MS Office Suite Coming To Android Smartphones

Microsoft revealed recently that the MS Office suite is set to be released to smartphones using the Android mobile operating system of Google. The release of the applications suite into Android-powered smartphones is good news for users who are not using either a Windows Phone or an iPhone.

The applications are going to be released for free, similar to the applications released for Android tablets and iOS-powered devices.

The MS Office suite was initially released to Android tablets last February, and the company unveiled a preview of the apps that will be released to Android-powered smartphones in May. The apps have the same appearance as the software for the iPhone and iPhone, which allows users to edit Word documents and control PowerPoint presentations using their phones. However, if users decide to unlock additional mobile features and use the desktop version of the software, they will have to pay an annual subscription fee.

The software giant is hoping that users will pay for the Office 365 fee so they can utilize the cloud version of Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook on their PCs and Macs. The idea may be appealing to users who work on both their office and personal devices.

MS Office Coming To Android Smartphones - image credit: androidcentral.com

Microsoft product manager Ebun Onagoruwa said the objective of the apps is to ensure that people consider MS Office as the default software when they work. Onagoruwa added the release of the smartphone version of the applications suite is the culmination of the transformation of Office from a simple software suite into a platform that can be used on a number of devices.

The team of CEO Satya Nadella aim to stop customers from thinking that the Windows and Office software are products they can acquire by simply buying a single license. A number of companies have already started to offer products requiring annual subscriptions, which is also the aim of Microsoft with Office.

Earnings of the cloud business of Microsoft are currently at $6.3 billion each year, which is around five percent of its total revenue. Nadela is hoping to increase sales to around $20 billion by 2018.

Last April, Nadela said the iOS and Android version of MS Office was downloaded 100 million times since June 2013. In order to increase this number, the company is working with over thirty device manufacturers, including LG, Dell and Samsung to have the software and Skype pre-installed into Android devices.

Posted by George Daniels on Thursday June 25 2015, 7:56 PM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Technology. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0