Microsoft Office for iPad Awaiting Completion of 'Touch First' Interface for Windows Version

[rfahey]

Too little, much too late. No one in their right mind is going to pay 99/year to have access to word/exce/powerpoint when they can get those applications for free on all their devices, in their native formats, and anywhere they want via the cloud. For free.

did I mention F-R-E-E?

 

[m98custom1212]

Meanwhile the dominance of Office continues to slip as droves switch to mobile Google Docs and now "Apple Office"

No it doesn't

 

[atrevers]

For the consumer Microsoft Office is not relevant anymore, Google docs and Apple's suite of App's cover everything.

Consumers aren't necessarily the driver for Microsoft - especially when it comes to Office. Opening Office to iOS devices won't specifically be the death of Surface, but it will be released as a way of avoiding the death of Microsoft's true "cash cow" - enterprise licenses. With BYOD more people are choosing iOS and Android devices than MS devices, so they need to ensure they are offering apps to those users that keep them tied into MS server technologies (Exchange, Active Directory, Sharepoint etc). At the end of the day, CAL (client access license) sales are far more valuable to MS Surface sales.

I strongly suspect that when they release Office for iOS, they'll release an Android version at the same time.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

The mystery that is Microsoft.

Create Windows 8, create the Surface to go alongside it (and in process, compete with your own customers), target the competitor with lame adverts, then develop Office for the iPad.

Somewhere, Bill Gates is being told to stop face-palming under the grounds that his head is now flat.

 

[giantfan1224]

The longer MS waits to make this available on iOS, the more isolated they will become in the mobile market and the less relevant they will make themselves as a software company--not to mention a hardware company. I understand that they want to leverage office to make their own platform more successful but that's a dangerous line that if not managed correctly, could spell doom for them.

 

[xVeinx]

Maybe i'm in the minority when i think "Touch First" for some applications renders them next to useless.

I wonder about how they are implementing it myself. If they mess up Office, it could cost them. They can't afford to not listen to people's opinions this time around...

That said, MS Office isn't going to magically die. iWork and Google Docs are not sufficient--feature wise--for a large corporation yet. In time they may be, but for the moment Office still has a stranglehold on that market.

 

[Bilbo63]

The bigger question is why?

Is Office really that relevant anymore? There are many other alternatives that are available now that can do the job.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

The bigger question is why?

Is Office really that relevant anymore? There are many other alternatives that are available now that can do the job.

Compatibility. There are of course other options for viewing or editing Office files, but not all of them offer the same depth or formatting.

 

[pacmania1982]

I really don’t see whats taking them so long. If they can release OneNote for the iPad that is AWESOME then why is it taking so long for Word, Excel and Powerpoint??!

I mean look! http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/01/onenote/

pac

 

[Tiger8]

Microsoft needs to break into separate companies. There is no way the Office division should have to wait for the hardware division before becoming established on the iOS platform. What a huge wasted opportunity.

yea let's break Apple in separate companies too, there's no way iOS should wait for limited hardware... oh wait, was it the other way around?

 

[Tjosansa]

Ballmer can stick it up his @ss.

Im now familiar with Pages and Numbers.. Dont need Office anymore.

 

[brewno]

Now that iWork is free for new buyers, it's competing with Microsoft hand to hand. No wonder they will release it soon.

 

[Tiger8]

For the consumer Microsoft Office is not relevant anymore, Google docs and Apple's suite of App's cover everything.

I'm not a Microsoft fan but I have to stop you right there. You are clearly misinformed if you think either product is anywhere close to what Office does.

There is still no alternative for macros in Excel, and a million other functions. Just because you don't do anything more than edit documents and sheets does not make your experience typical for the consumer.

 

[Carlanga]

I still prefer 2003 Word, the rest of the apps I can take the ribbons in Windows.
d

 

[Rogifan]

Microsoft needs to break into separate companies. There is no way the Office division should have to wait for the hardware division before becoming established on the iOS platform. What a huge wasted opportunity.

And then you have Microsoft and their OEM's bashing iPad in TV ads. Microsoft is a mess. They're trying to be horizontal and vertical at the same time. They need to split Xbox, Surface and Windows Phone in to a separate company. And then Windows, Office, Server and enterprise stuff would be an IBM like company. Get someone like J Allard to run the hardware company and run it more like a startup.

 

[Technarchy]

Ballmer can stick it up his @ss.

