Rumor: Microsoft Office Coming to iPad

The Redmond rumor mill says that Microsoft is working on a version of its popular Office suite of productivity apps for the iPad. While apps like Pages and Numbers work great on the iPad, there can be compatibility and administrative issues that prevent their documents from playing nicely with Office. Given the dominance of the iPad, Microsoft stands to make a ton of money with Microsoft Office for iPad. Read on for more details.

According to The Daily:

According to sources, the tech giant is actively working on adapting its popular software suite for Apple’s tablet. With the iPad making up over 80 percent of the tablet market and millions of people worldwide using Office, that could mean big bucks for the tech giant based in Redmond, Wash.

It’s assumed that [it] 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.

I'm not a fan of Office at all (it's too bloated and stupid), but I understand why IT managers love it. Office is easy to administer and track. From a corporate perspective, it's easy for end-users to collaborate on all sorts of projects and documents. Frankly, I'm surprised that Microsoft hasn't released a version of Office for iPad already. It seems like it was leaving money on the table.

Prior to the iPad's release, most pundits said it would be a fantastic device for content consumption. What's surprising is that it's a great device for content creation as well. Whether it's creating music, spreadsheets, or written documents, the iPad is a shockingly marvelous tool for content creation. The fact that there's even a rumor about Microsoft Office for iPad shows that Apple's tablet is a powerful device for work as well as play.

[Via: The Daily]