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Back when the original Apple iPad first surfaced, Microsoft decided not to produce an Office version for use on the iPad. Instead, long time MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint users were forced to use Apple’s iWork series – Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. There was no other real option for PC users who were more comfortable using Microsoft’s products.
Now the company has changed its tune, and according to sources at The Daily, Microsoft is hard at work on an iPad version of its Office business offerings.
These new apps – likely Word, Excel, and PowerPoint – will be in direct competition with Apple’s own apps, and should come competitively priced at approximately $10 apiece when they are finally released.
This should come as good news to those of you who work in an office where PC computers, Windows, and Microsoft products still reign. Microsoft documents are compatible with iWork, but let’s face it, some of you are just more comfortable using the programs that you’ve become accustomed to after years of use.
It’s also good news for Microsoft, who stands to make quite a bit of cash with the release of the apps. The iPad makes up more than 80 percent of the tablet market, and if just a fraction adopt Microsoft’s iPad lineup, the company will earn some serious cash while at the same time securing a role in the burgeoning enterprise tablet market. Presumably, the apps will be compatible with Office 365, giving Microsoft an edge on collaboration and productivity.
There is no confirmation from Microsoft that the company is indeed working on a set of office apps for the iPad, nor is there information on when the apps might be released. New versions of Office for the Mac and the PC are expected to launch in the fall of 2012, so the iPad release could coincide with that date, or it could come independently at an earlier date. It’s too early to tell, but we’ll keep you up to date on any new information.
[via The Daily]