Microsoft Releases Office For Android Phone, Free To Download
On May 19, Microsoft released Office for Android phone preview, and just five weeks later the company has made the apps available for general release. The company said it received feedback from users all around the world, and the software was tested in over 83 countries and on 1,900 different phone models.
During that period, Microsoft heard from thousands of users and said that much of the feedback has been incorporated into the current release. One such change is easy access to third party cloud storage such as Dropbox and Google Drive, in addition to the company's own OneDrive solution.
The Android phone version of Office integrates directly into the cloud to sync up with Office365 accounts. Microsoft said that transitioning from a PC to the phone will pick up right where you left off.
Word will let you read and edit documents, and easily add or change comments. Excel lets you create charts easily, and formulas have been optimized to use touch control. Power Point allows you to run a full presentation, complete with animations and transitions, directly from your phone.
Microsoft has been working with partners around the globe to sell phones with Office apps pre-installed. Over 30 OEMs including Samsung, Sony and LG will be selling phones later this year with Office already included.
Word for Android, Excel for Android and PowerPoint for Android are available now, at no charge, in the Google Play store.
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Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years.
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TechyInAZ Yay!!! I've been using Microsoft office since I first started using computers, glad I can use it on my tablet now!Reply -
Achoo22 I would MUCH prefer a paid standalone app than this monstrosity, with its in-app-purchases and requirement that one be signed in to Microsoft in order to edit or save documents! Seriously, until they remove the requirement to login I will not be using this application, no matter how feature-rich it is.Reply -
wtfxxxgp ReplyI would MUCH prefer a paid standalone app than this monstrosity, with its in-app-purchases and requirement that one be signed in to Microsoft in order to edit or save documents! Seriously, until they remove the requirement to login I will not be using this application, no matter how feature-rich it is.
So authentication means nothing to you? There are positive aspects of this too, they aren't all negative.