A full Microsoft Office for iOS app is apparently going to launch this year. That’s according to a new report from BGR who say that their source has seen MS Office running on an iPad first hand. The app, destined for both the iPad and Android tablets, is apparently set for a November launch. Additionally, Office could even make it on to the iPhone and iPod touch as well as the iPad, due to the fact that the launch screen for the iPad version said ‘Office for iOS’ not ‘Office for iPad’.
The news follows on from the recent uncovering by The Daily of a screenshot of what appeared to be a native Microsoft Office app running on an iPad. Microsoft subsequently denied that the app even existed but now it seems like the Office for iOS rumor is gaining a little momentum. The source from the story printed in The Daily suggested that the app had a very similar user interface to that found in Windows 8, and the Windows phone, and that the app was at a very late stage in development and would soon be submitted to the App Store for review.
One interesting note gleaned from both of these stories is that Microsoft appear to be targeting a single iOS app for Office, rather than multiple apps for Word, Powerpoint and Excel. This is a different strategy to the one that Apple employs for iWork on iOS devices in which the Pages, Numbers and Keynote apps are sold separately.
It will be interesting to see, when the Microsoft Office app does make it on to the App Store, what pricing strategy Microsoft will be employing. In order to compete effectively with iWork, Microsoft will perhaps be looking for a price between $20-$30 for the app, although given the cost of Office for desktop systems, we might see a price higher than that on the iPad.
Point With Power…