Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons
license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary
on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the
entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/


   Microsoft Releases Office for iPad

   Julio Ojeda-Zapata

   Lucifer, call the furnace repairman: [1]Microsoft finally unveiled the
   much-rumored iPad version of its popular Office productivity suite.
   Office for iPad includes the familiar [2]Word, [3]Excel, and
   [4]PowerPoint, available as individual downloads. Microsoft previously
   made another Office app, [5]OneNote, free for Mac, iPad, iPhone,
   Android, Windows, and Windows Phone.

   Those wanting unrestricted use of the core Office iPad apps will be
   disappointed. Although anyone can download Office for iPad to harness
   it as a reading and presenting tool, access to editing features
   requires an [6]Office 365 subscription, like its iPhone sibling. Such
   subscriptions currently start at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for
   installation on up to 5 devices, but a 1-device plan will appear soon
   for $6.99 per month or $69.99 a year.

   Microsoft today has good news for iPhone and Android users, as well:
   [7]the Office Mobile apps for those platforms are now free for home use
   (businesses still need to pay). This brings those mobile apps in line
   with the also-gratis Office Mobile app for Windows Phone.

   The announcement came at a San Francisco media event keynoted by Satya
   Nadella in his first major appearance as the company's new chief
   executive.

References

   1. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2014/mar14/03-27mobilecloudpr.aspx
   2. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-word-for-ipad/id586447913?mt=8&at=10l5PW
   3. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-excel-for-ipad/id586683407?mt=8&at=10l5PW
   4. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-powerpoint-for-ipad/id586449534?mt=8&at=10l5PW
   5. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-onenote-for-ipad/id478105721?mt=8&at=10l5PW
   6. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/home-premium/
   7. http://blogs.office.com/2014/03/27/announcing-the-office-you-love-now-on-the-ipad/

.