Microsoft is in the process of scaling down its massively popular Office suite of applications for the Apple iPad, one report says. Obviously the iPad gives developers a big market with proven success for selling apps, and Microsoft may be realizing that. Next to Windows, Microsoft Office is arguably the most successful suite of software programs to come out of Redmond.
From day one, Apple has had its iWork suite available for iPad, and iPhone and iPod touch compatibility was recently added. Pages, Keynote, and Numbers are in the App Store for $9.99 each. Most iOS users looking for productivity apps look no further than these. Microsoft will probably match this price point for its own main apps, like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Each are expected to integrate with Office 365, Microsoft’s subscription-based cloud service.
Now you may be asking, what about Microsoft Office for iPhone and iPod touch? It’s likely that if Office is released for iPad, it would eventually come to the smaller iOS devices if they aren’t immediately supported. Just know that the small displays on the iPhone and iPod touch aren’t exactly ideal for getting work done.
Microsoft already has some apps in the iOS App Store, namely Bing, Windows Live Messenger, and Photosynth for taking panoramic photos, along with a few others. Oddly, OneNote is in the App Store as a standalone app, but is actually part of the Office suite for desktop. The rest of the Office crew is rumored to launch on the iPad at some point in 2012.