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Microsoft Makes Office Mobile Editing Free As in Freemium
An anonymous reader writes Microsoft today announced a significant change to its Office strategy for mobile devices: creating and editing is now free. The company also released standalone Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps for the iPhone, as well a new preview of these apps for Android tablets. Starting today, whether you're using an Office app on Android or iOS, you can create and edit content without an Office 365 subscription. The company is pitching this move as "More of Office for everyone."
The company is trying something new. It may or may not work out for them, but if they keep exploring, they are bound to find something that succeeds. That, and the effort to really understand user needs through Windows 10 preview, tells me that there may be some how for MS to capture back some of their former success.
'If Microsoft ever does applications for Linux it means I've won.' -- Linus Torvalds
without an Office 365 subscription
Subscription? To a.... word processor?
What foul sorcery is this?
I don't think this was so much of a desire to be innovative as it is to survive. With good-enough editors available on mobile devices, web services, and PCs, MS has to move down-market or risk entire new generations never using or needing their Office software.
As it is, my daughter in middle-school has had some Office required assignments which prompted angry parent responses. I spoke with several other tech-oriented parents with kids at the school and none of them have MS Office at home. They all use either LibreOffice, OpenOffice or Apple's iWorks.
Microsoft is battling obsolescence. This is a good attempt to reach a generation that doesn't know or care about them.
I'm sick and tired of feminism being shoved down my throat on every single issue. I mean, aren't there other, perhaps more important, issues out there?
Oh yeah, I hear ya.
It's almost as annoying as someone who can't stay on fucking topic...
Should I buy a Tesla next year?
Editing: now free!
In-app purchases:
PS: Speaking of lists: Slashdot, why don't you fucking render bulleted lists?!?!?
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Technically correct, but most people only want the word processing function of MS Office. Blame MS for bundling unwanted 'extras' together to jack up the price. If all that you want is a fridge, but you are forced to buy a package consisting of a fridge, warranty, parts replacement, delivery service, a fan and a cooler because that is the only way the manufacturer will sell it, in your mind you are still buying a fridge. The extras are irrelevant.
Again irrelevant. The average MS Office user is blissfully unaware and uncaring about MS profits or lack thereof.
Technically correct, but most people only want the word processing function of MS Office.
Even back in 1996 Excel was the killer app, why would most people want Word significantly more than Excel?
It's a pretty easy way to do something like tweak a Powerpoint slide (maybe there was a typo, or you want to alter your notes for the slide?) on the bus to work, or to add a line in an Excel-based expense report while heading home from lunch. You aren't expected to write long documents on your phone, but being able to make edits is a nice feature.
As for tablets, lots of people have a keyboard (usually Bluetooth) for their tablet. Combined with the often very high resolution of modern tablets (I think iPads run at 2048x1536 or something these days?) and the fact that you're looking at it from much closer than you look at your 20+" monitor (not that 20" is big; I've had laptops nearly that big), there's no reason you couldn't be productive on such a device if you had the right software.
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
Subscription? To a.... word processor
The geek trying to be clever. ... The subscription is for a local install of the full MS Office suite + online storage and other extras
The point is that I, and I suspect most consumers, do not need or use anything but the word processor of an office suite.
The sales figures you quote only goes to show that people buy into stuff like Office 365 because they do not understand what they actually need or what it actually consists of; it just sounds like a good idea and they have seen it advertised on TV. Microsoft advertising and FUD over the years have created the idea in many people's minds that IT won't work without MS software - ie a PC won't work without Windows, and they can't write anything without the latest version of Office installed on it.
I even have a 20 year-old copy of WordPerfect that I recently installed in a Win98 VM under Linux in order to retrieve some documents I wrote back then (I was writing a family history). Even that would fulfil all my word processing needs, but in fact I use LibreOffice these days.
Where I work, all of the Indian contractors have this ingrained need to dump everything into an Excel sheet and then send that out as an email attachment. You need to send a screen shot? Put it into an Excel file and send it. You need to write up some instructions (and include a few screen shots)? Put it in an Excel file and send it. The list goes on and on. I don't know if it is a culture thing or an outsourced training thing or what, but it is common practice and everyone does it. It is annoying as hell.