for document creators and readers...a lot of us just like to see our finished work in paper so we can mark it up in pencil or whatever.
5)I would think MS would likely create some type of Free Reader like they already do (and have done for 10+ years) for their docs.
6)I'm sure there are plenty of iPad apps (already built in maybe) that can read a lot of MS docs.
7)As more MS Office docs get saved in non-MS-Office proprietary formats (the .DOC extension for example) the more their docs will be open-standardized and read by lots of stuff.
8)There are already numerous apps (paid and free) in the Windows world that can read and create MS docs (OpenOffice is one...and it's free)...so I would think MS might let someone else come along and do all the work
9)What is MS really going to charge for said apps? They can't sell Word for $10 when a)Word sells for about $75 on the street for Windows (at least it used to be unbundled...not sure about any more) b)Apple is selling apps for $10 (so lot of competition there...and might I say Apple has the upperhand on promoting its apps) and c)how much money and time is it going to take to create said MS Office iPad apps...what's the profit looking like for MS?
10)Although MS Office reigns supreme in the world, the consumers utilize about 10% of it's power. Business users are the ones that truly get their money's worth from MS Office.
Remember also that the iPad is geared towards consumers...not businesses. A VERY small percentage of people I know, need Office installed on their computer for personal use. Most downloaded docs are in PDF format. And when they need to open a Word or Excel doc, there are MS free viewers or free software...or they buy Office for $129. I would say 10% of all my friends and family have Office loaded on their computers....because they're just not getting Office docs for personal use. The 10% that are?...they have kids that write papers and got sucked into buying the entire suite instead of just Word.
-Eric
1)I'm sure MS is waiting to see if the iPad is even remotely successful for MS to re-code MS Office for the iPad
2)I, an Excel, Word, and PPT user, wouldn't see much value for CREATING MS documents on an iPad. Sure, writing a very simple Word doc or a simple PPT...sure. But to actually create lovely documents, my fingers have far less control and accuracy than a mouse (margins, highlighting, etc) as well as using keyboard shortcuts (copy, paste, bold, italics, etc).
3)Building on #2, I would say there IS a market for people who simply want to READ an Excel or Word or PPT doc.
4)Remember, you can't print on the iPad...so that's a big problem for document creators and readers...a lot of us just like to see our finished work in paper so we can mark it up in pencil or whatever.
5)I would think MS would likely create some type of Free Reader like they already do (and have done for 10+ years) for their docs.
6)I'm sure there are plenty of iPad apps (already built in maybe) that can read a lot of MS docs.
7)As more MS Office docs get saved in non-MS-Office proprietary formats (the .DOC extension for example) the more their docs will be open-standardized and read by lots of stuff.
8)There are already numerous apps (paid and free) in the Windows world that can read and create MS docs (OpenOffice is one...and it's free)...so I would think MS might let someone else come along and do all the work
9)What is MS really going to charge for said apps? They can't sell Word for $10 when a)Word sells for about $75 on the street for Windows (at least it used to be unbundled...not sure about any more) b)Apple is selling apps for $10 (so lot of competition there...and might I say Apple has the upperhand on promoting its apps) and c)how much money and time is it going to take to create said MS Office iPad apps...what's the profit looking like for MS?
10)Although MS Office reigns supreme in the world, the consumers utilize about 10% of it's power. Business users are the ones that truly get their money's worth from MS Office.
Remember also that the iPad is geared towards consumers...not businesses. A VERY small percentage of people I know, need Office installed on their computer for personal use. Most downloaded docs are in PDF format. And when they need to open a Word or Excel doc, there are MS free viewers or free software...or they buy Office for $129. I would say 10% of all my friends and family have Office loaded on their computers....because they're just not getting Office docs for personal use. The 10% that are?...they have kids that write papers and got sucked into buying the entire suite instead of just Word.
-Eric
Bank on Office coming out for iPad... a couple years down the road. Microsoft is just following their script when it comes to anything Apple related these days:
1. Scoff
2. Feign high minded disinterest
3. Rush a copycat product to market after they realize all the money they're leaving on the table for Steve and Co.
I'm a little disappointed they aren't jumping on doing Office for iPad actually. As a lawyer, I (alas, regretfully) sometimes need to have pixel perfect compatibility with Office to do my work. It's not that iWork can't produce the same documents, it's that stick in the mud collegues/opposing counsel are married to Word (and even Wordperfect!) Anyway, I'm hoping the Dataviz's of the world put out something with great Word fidelity for iPad and I can continue the slow process of de-MSFT-ing my life
Funny and you nailed it. MS sticks their head in the sand and pretends not to care until its too late and they have xerox some app to get it out the door and pretend likes its the second coming.
their loss... not ours.
Pretty sad for them. A company with as many resources as MS could spit out iPad versions of office without too much effort. So, now they lose out instead, and force people realize there are better solutions out there anyway.
Pretty sad for them. A company with as many resources as MS could spit out iPad versions of office without too much effort. So, now they lose out instead, and force people realize there are better solutions out there anyway.
Certainly are getting closer to that world. I'm a little surprised by MS's reaction to the iPad. They must know it's going to be a success so why shut out all those potential customers and miss the opportunity to entrench Office on yet another platform. I use both iWork and Office. IMHO Keynote is far superior to PowerPoint but Word beats Pages. I don't really use Excel or Numbers so I'm more indifferent to those applications. Let's see how this impacts iWork's popularity....
