Is Microsoft Office Coming to the iPhone? Yes. Didn’t You Hear Us the First Time?
by John Paczkowski
Posted on April 2, 2009 at 8:10 AM PT
Is Microsoft truly committed to bringing its major productivity applications to mobile devices? Of course it is. Will Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone be one of them? Absolutely. How can I say that with such certainty? Well, because Stephen Elop, president of Microsoft’s Business Division, hinted at Web 2.0 Expo yesterday that it would be. But more importantly, because Microsoft formally announced it last November. From the Microsoft Office Web Applications Q&A:
“Q: Do the Office Web Applications require Internet Explorer?
A: No! Office Web applications will work across multiple platforms and browsers including Safari and Firefox, too.
Q: Will the Office Web Applications work on the iPhone?
A: Yes, in the Safari web browser.”
OK, sure it’s not a native app, but Microsoft (MSFT) says it will support “lightweight editing,” which is likely all you’d want to do on an iPhone, anyway.
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Comments
I have a question for Microsoft: Who in their right mind would want to use a web based word process or spreadsheet?
OK, just kidding.
But the acknowledgment, even by Microsoft that there are huge numbers of people who do not need an extended feature set is noteworthy.
In order to even be a player on smart phones and netbooks Microsoft has to admit that the Windows bloated one size (and kind: Intel) strategy must be put behind them.
To remain viable, MS will have to unbundle its various product offerings just as if they had been split up by the government back in 2000.
Of course if they had started such a move back then they would be done by now and in much better position to compete.
Posted by Mac Beach at April 2nd, 2009 at 12:41 pm