Microsoft Office

Bill Gates: you’re frustrated because your iPad lacks real keyboard and real Office

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates thinks Apple’s iPad is "frustrating" to use because it lacks a physical keyboard and doesn't run Office. The Surface, he says, brings the "portability of the tablet but the richness of the PC" to mobile productivity.

Being a Google Apps fan, I'm obviously biased and not exactly the right guy to comment on the Office part of Bill's comment.

Now, I'm underestimating the real world outside the Apple bubble and obviously there are heavy Office users out there who agree with Gates on Office for iPad. Regardless, you'd think Microsoft's co-founder should know that any Bluetooth keyboard works with iPads.

On top of that, a bunch of iPad cases incorporate physical keys like NIBIQÜ's and Logitech's Surface-like iPad cases, the latter featuring physical keys seamlessly fused into its interior fabric. Go past the fold for the full quote and video evidence...

New report claims Microsoft Office landing on iOS next fall

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 2, 2017

Over the last several months, there's been a lot of talk regarding the potential for an iOS version of MS Office. Folks particularly want to see it land on the iPad, as research shows the move could be worth some $2.5 billion to Microsoft.

But despite all of the chatter, we have yet to see any indication that Office is on its way to Apple's mobile platform. And it doesn't look like we're going to anytime soon. A new report suggests the app suite won't land on iOS until next fall...

Google’s Quickoffice app updated with iPhone support

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Google acquired Quickoffice, a mobile software suite that includes word processor, spreadsheet and presentation apps—all compatible with MS Office, last summer. And in December it released a free Quickoffice iPad app for its Google Apps for Business customers.

Today, it's updated that app with better Google Drive storage integration and, more importantly, support for the iPhone. So if you're a Google Apps for Business subscriber, you can now create, edit and view Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on your Apple handset...

Microsoft doesn’t want to take billions from Office for iPad?

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Picture Microsoft in one of those V8 commercials, where the actor whacks himself in the head after he could be drinking a healthy vegetable drink rather than a can of diet cola.

Now, replace the veggie juice with an iPad and you might have a scenario playing out in the executive suite of Microsoft today.

Why? The software giant refuses to sell a version of its Office suite for the iPad, a mistake possibly costing $2.5 billion. One analyst believes the company is leaving $2.5 billion on the table by insisting to offer the popular software bundle to Microsoft's tiny tablet market, as well as the declining number of PCs.

Can any company be that short-sighted? Wait, that was a rhetorical question...

Microsoft’s cloud-based Office 365 hits Mac and Windows without iOS/Android support

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Microsoft is at last getting into game, offering its well-known Office suite of products for consumers increasingly turning to the cloud. Office 365 Home Premium provides all the familiar Office applications - including Word, Excel and PowerPoint - along with online storage and a free hour of Skype each month. At $99 per year ($80 for students and educators) the cloud-based application suite will work on up to 5 Macs, PCs and Windows tablets. Five years after Google launched rival Google Docs (now Google Drive), Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer proclaims Office 365 a key component in a "fundamental shift" for the company.

After making billions as a software company, Ballmer is rebranding Microsoft as a devices and services firm, a move some may view as too little and too late for Redmond...

Microsoft’s post-PC trouble: capturing the profits of bygone days

Ed Sutherland ∙ December 18, 2012

Before PC demand dwindled, software giant Microsoft was happy with licensing its Windows software to computer makers. Now that we are taking the first steps into the post-PC era, the Redmond firm still wants its profit. But how do you charge a $50 per-tablet royalty fee when the device itself costs $199?

Enter the $499 Surface, says one independent analyst. While Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire both sell for $199, the Surface carries the much higher price tag because Microsoft stubbornly refuses to give up the 30 percent profit margin it's accustomed to receiving for Windows and Office software licenses...

Microsoft pressing Apple to take smaller cut on Office for iOS sales

Cody Lee ∙ December 11, 2012

Apple has just rejected the latest update to Microsoft's iOS SkyDrive app, a client for its popular cloud-based storage service. The reason for this is that the update includes the ability for users to purchase more storage through the app, and Microsoft isn't giving Apple its 30% cut of the sales.

Apparently the two companies are at serious odds over the commission fee, and the situation may not be resolvable. Microsoft has even offered to remove all subscription options from the app, but to no avail. And according to a new report, the beef has spilled over into Office for iOS discussions...

Microsoft Office hitting iOS in early-2013 with limited editing functionality

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 7, 2012

The Verge in an exclusive report this morning offers a detailed look into Office Mobile, a long-rumored version of Microsoft's productivity suite, said to hit iOS and Android devices in early 2013, with the iPhone and iPad version hitting the App Store first. The suite, the publication has it, will apparently include free viewer apps that will require a Microsoft account. Limited editing functionality will reportedly be available with an Office 365 subscription. More tidbits right after the break...

Maybe Microsoft should hire Forstall?

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 29, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwhv8U614Vo

In the hope that this will have an instant meme value, I just came across this nice little clip of somebody demoing saving a document in Microsoft Word Preview on the Surface RT tablet. Go past the break to join the discussion in the comments...

Microsoft (again) mentions Office for iOS and Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 10, 2012

We've been receiving vague hints that Microsoft, which is currently busy for the big Windows 8 launch scheduled for October 26, is also working on bringing the Office suite to the iPad. Today, a new report quotes a Microsoft executive as confirming that the software giant is in fact hard at work developing a native Microsoft Office suite for both iOS and Android. The software should hit the two mobile platforms "sometime after March 2013"...

Microsoft job listing suggests iOS Office apps in the works

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Microsoft recently announced the latest version of its popular Office suite, Office 2013. And while there was no mention of whether or not the software would make it to iOS, the tech world seems pretty convinced it's coming.

A recently discovered job listing on Microsoft's website adds fuel to the fire, as it calls for a new software development engineer for the company's Office division to "be part of Microsoft's next move on the Mac and on iOS..."

Office for iPad reportedly landing November 10

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 31, 2012

News Corp.-owned The Daily reported this morning that Microsoft's development team has apparently locked the code for Office on the iOS platform last month, followed by the design team's approval of the user interface. The long expected office suite is now being tested, with Microsoft internally shooting for an October 10 release date, giving Redmond a five-month lead time to smooth out the rough edges...