Yes, there is no print option. I hope Microsoft adds it at some point, but that isn't a deal breaker for me.
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Microsoft Launching Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for iPad Today
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Yes, there is no print option. I hope Microsoft adds it at some point, but that isn't a deal breaker for me.
Most people don't need all of that, especially the Skype part. Just to put it out there, I work in a corporate environment and have done so for the past 15 years. Back in the day it was all about Microsoft Office and everything it could bring. Fast Forward today, Word is extremely limited in terms of necessity and I can't remember when the last time a Word doc was passed along through the company. 99.9% of the time whomever started it in Word converts it to a PDF so everyone can view without issue. It's been years since Word Docs have been passed around in my business for others to edit.
Powerpoint is weaksauce and Excel is the only big carrot that MS holds in it's hand to lure the Office faithful.
To pay $8+ per month (broken down) for 3rd party software that requires me to login to use each time to verify that my account is still active vs. a very capable and free suite of office apps developed and supported by the same company that creates the hardware I purchased to install it on doesn't make me want the paid 3rd party product very much.
BTW, you're doing an awful lot of selling for Microsoft there.
Most people don't need all of that, especially the Skype part. Just to put it out there, I work in a corporate environment and have done so for the past 15 years. Back in the day it was all about Microsoft Office and everything it could bring. Fast Forward today, Word is extremely limited in terms of necessity and I can't remember when the last time a Word doc was passed along through the company. 99.9% of the time whomever started it in Word converts it to a PDF so everyone can view without issue. It's been years since Word Docs have been passed around in my business for others to edit.
Powerpoint is weaksauce and Excel is the only big carrot that MS holds in it's hand to lure the Office faithful.
To pay $8+ per month (broken down) for 3rd party software that requires me to login to use each time to verify that my account is still active vs. a very capable and free suite of office apps developed and supported by the same company that creates the hardware I purchased to install it on doesn't make me want the paid 3rd party product very much.
BTW, you're doing an awful lot of selling for Microsoft there.
I am just very happy to see Microsoft doing the right thing here. They admitted defeat in the mobile world and gave use the best Office suite for our favorite devices. That there would be a price to pay, that was a given from the beginning.
I used to work for Microsoft, but have criticized them very bad many times (and still do). I didn't expect them to deliver a good Office client on the iPad, but they did, so kudos to them!
I hope that Office 2014 for the Mac, that it will be also great. The current version isn't good enough...
Today they deserve praise.
Many other times they didn't. Windows 8 for example, is a bad OS and should never happen.
Today they deserve an Eddie Haskell smack to the forehead.
Omitting an outright purchase option for home users is inexcusable. Microsoft defenders are talking about how great a "bargain" Office 365 subscription is. And for some it is. But for the rest of us, why not give us a straight-out purchase option? Even it is is costlier to the customer if the customer is willing, why not?
Pay for an Office 365 subscription after I've already purchased Office 2011 for Mac Pro *AND* Office 2013 for my laptop - just so I can edit the occasional Excel spreadsheet? The hell you say.
Google docs (despite being somewhat more primitive) just got a whole lot better in my eyes...
Google docs (despite being somewhat more primitive) just got a whole lot better in my eyes...
The no print option isn't a deal breaker for me either.
Something that does make it very limiting for me is not having an option to favourite files so they can be accessed offline. It means you are constantly relying on an internet connection.
Again, the big $ for MS is w/ enterprise contracts. The people you are talking about have to either put up or shut up but either way MS (and Adobe for that matter) doesn't care because cumulatively they don't add up to significant revenue. It's tough for us small people to grasp, but it's reality none-the-less.
But having Office for the iPad strengthens the iPad as a professional work creation device & also preserves the Office franchise. If you are in a real business you need Office. Period. That's how everything is distributed.
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It was odd that Micro$oft used an iPad and iPhone in the demo today. Did they even mention their hardware? That is a surprisng change.
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A lot of companies are not going to allow Onedrive storage for corp docs. The fact that you are so limited on the backend is an issue.
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A lot of companies are not going to allow Onedrive storage for corp docs. The fact that you are so limited on the backend is an issue.
Subscription? No thanks. Microsoft needs to get a reality check. Although I am curious as to how well it'll sell - I mean 'rent.'
That's the "phone" version. Also available free for iPhone. It doesn't have the features of the iPad versions.
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Microsoft would tell you that you should have bought a subscription to Office 365 to begin with. The you would have had Office for both Mac and PC, plus all the features in the iPad versions.
Not saying it's worth it. Just sayin'...
If your company uses SP and if they allow that connection. Mine doesn't allow the lattter.
I've just previewed all the apps, and the only one that makes sense for me to load is PowerPoint for a presentation emergency backup - just in case my work-supplied Windows 7 laptop barfs up a BSOD during a meeting (again).
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I am not really sure if Microsoft is really late on this. Software takes time to be developed and ported. I have not yet tested Office for iPad, and I have no idea on how much effort Microsoft put on it.
But look at the alternatives.
iWork for iPad was released shortly after the release of the 1st gen iPad. But, first, it was an Apple release, so it was in development much earlier than the release of the iPad itself. Second, it was a lesser office suite than its Mac counterpart. Feature parity was only achieved in 2013, and only because Apple stripped iWork for Mac of some features. It's definitely not very inspiring, especially considering that iWork is an Apple product.
Neither LibreOffice nor OpenOffice were ever ported to the iPad. Not even Android (which is Linux-based) got a LibreOffice or OpenOffice version yet.
Yes, there are office suites for the iPad. But they not very polished and lack features compared to the full Microsoft Office.
The iPad does not have lots of complex applications. Most iPad apps are simple pieces of software, which is something that takes less time to be released.
Microsoft may be late in the sense that it should have launched an Office app for the iPad before. But, compared to the alternatives, it is not really late to release full-featured software.
I got the apps, but I never really had a NEED to use Word, Excel or PowerPoint on my iPad. It's super useful on my MacBook Air, but not so much on the iPad.
If you need Office compatibility and need to also use office on a PC or mac then this is a great deal.
You get the latest versions of office each year for mac or PC and you don't have to pay for multiple licenses on each PC or mac in your home and you get the iPad version thrown in essentially for free. If you have relatives overseas, the Skype calling can save some money too.
But you guys, go ahead and continue with the hate fest.
99 bucks is less than what I spend on commuting each month to work.
PS. They definitely need to add printing and fix a few other issues but overall I am pretty impressed. You can sign up for the trial for 30 days in case you didn't know.
You get the latest versions of office each year for mac or PC and you don't have to pay for multiple licenses on each PC or mac in your home and you get the iPad version thrown in essentially for free. If you have relatives overseas, the Skype calling can save some money too.
But you guys, go ahead and continue with the hate fest.
99 bucks is less than what I spend on commuting each month to work.
PS. They definitely need to add printing and fix a few other issues but overall I am pretty impressed. You can sign up for the trial for 30 days in case you didn't know.
The no print option isn't a deal breaker for me either.
Something that does make it very limiting for me is not having an option to favourite files so they can be accessed offline. It means you are constantly relying on an internet connection.
The only way I've found to get offline access is to "pin" the document in the Recents folder. But this means you have to do it for every file individually. It's a much clumsier implementation than iCloud and iWork.
Subscription based pricing
I just don't like having to subscribe. I use Microsoft Office for Mac on my MacBook Pro. It was expensive compared to other Apps for Apple but I only had to buy a license once.
I just don't like having to subscribe. I use Microsoft Office for Mac on my MacBook Pro. It was expensive compared to other Apps for Apple but I only had to buy a license once.