Microsoft Office en route to iPhone?
updated 03:25 pm EDT, Thu April 2, 2009
Office coming to iPhone?
Some form of Office may indeed be headed to the iPhone, Microsoft's Business Division president has suggested. Stephen Elop made comments to the effect at this week's Web 2.0 Expo, cautioning that while people should "keep watching," nothing is on track for a near-future release. Microsoft has hinted at some form of Office support for the iPhone for over a year.
The addition of Office to the iPhone could substantially improve the appeal of the device for business buyers, offering the ability to browse and edit frequently-used document formats. An app or series of apps could simultaneously undermine Windows Mobile however, which has long held the inclusion of Office has an inherent advantage over other smartphone platforms. Apple has already lured in some business clients by introducing Microsoft Exchange support through the iPhone 2.0 firmware.
Elop meanwhile notes that Microsoft intends to launch an online, ad-supported version of Office, but not before the end of 2009.
I'd be impressed
04/02, 04:23pm (1 reply) reply
Twenty years of Microsoft code bloat squeezed down onto a tiny iPhone? I doubt it. But maybe if Apple releases a tablet or netbook machine.
Mimi-mim
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2007
get over it
04/02, 04:34pm reply
It is the standard in business and education. There is no reason the iPhone couldn't open such documents. It doesn't have to be a full version of the program.
lamewing
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2004
get over it
04/02, 04:34pm reply
It is the standard in business and education. There is no reason the iPhone couldn't open such documents. It doesn't have to be a full version of the program.
lamewing
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2004
Great if done right
04/02, 04:50pm reply
This will be a marvelous if done right and by done right I mean:
1. The ability to autosynch with a Mac or Windows PC. Trying to remember which gadget has the latest version of a document is a pain.
2. The ability to edit files that have more formatting contained in them than anyone using an iPhone is going to want to deal with. It should be possible to edit the text of a complex document on an iPhone and have that complexity reappear back on a Mac or Windows PC.
3. A synch-and-print ability. It should be possible to tag a file on an iPhone for printing and have it print the next time that iPhone synchs with a PC. No need to remember which document is ready to print and which needs more work.
Do that, and Office on all platforms will have a major advantage over the freebie clones.
Inkling
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2006
office with ads
04/02, 04:51pm reply
Wow - an online ad-supported version of Office: as you're getting mad trying to figure out how to get Office to let you format documents the way you want without automatically changing layout and typefaces, you can watch and listen to annoying ads. What a fun time!
elroth
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2006
When pigs fly!
04/02, 06:02pm reply
Or if MS is still around LOLLLLLL!!
jarod
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 2005
I dunno...
04/02, 09:12pm reply
I've got Word (20MB) and Excel (15MB) 2004 running in a 178MB folder. Sounds reasonable to get them stripped down even further and running on an iPhone / iPT. Not sure why I'd want to try and work either app in a screen that small. And running any sort of meaningful Entourage interface in that screen would be even worse. Of course if they split up the Entourage functions then they're right up against the mail/cal/address apps already in the device. But since MS's job seems to be shoe-horning any available code into every possible device... God bless'em.
jpellino
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 1999
DataViz Docs2Go
04/02, 09:28pm reply
It's called Docs2Go by DataViz. Meant to be out this summer.
Michael
mmurray
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2000
iWork
04/02, 10:39pm reply
where's iWork for iPhone ?
gikku
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2006
Ha!
04/03, 12:51am reply
Apple's already got that covered. Poor MS, not even getting a 'best effort' out of this.
ZinkDifferent
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2005