Microsoft unveils iPad Office suite

HarryT · 03-27-2014, 04:21 PM

Microsoft has announced its long-awaited Office suite for the iPad. There will be three apps initially included: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, each of which has been optimised for the touch screen. The apps will be free for use to view and present documents; an "Office 365" subscription will be required to edit documents.

More details at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26766995

jswinden · 03-27-2014, 04:38 PM

They can keep it. I'm not going to pay Microsoft $9.99/mo or $99/yr just to use there software. I won't pay Adobe either. I hate cloud based subscriptions and will find alternatives to Adobe and Microsoft. Cloud based subscriptions equal several times what apps used to cost. There are plenty of alternatives out there. I don't mind buying apps, but I'm not going to rent them, ever.

HarryT · 03-27-2014, 04:44 PM

It's clearly aimed at businesses, who already have such a subscription. Personally I think the free viewing capability is very useful; I often have a need to read Word docs, but not edit them. It will also be extremely useful for people who want to create a PowerPoint presentation on a laptop, but take along a lightweight iPad to actually give the presentation.

Sounds very useful all round. I look forward to trying it.

Josieb1 · 03-27-2014, 04:51 PM

I use Pages a lot and Numbers a fair bit, I paid for both of those so I'm not paying again for Office.

Yapyap · 03-27-2014, 05:25 PM

You can edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote files in Office Online (on OneDrive) though anyway, for free and without needing Office 365 - just a Microsoft account of some sort.

It's not "optimised for touch screens" but it works in Safari on iPad, at least for minor edits.

I'm sure that the iPad-optimised apps will be better (possibly much better!) for more thorough editing/creating, but just in case anyone here wasn't aware and only needs to view and occasionally slightly edit Office files on an iPad, Office Online does work in principle. Of course I think that requires having your files on OneDrive, but there's also an OneDrive app for iOS, so that's doable as well.

HarryT · 03-27-2014, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josieb1

I use Pages a lot and Numbers a fair bit, I paid for both of those so I'm not paying again for Office.

Pages, Numbers, and Keynote (Apple's PowerPoint lookalike) are free now.

AnemicOak · 03-27-2014, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Pages, Numbers, and Keynote (Apple's PowerPoint lookalike) are free now.

They're free if you buy a new device that ships with iOS 7, otherwise each app must be purchased ($9.99 each in the US).

Jessica Lares · 03-27-2014, 06:07 PM

The mobile version of Microsoft Office is now completely free and DOESN'T require the subscription. That works for me. Although not as nice as the original Windows Mobile version of Office.

And oh yeah, if you are one of the first 50 to walk into a MS store tomorrow with an iPad. You get a year of 365 for free.

HarryT · 03-27-2014, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

They're free if you buy a new device that ships with iOS 7, otherwise each app must be purchased ($9.99 each in the US).

OK, thanks. Yes, I got them free with my iPad Retina Mini.

Josieb1 · 03-27-2014, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Pages, Numbers, and Keynote (Apple's PowerPoint lookalike) are free now.

I know, but I paid £10 each for them two years ago

Rev. Bob · 03-28-2014, 03:40 AM

I can't be the only one who doesn't want to write in the almighty cloud, can I?

Actually, that's not entirely true; I'm writing my novel with a cloud, but it's a strictly local one. (SanDisk's Wireless Flash Drive and a portable install of LibreOffice are simply priceless for this!) I remain in complete control of where my files are at any time, and I'll gladly pay the minor hassle of manual version control and sync for that benefit. The only people who've seen chapters are the people I've shown them to in person and the one guy I've emailed a copy to.

On the other hand, if I were depending on a cloud for the software and storage, I'd have to worry about security on multiple levels, from vendors I can't realistically influence, let alone control. That's not cool, especially when working on a book that I'll be trying to sell.

So, no - no iOffice for me, thanks. I'll keep holding out hope that LibreOffice for Android becomes a reality and will work on Android 4.0.

AnemicOak · 03-28-2014, 03:44 AM

Office 365 is both local installs and a cloud based version you can access from anywhere. Also you don't have to store anything in the cloud or use the cloud versions of the programs. My problem with 365 is just like Adobe's creative cloud in that I pay a monthly or annual fee which ends up costing me more since I never upgrade their software with every new version.

Valkrider · 03-28-2014, 04:38 AM

Unfortunately the Office Mobile doesn't allow sideloading of documents, you have to get them from OneDrive. Seems as though MS are trying to lock everyone in to their cloud storage.

BTW you only need Office 365 subscription for editing on the iPad you can edit on the iPhone without a subscription although I wouldn't want to edit on an iPhone screen

.

drofgnal · 03-28-2014, 05:48 AM

I use the free pages and numbers almost exclusively now at home. Even on my computer which has the office suite, I still default to pages and numbers.

Josieb1 · 03-28-2014, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drofgnal

I use the free pages and numbers almost exclusively now at home. Even on my computer which has the office suite, I still default to pages and numbers.

