A new report indicates that Microsoft’s Office suite will be heading to Apple’s iPad and Android tablets later this year.
Boy Genius Report (BGR) reported that it has a “reliable source” who said Microsoft plans to launch Office apps for iOS and Android tablets in November. Office may also be coming to the iPhone and iPod touch, according to BGR, as the app’s loading screen apparently said “Office for iOS” not just for iPad.
The new information corroborates a report from The Daily earlier this year that Office is headed to the iPad. The Daily reported in February that the Office for iPad app was complete and would soon be submitted to Apple for App Store approval.
The app’s interface was said to be similar to that of OneNote, Microsoft’s note-taking app, which received iPad support in December. The Daily said it also has allusions to Metro, the design standard that appears in Windows Phone and the forthcoming Windows 8 operating system. According to the report, the Office app lets you edit and create Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files locally and online.
“Our source has seen Microsoft Office running on an iPad first-hand and has said that it looks almost identical to the previous leak from The Daily a few months back, despite the fact that Microsoft flat out denied that the app was authentic,” BRG reported.
A Microsoft spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PCMag on Thursday. The Redmond, Wash.-based computing giant told the New York Times back in February that The Daily story was “based on inaccurate rumors and speculation.”
Microsoft plans to release the next version of its operating system, Windows 8, later this year, but has not yet finalized a launch date.
Copyright © 2010 Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc.