14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is set to unveil the new Windows 10 Cloud during a press conference on May 2, but it looks like the company might also prepare some other launches as part of the same event.
The full version of Microsoft Office ported to the Windows Store is likely to see daylight on May 2 as well, with the company now testing the apps with food-related codenames.
Temporary listings that have already been pulled used names like Sandwich, Soup, Pasta, and Pizza for Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Project, respectively, though the official names will obviously be used when the applications go live for everyone.
The end of Office Mobile?
The full Microsoft Office tools being ported to the Windows Store is a mission with two different roles. First of all, it provides Windows 10 Cloud users with a powerful productivity suite, as the operating system will be limited to apps published in the Windows Store.
The same strategy was used in 2012 when Microsoft launched Windows RT, an operating system also limited to Windows Store apps, and at that time, the company offered an ARM version of Microsoft Office specifically for devices running this OS.
At the same time, porting Microsoft Office apps with Project Centennial and launching them in the Windows Store means the company can give up on Office Mobile, a lightweight touch-optimized version of the suite that’s currently published in the Store and available for Windows 10 Mobile, iOS, and Android as well.
Unexpectedly, some of the recently spotted Store listings for the full version of Office indicate that compatibility with iOS and Android is also being offered, and this could be a sign that Microsoft is planning to give up on Office Mobile on all the other platforms, though it will be interesting to see how the company brings the full version of Office on these platforms.
Full details will be unveiled next week at the company’s May 2 event, when Windows 10 Cloud and possibly a new Surface device running it could be introduced as well.