Microsoft gets a step closer to Office everywhere with Office on Android

Microsoft has released a preview version of Office for Android, almost 10 months after the iPad version was released.

In a blog post about the Android version, Microsoft Office general manager Julia White, noted: “To date, we’ve seen more than 80 million downloads of Office on iPhone and iPad worldwide. The Office apps remain in the Top 10 Best Productivity Apps category with a 4+ rating. Since the Office for Android tablet preview release, these apps have received a tremendous response.”

Available on Google Play, the preview provides Word for Android tablet, Excel for Android tablet and PowerPoint for Android tablet as free downloads.

The software will be free to consumers. Enterprises and users wanting full Office functionality will need to purchase an Office 365 subscription. 

“If you are a business or organisational user, the Android tablet is now another device on which you can use Office, logging in with your Office 365 business credentials,” White added.

White also announced new Outlook for iOS and a preview version of a new Outlook for Android. The app is a full Outlook client and supports calendars, viewing meeting details, invitees and their attendance status.

Last week Microsoft unveiled its cross-platform plans for Windows 10. The operating system provides a new programming model called Universal Apps, which enables applications to run on smartphones, tablets, hybrid devices and full PCs. 

Office 365 will be one of the key applications for Microsoft’s new programming model, allowing users to access Office from any devices.

Last year, Microsoft released an open source software development kit (SDK) for Android. The new SDK allows Android applications to access Office 365 data, such as SharePoint files, Exchange calendar details and contacts, for use within Android apps such as Google Drive, Gmail and Google Docs.