I write books reviews on my iPad and Pages is so easy. I sync with Dropbox and retrieve the finished review on my laptop which is where it's posted from. Nothing Microsoft offers now, even free, would induce me to change.

03-27-2014, 04:21 PM	#1
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Microsoft unveils iPad Office suite Microsoft has announced its long-awaited Office suite for the iPad. There will be three apps initially included: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, each of which has been optimised for the touch screen. The apps will be free for use to view and present documents; an "Office 365" subscription will be required to edit documents. More details at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26766995

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03-27-2014, 04:38 PM	#2
jswinden Nameless Being	They can keep it. I'm not going to pay Microsoft $9.99/mo or $99/yr just to use there software. I won't pay Adobe either. I hate cloud based subscriptions and will find alternatives to Adobe and Microsoft. Cloud based subscriptions equal several times what apps used to cost. There are plenty of alternatives out there. I don't mind buying apps, but I'm not going to rent them, ever.

03-27-2014, 04:44 PM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	It's clearly aimed at businesses, who already have such a subscription. Personally I think the free viewing capability is very useful; I often have a need to read Word docs, but not edit them. It will also be extremely useful for people who want to create a PowerPoint presentation on a laptop, but take along a lightweight iPad to actually give the presentation. Sounds very useful all round. I look forward to trying it.

03-27-2014, 04:51 PM	#4
Josieb1 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,013 Karma: 18018738 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo Forma, Libra2, Clara 2e, Kindle PW SE & Kindle 2022	I use Pages a lot and Numbers a fair bit, I paid for both of those so I'm not paying again for Office.

03-27-2014, 05:25 PM	#5
Yapyap Guru Posts: 861 Karma: 3543721 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Estonia Device: Kindle Paperwhite, iPad 3, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	You can edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote files in Office Online (on OneDrive) though anyway, for free and without needing Office 365 - just a Microsoft account of some sort. It's not "optimised for touch screens" but it works in Safari on iPad, at least for minor edits. I'm sure that the iPad-optimised apps will be better (possibly much better!) for more thorough editing/creating, but just in case anyone here wasn't aware and only needs to view and occasionally slightly edit Office files on an iPad, Office Online does work in principle. Of course I think that requires having your files on OneDrive, but there's also an OneDrive app for iOS, so that's doable as well.

03-27-2014, 06:07 PM	#8
Jessica Lares Wizard Posts: 2,240 Karma: 5759170 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Near Dallas, Texas, USA Device: iPad Mini, iPod Touch (5th gen)	The mobile version of Microsoft Office is now completely free and DOESN'T require the subscription. That works for me. Although not as nice as the original Windows Mobile version of Office. And oh yeah, if you are one of the first 50 to walk into a MS store tomorrow with an iPad. You get a year of 365 for free.

03-28-2014, 03:40 AM	#11
Rev. Bob Wizard Posts: 1,760 Karma: 9918418 Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Here on the perimeter, there are no stars Device: Kobo H2O, iPad mini 3, Kindle Touch	I can't be the only one who doesn't want to write in the almighty cloud, can I? Actually, that's not entirely true; I'm writing my novel with a cloud, but it's a strictly local one. (SanDisk's Wireless Flash Drive and a portable install of LibreOffice are simply priceless for this!) I remain in complete control of where my files are at any time, and I'll gladly pay the minor hassle of manual version control and sync for that benefit. The only people who've seen chapters are the people I've shown them to in person and the one guy I've emailed a copy to. On the other hand, if I were depending on a cloud for the software and storage, I'd have to worry about security on multiple levels, from vendors I can't realistically influence, let alone control. That's not cool, especially when working on a book that I'll be trying to sell. So, no - no iOffice for me, thanks. I'll keep holding out hope that LibreOffice for Android becomes a reality and will work on Android 4.0.

03-28-2014, 03:44 AM	#12
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Office 365 is both local installs and a cloud based version you can access from anywhere. Also you don't have to store anything in the cloud or use the cloud versions of the programs. My problem with 365 is just like Adobe's creative cloud in that I pay a monthly or annual fee which ends up costing me more since I never upgrade their software with every new version.

03-28-2014, 04:38 AM	#13
Valkrider Addict Posts: 302 Karma: 1250000 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: Kobo Libra, iPadAir2, PRS600, iPhone 6, iPod, Palm TX	Unfortunately the Office Mobile doesn't allow sideloading of documents, you have to get them from OneDrive. Seems as though MS are trying to lock everyone in to their cloud storage. BTW you only need Office 365 subscription for editing on the iPad you can edit on the iPhone without a subscription although I wouldn't want to edit on an iPhone screen .

03-28-2014, 05:48 AM	#14
drofgnal Wizard Posts: 1,228 Karma: 7838248 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Ipad Pro/Kindle Oasis 3/iPhone 13 Pro Max	I use the free pages and numbers almost exclusively now at home. Even on my computer which has the office suite, I still default to pages and numbers.