After years of rumors and deliberation, Office is finally available on the iPad, and it is already looking to be a winner for Microsoft. During a press event in San Francisco this morning, Julia White, who is Microsoft Office general manager, took to the stage to formally announce Office for iPad.
Originally, Office for iPad was rumored for a 2012 release, then another rumor pegged it for 2013; obviously those rumors were wrong. Office for iPad will grace the Apple App Store today at 2PM ET / 11AM PT as a free download, but with a catch.
Microsoft has chosen to go the route of the freemium mode with Office for iPad, a move that might or might not turn out to be the winning formula for the software giant. From the announcement today, Office for iPad is free for reading and presenting but will require an Office 365 subscription for editing features. If you are already subscribed to Office 365, then simply jump in and edit documents straight from the app.
In comparison to the iPhone version of Office 365 where users can only read documents, this is a significant change, meaning millions of iPad users will be able to make use of the full Office experience.
Microsoft says Office for iPad will bring to the table Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. To make it more similar to Office for Windows, the iPad version will have the ribbon interface.
Office for iPad is not just Microsoft doing what it should have done years ago; it's an Office that is very close to the experience as one would get on the desktop. Office for iPad is capable of re-flowing, touch handles, formatting and more. It is what folks have come to expect from Microsoft when it comes to its Office Suite, so users should be happy with that.
What about Office for Windows 8 touch interface and Android?
Microsoft said the Office app for Windows 8 touch interface will be available before the end of the year, though there is no word when Office for Android will come along.
If you're an iPad user looking to give Office for iPad a spin, you might want to wait a while until Office 365 Personal is launched. It's only $6.99 per month, or $69.99 per year, which makes it cheaper than Microsoft's other offerings. Users will also get 20GB free OneDrive storage, and 60 free Skype minutes every month.