From what started off as circling rumours that Microsoft would be considering an iPad version of its Office app, is looking more than likely to happen. First off, despite a percentage of people feeling that it may end up being a bad idea, we have to look at how popular the iPad tablet is compared to rivals, and how much Microsoft Office is used in business computing.
News in today courtesy of 9to5mac.com, has reported that thanks to another source, Microsoft have not only confirmed that they will be implementing their Office app onto iOS devices, but that a new Lion compatible version of the desktop suite is also being considered. Currently the iWork apps allows Numbers, Pages and Keynote to be used when carrying out productive work, whilst Microsoft is used for saving files in formats such as XLS and DOC.
As to its price structure this remains to be seen. Source “The Daily,” stated, “It’s assumed that both of these would work with Office 365 as well as mobile versions, such as Windows Phone’s Office Hub. Because it would be compatible with these full suites rather than as stand-alone apps, the pricing will most likely be significantly lower than existing Office products. In fact, it’s likely the cost will be around the $10 price point that Apple has established for its Pages, Numbers and Keynote products.”
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it would be a smart move for Microsoft to develop an Office app for iOS devices?