Hasta La Gadget!

The story of Office for the iPad has been something of a rollercoaster. Depending on who you’ve talked to this year, the mobile app has been on, then off, then on again… if it was ever real to start with. Imagine our surprise, then, when IHNED says Microsoft Czech Republic product manager Petr Bobek “confirmed” native Android and iOS ports of Office 2013 during a press conference. The Office division higher-up reportedly outlined a strategy where the productivity suite would reach Windows for large businesses and individuals in December and February respectively, but would reach “other platforms” later on through more than just mobile-optimized web versions. It sounds promising, but we have reason for skepticism — assuming the testimony is accurate, there’s still a history of employees at Microsoft and other companies overstepping their boundaries without direct guidance from the corporate mothership. We reached out to Microsoft ourselves, and a spokesperson gave us a relatively conservative answer. While the company reiterated statements that “Office Mobile will work across Windows Phones, Android phones and iOS,” it added that there was “nothing additional to announce” regarding Office’s retail availability. As much of a glimmer of hope that might represent for some Android and iOS fans, it doesn’t equate to a direct Office 2013 port with a release schedule.

[Image credit: The Daily]

Update: To underscore its point, Microsoft has issued a further statement that casts doubt on the very remarks in question. “The information shared by our Czech Republic subsidiary is not accurate,” a spokesperson told us. “We have nothing further to share.”

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Microsoft

Czech Microsoft manager claims Office 2013 will reach Android and iOS, rest of company is less certain (update: more direct denial) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been about three years since Microsoft unveiled a new version of Office, and particularly with Windows 8 just months away from dropping, the software has been well overdue for an upgrade. Today, Redmond unveiled the latest edition — Office 2013 (aka Office 15) — which the company will be showing in a preview stage until the final version goes on sale (hit up the source link if you want to download it for yourself).

Perhaps the biggest news isn’t any single feature Microsoft’s added to Word (hello, easy YouTube embeds!), but how and where you’ll access your files. With this version, the company is moving to a subscription-based model wherein your Office files are tied to your Microsoft ID. Once you sign up, you can download the various desktop apps to a certain number of devices and, as with Windows 8, your settings, SkyDrive files and even the place where you left off in a document will follow you from device to device. (It’s telling, we think, that files now save to the cloud by default.) As you’d expect, too, this version is also more tablet-friendly than editions past, with a touch mode that widens the spacing between onscreen objects and flattens menus. In Word and PowerPoint, you’ll also find a read-only mode that turns documents into full-screen editions, whose pages you can swipe through as you would an e-book or digital magazine.

Of course, Microsoft included plenty of granular updates like PDF editing and a behind-the-scenes Presenter View in PowerPoint. Fortunately for you, curious power users, we’ve been spending the better part of a week testing the software on a Samsung Series 7 Slate loaded up with Windows 8. So join us past the break where we’ll give you a detailed breakdown of what’s new, along with screenshots and detailed first impressions.

Continue reading Microsoft Office 2013 preview: details, screenshots and impressions

Filed under: Software

Microsoft Office 2013 preview: details, screenshots and impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft has this really great habit of publicly tracking the development of all its products. Windows 8 has been thoroughly documented over at the Building Windows 8 blog, and now Office will have its time to shine over at Office Next. The site will give the engineers and developers toiling away in Redmond an outlet to provide updates, discuss design decisions and offer peeks at the new features being baked in. It won’t be just a place full of bullet lists either, PJ Hough, the VP of program management for the Office Division, promised in his inaugural post that the data and feedback that informs their choices will also be shared — telling you not just what, but why. Is there anything new to share right now? Sadly no, but it probably won’t be long before the pages of Engadget are filled with the minutia of Office 15’s development.

Filed under: Software

Office Next blog is here to answer all your burning questions about the future of spreadsheets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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