Samsung, Dell to Pre-Load Microsoft Office Apps on Android

Once upon a time, Microsoft was the software king, thanks to its Windows and Office platforms. And while both still play a huge role in the daily lives of many people, Redmond has struggled to compete on mobile, where users have flocked to iOS and Android rather than Windows.

Microsoft has moved to rectify that somewhat by releasing Office on iOS and Android. It is now expanding its presence on other platforms by inking deals with Dell, Samsung, and other regional firms to pre-load Office software on certain Android devices.

Dell and 10 other partners will pre-install Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, and Skype on Android devices coming to market later this year, Microsoft announced this week.

Other partners include TrekStor of Germany, JP Sa Couto of Portugal, Datamatic of Italy, DEXP of Russia, Hipstreet of Canada, QMobile of Pakistan, Tecno of Africa, Casper of Turkey, and device manufacturer Pegatron.

"For OEMs, these deals will increase the value of and enrich people's experiences on Android devices," Peggy Johnson, Microsoft's EVP of Business Development, wrote in a blog post. "And for Microsoft, this is part of the company's mobile-first, cloud-first vision.  It is addressing consumer demand for top services by making them already available on a device, instead of requiring consumers to download them separately."

Meanwhile, Samsung will pre-install Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, and Skype on select Samsung Android tablets in the first half of the year. That comes after the company confirmed at MWC that OneNote, OneDrive, and Skype will be pre-loaded on the new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones. Both phones will also come with 100GB of free Microsoft OneDrive storage for two years.

If you get your Samsung device through work, there will be three Office 365 options — Business, Business Premium, and Enterprise — which all include Samsung Knox security.

"These deals demonstrate how we are working with hardware partners in new ways to deliver rich experiences through their scale," Johnson said. "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."