Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office for the iPad: To be or not to be

Is Microsoft cooking up a version of Office for the iPad? News site The Daily says yes, Microsoft doesn't exactly say no but claims that The Daily's story is inaccurate.

Yesterday, The Daily's Matt Hickey reported that he had seen a working prototype of Office on the iPad and that sources indicated the app would soon be sent to Apple for approval.

Microsoft quickly went into denial mode, saying The Daily's story was "based on inaccurate rumors and speculation" and that the photo displayed by The Daily is "not a real picture of … Read more

Microsoft pooh-poohs latest Office for iPad report

Microsoft's gone on the offensive about a report saying it's on the verge of publishing Office for Apple's iPad.

In a statement issued to the New York Times' Bits blog this morning, a Microsoft spokesperson said "The Daily story is based on inaccurate rumors and speculation," adding that the company had no further comment on the matter.

For those unfamiliar with the realm of public relations, that's a more pleasant way of saying "that's bogus."

The original report, which was published earlier today in The Daily by Matt Hickey (a former … Read more

Microsoft Office app coming to iPad?

Microsoft's Office suite may soon come to the Apple iPad, according to a report by The Daily.

The blog reported today that its sources say that an Microsoft app that will include Office programs, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will soon be submitted to the Apple App Store. The blog first noted the existence of an iPad version of the Microsoft Office suite in November.

The Daily said that it's had some hands-on experience with the new app. The user interface is supposedly similar to the current OneNote app. There is also some resemblance to Metro, the new interface … Read more

Microsoft brings OneNote to arch-rival OS Android

Microsoft has released a version of its OneNote for Android, continuing an expansion of the note-taking software beyond the company's own operating systems.

"Mobile versions of OneNote are currently available on Windows Phone, iPhone, iPad, and now Android," Microsoft's Michael Oldenburg said in a blog post today. "No matter which platform you prefer, OneNote Mobile lets you easily capture and access all of your notes and ideas on the go."

The software lets people take graphically rich notes with active items such as checkboxes. Using a SkyDrive account, people can sync notes across multiple … Read more

Microsoft launches Office 15 as technical preview

Microsoft is already testing the waters with the next version of its popular Office suite.

Office 15 officially made its debut as a technical preview yesterday, available to a small number of early testers who will provide feedback that can influence the final release.

And though the technical preview program is already full, a beta of the new Office suite will surface for everyone to play with later in the summer.

A Microsoft blog posted yesterday by PJ Hough, corporate vice president of the Microsoft Office Division, spilled very few beans about the new suite codenamed Office 15. And those … Read more

Microsoft Office document editor CloudOn is back for the iPad

iPad owners searching for software to create Microsoft Office documents now have a new and free app.

The iPad app CloudOn lets you create, edit, and view Microsoft documents using online versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Your documents are stored in the cloud via your DropBox account, letting you access them whenever you're online.

Although it officially hit the App Store on January 3, CloudOn was subsequently taken down when the company bumped into technical difficulties as a result of huge demand. But CloudOn has since caught up with its service issues and is once again ripe for download … Read more

Microsoft releases OneNote as first Office app for iPad

Microsoft's versatile note-taking app OneNote is the first Office software to make its debut on the iPad.

Already out there as an iPhone app, the latest 1.3 update to OneNote, released yesterday, optimizes it for the tablet's bigger screen real estate.

Though it's part of certain versions of Microsoft Office, OneNote is probably the least understood application in the midst of Word, Excel, Outlook, and Access.

In the desktop version, it's basically a note taker and to-do list, but one designed to capture free-form notes and ideas as text, images, tables, bullet points, and other … Read more

Microsoft reportedly readying Office for the iPad

Microsoft is prepping a version of its Office productivity software to run on Apple's iPad, according to The Daily.

The iPad-based news outlet, citing "sources," reported that Microsoft is working to adapt Office for Apple's tablet. The app could arrive before the next version of Office for Mac, which is expected to debut late next year.

Microsoft didn't comment directly on the report.

"We already deliver Office on multiple platforms and devices and are committed to expanding in the future, but have nothing further to share today," the company said in a statement.… Read more

Microsoft apps landing on Symbian phones

Several free Microsoft apps will be hopping aboard Nokia's Symbian phones by the end of the year.

As described in a blog yesterday, Microsoft and Nokia will deliver the apps in the form of free updates sometime during the fourth quarter. The updates will only be available to owners of phones running Symbian Belle, the latest update to the Symbian OS, or to those who upgrade from Symbian Anna to Belle.

The mobile apps and updates scheduled to roll out this year include:

Microsoft Lync 2010 Mobile, which offers instant messaging and Web-based meetings on the go. Microsoft PowerPoint Broadcast, … Read more