Seriously WOW! We never thought this would happen but looks like Microsoft will be coming to Apple’s iPad in 2012, according to a report. With the proven success of Apple iPod, looks like Microsoft is realizing that and is said to be working on introducing the full suite of Office tools for the iPad come 2012. Microsoft Office is one of the worlds most widely used tools for word processing, spreadsheet and just about anything related to office work and presentations.
This Microsoft Office iPad suite will compete directly with Apple’s iWork suite which has been available to iPad, iPhone and the iPod touch. It costs about $9.99 for the entire suite and seems to satisfy most of the iOS users. However Microsoft is rumored to be working on its main apps such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Each are expected to integrate with Office 365, Microsoft’s subscription-based cloud service.
It was also reported that Microsoft Office will be across the board for iPhones and iPods as well which is nice. Now from the price point of view is where the real debate can begin. Microsoft products have been known for their pricing as they seem to be quite expensive. Microsoft might be betting on the fact that if you spent a good $200 bucks on your iPhone or $500 on your iPad, you surely can spend a few more bucks for its suite :-).
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. However this will be an app that can really get Microsoft into the Apple App business and can heat up the race between Microsoft and Apple.
There are no specifics on when in 2012 the Office suite will launch.
via Source.