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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is preparing to discuss plans for their new “mobile first, cloud first” strategy, which is rumored to include an Office for iPad announcement on March 27th. Is this going to be the game changer that Microsoft needs in their mobile efforts? Unfortunately they are likely to keep the Office 365 subscription service at the heart of new efforts which means that most average users are going to pass it by and use other productivity apps.
TheVerge.com speculates that Microsoft will make a slew of announcements and product hints on the 27th, which will set the foundation for Nadella’s tenure as CEO. We may even see a glimpse of Windows 9, which is likely to continue moving in the mobile direction.
Another leak showing Office for iPad appeared on the Twitter feed of @rgonzalezagui this week and shows the Office app running on an iPad. The claim is that the photo came from a Microsoft employee but that’s going to be hard to confirm.
I have really mixed feelings about Office for iPad because I work in an environment where Windows and OS X live side by side but rarely integrate. Some faculty refuse to switch to Mac / iPad and others refuse to even look at Windows; it’s a very polarizing issue.
I love using Pages and iCloud, but not everyone can easily access my files and converting things can be a real pain. This makes Office for iOS a very attractive option but I am not likely to pay for a 365 subscription. If my department wants to use these services then they are going to have to pay for them, and I have a feeling they wont go for that either. Maybe Microsoft will surprise us and use an entirely different model for this new release.
» Related posts:
Microsoft Office for iPad Slated for Release by This Summer
Reuters Reports Microsoft Already Has Full Version of Office for iPad Waiting in the Wings
It’s Official: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Says Microsoft Office is Coming to iPad!