Reason? Microsoft is prepping (or developing) for the release/announcement of their own tablet (see: Courier), and are probably devoting their time to a touch-ready Office version for their own device. Why port your much-acclaimed Office suite to the iPad when you can tout that your own tablet will have *native* support for all your documents. Makes sense to me.
Just speculation.
Just speculation.
And that announcement killed the iPad for many businesses. iWork is not a replacement, as the iPad versions of Keynote and Numbers can only save files in their own file format or in pdf. That means you can't edit Numbers and Keynote documents (generated on an iPad) on a PC!
PS: And why does Apple ignore millions of sales by not releasing a Windows version of iLife and iWork?
I doubt that this announcement will kill the iPad for many businesses, but it will limit how it will be used.
In a few sentences you articulated very well the worst deficiencies of iWork, and by not releasing a PC version of iWork Apple is throwing a major barrier up for businesses to develop a work-around that would allow them to use iWork in a Heavy PC work environment.
Now, all that said, using the "cloud" may be a way for both Apple and MS to make their products available cross-platform without developing their applications to sit directly on the different devices.
The iPad is a consumer mobile device, Office is an enterprise software suite.
...why is anyone surprised that they're not going to bother porting it to the iPad? Mobile software/hardware is hardly Microsoft's bread and butter.
...why is anyone surprised that they're not going to bother porting it to the iPad? Mobile software/hardware is hardly Microsoft's bread and butter.
Surest sign yet that Microsoft is worried about iPad catching on in a very big way.
Office suite is their biggest piece of leverage when it comes to a different platform. If business users are debating between a MS product (Courier/laptop/netbook/whatever) and an iPhone OS product, and one product has full Office support and the other doesn't... business users will go with the Office-sanctioned product.
At least that's how it is supposed to work. This smells like the kind of hardball Apple is playing with Flash. Difference is, Apple has done a very good job of framing that debate to the point where Flash is the problem (I agree with them, but that's neither here nor there).
This debate is something different. If iPad owners are many, and Office is not available, Microsoft will either have to acquiesce.. or Office-compatible alternatives will take hold. If the latter happens, Office no longer has control of the mindshare.
Interesting.
Office suite is their biggest piece of leverage when it comes to a different platform. If business users are debating between a MS product (Courier/laptop/netbook/whatever) and an iPhone OS product, and one product has full Office support and the other doesn't... business users will go with the Office-sanctioned product.
At least that's how it is supposed to work. This smells like the kind of hardball Apple is playing with Flash. Difference is, Apple has done a very good job of framing that debate to the point where Flash is the problem (I agree with them, but that's neither here nor there).
This debate is something different. If iPad owners are many, and Office is not available, Microsoft will either have to acquiesce.. or Office-compatible alternatives will take hold. If the latter happens, Office no longer has control of the mindshare.
Interesting.
And just for the record, outside of the potential slight-bulkiness to it, Courier does look amazing.Reason? Microsoft is prepping (or developing) for the release/announcement of their own tablet (see: Courier), and are probably devoting their time to a touch-ready Office version for their own device. Why port your much-acclaimed Office suite to the iPad when you can tout that your own tablet will have *native* support for all your documents. Makes sense to me.
Just speculation.
From the MS perspective, it must be hard as hell trying to keep up with Apple.
Well, well... Looks like the turntables... Umm
(Michael Scott)
Well, well... Looks like the turntables... Umm
(Michael Scott)
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All this talk of courier drives me nuts. I feel like Frank Grimes In the Simpsons, where it seems no one else can see the stupidity that is plain to him.
Think of everything you've seen the Courier video do. Think of all the touching, swiping, pen use, etc. Now take a deep breath and imagine an ipad app with a browser in it. Just touch and hold an image and a list of options comes up: email, copy, move, save, etc. You've just imagined doing everything courier does but way better. It's only complicated on the courier and it's just been a scrapbooking demo.
Ok. That aside....
Apple needs to make iWork.com competitive with Google Docs. Keep everything fairly standards based so it doesn't matter where you are sending what. Apple can catch up to most of Word and Excel no problem. Leave the most technical stuff to MS excel users so as not to risk complicating a decent general purpose spreadsheet app on the iPad.
All this talk of courier drives me nuts. I feel like Frank Grimes In the Simpsons, where it seems no one else can see the stupidity that is plain to him.
Think of everything you've seen the Courier video do. Think of all the touching, swiping, pen use, etc. Now take a deep breath and imagine an ipad app with a browser in it. Just touch and hold an image and a list of options comes up: email, copy, move, save, etc. You've just imagined doing everything courier does but way better. It's only complicated on the courier and it's just been a scrapbooking demo.
Ok. That aside....
Apple needs to make iWork.com competitive with Google Docs. Keep everything fairly standards based so it doesn't matter where you are sending what. Apple can catch up to most of Word and Excel no problem. Leave the most technical stuff to MS excel users so as not to risk complicating a decent general purpose spreadsheet app on the iPad.
I'm deeply troubled that I won't be able to spent way too much for a horrid platform Apple does better with cheaper software.
Sure, Excel still has the edge on higher function, but spending $500+ for the suite just to get some numbers arranged in rocket science isn't going to be worth it.
Sure, Excel still has the edge on higher function, but spending $500+ for the suite just to get some numbers arranged in rocket science isn't going to be worth it.