Microsoft Office coming to Nokia handsets; iPhone next?

By on Aug 12, 2009 at 11:05 AM
General August 12, 2009

When Microsoft and Nokia team up for a press conference, what comes to mind? A sleek Windows 7 powered Internet tablet or perhaps the unthinkable, a Windows Mobile-powered Nokia phone? A little bit of bubble bursting is in order as in their press conference today, Microsoft and Nokia announced an alliance that will bring Microsoft Office to Nokia mobile phones. Currently, only Windows Mobile devices have native support for Microsoft Office; other mobile platforms rely on third-party software to bring this functionality to their devices. This partnership will expand native Office support and will put the world’s most dominant document editing software suite on the handsets of the world’s most dominant cell phone manufacturer. What’s more, Microsoft may not be done with expanding the reach of Microsoft Office as hot on the heels of today’s announcement is another announcement from Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit reportedly scheduled for Thursday. Office on the iPhone, perhaps? Hmm…

Read (Microsoft press release)
Read (Mac Business Unit announcement)

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  • Mike W

    Unfortunately, the way Apple logic goes, Office will be considered “duplicating functionality” to their built-in notes application.

    Just like Google Voice, Apple’s software has the same ability. Oh.. wait..

  • celz

    dont worry apple will be forced to move the iphone either to a true smartphone or a hi end feature phone.. watch i bet they are just trying to figure out how to charge for multitasking, and being able to use any app you want..

  • George

    This is an incredibly smart move by Microsoft. Mobile operating systems are becoming a commodity thanks to Android. And Apple and RIM will always use their own. The real opportunity for Microsoft to add value in the mobile space is through their Office franchise. They should forget about Windows Mobile OS, discontinue it, and focus all of their efforts on Office for mobile by supporting all major platforms. IT departments will embrace it and Microsoft will end up making more money by selling Office into the entire mobile market than trying to make a business out of nickel and dime licenses for Windows Mobile OS.

  • Constable Odo

    Isn’t this exclusivity by two major market share holders some sort of anti-competitive collusion. I think some policing government bureau should look into this for these two companies trying to increase major market share into even more major market share. I believe Microsoft should be forced to have Microsoft Office available for every major smartphone platform at once. This whole deal seems unfair as a way of taking away RIM’s major revenue stream and market share in the enterprise.

  • ninjaap

    Nah… Apple just going to allow dual boot with Windows on the iPhone, just like they do with Macs =)

  • Dingoberry

    Would be cool to see an official Office Suite. I’m currently using Documents to Go (same thing that’s on my BlackBerry by the way) and it’s fine, but it doesn’t beat an official app. The real question is whether or not Apple wants to be late to the party. I’m really surprised iWork hasn’t found its way on an iPhone yet and that’s somewhat embarrassing for MS to beat you to the punch for your own platform. I’m sort of skeptical for that reason that Office is coming to the iPhone so soon, but at the same time, Office is a lot larger and significantly more successful than iWork and in the business world no one even considers iWork so it’s in Apple’s interest to support it on iPhone.

  • http://blog.weaverling.org/ weave

    The best news is, the price for Office will probably only be slightly more than the phone itself.

  • rederikus

    Ah yes, but will CrApple allow it to be sold through the App Store?

  • Mike

    I’d be happy to see Office on the iPhone – trouble is, since the iPhone doesn’t have a (user accessible) file system and since each app is sandboxed, there will be no way to save attachments from emails without getting Apple to bend the rules for Microsoft. Not sure about sending out attachments, either (can send pictures, but not sure about a Word file).

    I like the iPhone, but Apple’s kept this one even more closed than usual. Too bad, too.

  • http://www.facebook.com/office Kate

    Exciting news! Thanks for covering the story! For more info on the Office web apps, check out the team’s blog here: http://blogs.msdn.com/officewebapps/default.aspx

    Also, here’s a link to a video about the web apps on the Office Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1125277366841

    Cheers,
    Kate
    MSFT Office Outreach Team

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