Microsoft is committed to expanding its presence beyond devices that use the Windows operating system. There’s no greater proof of that than the aggressive push to make Microsoft Office Apps available across all platforms for iPads, iPhones, Android tablets, and Android phones.
Users of these devices can now download and use Office products for free. Now the company is teaming up with several manufacturers of Android hardware to have Office Apps pre-installed on tablets and smartphones.
First the company announced a partnership with Samsung, makers of the popular Galaxy phones and tablets. Samsung will pre-install OneNote, OneDrive and Skype on their new Galaxy S6 and S6 edge phones. Galaxy 6 owners will also receive 100GB of free OneDrive cloud storage for 2 years. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, and Skype will be pre-installed on selected Samsung tablets.
In addition to Samsung, Microsoft will also partner with Dell, TrekStor, JP Sa Couto, Datamic, DEXP, Hipstreet, QMobile, Tecno, Casper, Pegatron to pre-install Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Skype on their Android devices.
According to Peggy Johnson, Microsoft Executive Vice President of Business Development, these partnerships are important because they address the company’s mobile-first, cloud-first vision. Also, customers are more likely to use pre-installed apps because it saves them the trouble of searching for them in the app store, downloading, and installing.
Johnson also added that, “This is a big step forward for our cross-platform and cross-device services strategy, which will bring an array of Microsoft services to every person on every device.”
As a user who has Office apps installed across a phone, tablet, and a PC, I can vouch for the convenience of being able to access and edit documents across several devices.
~ Cynthia
I pretty much despise MS software. I usually get what I want from the Play Store and even install a minimal ROM and apps to reduce the amount of “junk” on my phone.