Im now familiar with Pages and Numbers.. Dont need Office anymore.

I haven't used Office in my home in over a year.

Between iWork and Google Drive the odds of me ever buying MSFT Office ever again is unlikely.

Microsoft needs to come to terms with the fact that Windows and Office are in decline now that people have figured you that you don't "need" those products.

For every one person that swears up and down that Office and Windows are critical to their life, there is 100 that have moved on competing products and services.

 

[TMac923]

I'm not a Microsoft fan but I have to stop you right there. You are clearly misinformed if you think either product is anywhere close to what Office does.

There is still no alternative for macros in Excel, and a million other functions. Just because you don't do anything more than edit documents and sheets does not make your experience typical for the consumer.

I somewhat agree also. Why can't Mac handle/create macros. If it weren't for that I would be almost 100% switched to iWork as we'll instead of Office.

 

[StuBeck]

Microsoft needs to break into separate companies. There is no way the Office division should have to wait for the hardware division before becoming established on the iOS platform. What a huge wasted opportunity.

Thats not what happened at all. The Office division is in the process of creating a touch version of Office. Once that is ready, they will release it on iOS as well.

----------

I haven't used Office in my home in over a year.

Between iWork and Google Drive the odds of me ever buying MSFT Office ever again is unlikely.

Microsoft needs to come to terms with the fact that Windows and Office are in decline now that people have figured you that you don't "need" those products.

For every one person that swears up and down that Office and Windows are critical to their life, there is 100 that have moved on competing products and services.

No.

 

[Luap]

BUT WAIT!! Microsoft just gave me $200 for my iPad towards a Surface tablet. And now they make software for the iPad that I don't even have, because, well, they are probably sticking it through an industrial grade shredder as I type.




I jest

 

[ValSalva]

yea let's break Apple in separate companies too, there's no way iOS should wait for limited hardware... oh wait, was it the other way around?

Apple is a hardware company. Period. There are no strict divisions. The same teams work across all products. It's rare for a company its size but it works for Apple. Microsoft on the other hand would most likely benefit from a voluntary break into separate companies. They are their own worst enemy.

 

[Rigby]

The bigger question is why?

Is Office really that relevant anymore? There are many other alternatives that are available now that can do the job.

Not in the corporate world, which is Office's biggest market. Full compatibility (read and write) with the MS document formats is paramount, and most big corporations run large Sharepoint deployments on their intranets.

Also, I'm wondering how relevant office apps on touch devices really are. The most I have done so far on the iPad is reviewing documents and sometimes showing Powerpoint decks (converted to PDF). When it comes to creating documents, I far prefer a laptop, since typing on a touch device is just a pain compared to a real keyboard.

 

[kenetic]

iWork is free! Do you still want replacement?

 

[notjustjay]

Apple is a hardware company. Period. There are no strict divisions. The same teams work across all products. It's rare for a company its size but it works for Apple. Microsoft on the other hand would most likely benefit from a voluntary break into separate companies. They are their own worst enemy.

It's probably easier for Apple though because each one drives the other by necessity. If you buy Apple software (even from the competition), you need Apple hardware to run it on, and you can only buy that from Apple. Conversely, Apple is working hard to ensure that you buy lots of their software (iWork, Final Cut Pro, Logic, etc.) when you buy their hardware.

Apple doesn't really care if you prefer iWork or Microsoft Office -- they made much of their profit already on your iMac or MacBook Pro.

The same is not as true of Microsoft. If you buy a PC and choose not to buy Office, they only profit from the sale of the Windows OS license, if even that (e.g. Linux PCs).

 

[TouchMint.com]

This must be a hard decision for them. They want their platform to have an advantage but they know they can make a ton off just the software sales of office on another platform. =/

 

[notjustjay]

This must be a hard decision for them. They want their platform to have an advantage but they know they can make a ton off just the software sales of office on another platform. =/

The company, any company, goal is to make money. Period. Can you make money off someone else's platform? Do it! The only financial reason not to would be if doing so would cause you to lose money in the long run, say by cannibalizing sales of your own product. But then they could just adjust the pricing higher to compensate.

Apple learned this lesson with the original iPod, which was Mac-only. They refused to make a Windows compatible version (eewww, Windows) but eventually they realized they'd make more money AND entice people to switch away from Windows to a Mac (the halo effect).