Microsoft could be getting ready to bring its popular Microsoft Office software to Apple"s iPad. The Daily, citing unnamed sources, claims that Microsoft is "actively working" to get its Office software suite working on the iPad with a launch sometime in 2012. With over 10 million iPads selling every quarter, having Microsoft Office available for that platform could be huge for Microsoft"s bottom line.
If Microsoft Office is released for the iPad, it would compete with Apple"s own productivity programs for the tablet including its Pages, Numbers and Keynote. It"s expected that the iOS version of Microsoft Office would be priced around $10 in order to be competitive with Apple"s products.
Microsoft has always been highly supportive of its Office software for the Mac platform, so extending that support to the iPad, by far the best selling device of the tablet generation, seems like a safe bet.
The story also claims that Microsoft is working on a major update for the Mac OS X version of Microsoft Office that would make it more compatible with the release of the "Lion" version of the Mac operating system; Lion launched for Mac owners earlier this summer. Microsoft is, of course, working on the next major release of Microsoft Office for Windows 8, the next version of Windows will launch sometime in mid to late 2012.