According to nine Czech Republic journalists covering a Microsoft event there, the software giant is planning on create native iOS and Android versions of Office 2013 for release sometime next year.
As the story goes someone from Microsoft handed over a sheet of talking points to the reporters where it stated that it would developer version of Office for the iPad and Android-based tablets.
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Of course this news was written up and published. Microsoft has since denied everything and told the press that the Microsoft employee made a mistake in handing over those talking points. Microsoft also said that those talking points were not an official press release. This is an important point because if it was a press release it then becomes an official announcement. Talking points are topics conjured up by a public relations person and given to executives as areas of discussion with reporters.
I have on occasion been giving these talking point sheets in error and I side with the reporters on this one. Those talking points are fair game.
But in the end this story does not amount to much. As I do not think Microsoft will sabotage its own Surface product, while it’s on the market. Right now Surface will come with Office and the other tablets will not. That is a great unique selling feature that Microsoft has in its arsenal. If the question is has Microsoft developed versions of Office for iOS and Android? The answer is yes. They would have to have developed it as a worse case scenario move. Let’s say the Surface fails in the marketplace. Microsoft would still need to sell a lot of Offices to people with tablets. And, let’s not forget that Microsoft this summer launched Office as a managed service.
You can read the Czech Republic story in English by clicking here.