Microsoft unveils Office for tablets with cloud storage

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Microsoft unveiled a brand new version of its normal, lucrative suite of word processing, spreadsheet and email programs, one designed specifically with tablet computers and Internet-based storage in mind.

Like an upcoming redesign of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, the brand new Office will reply to touch in addition to commands delivered on a working laptop or computer keyboard or mouse. The addition of touch-based controls will enable Office to increase its franchise into the rapidly growing tablet computer market. Apple dominates that market with the iPad, though Microsoft has plans to compete with its own tablet, called Surface.

Microsoft said the brand new Office was designed as a service first, so the programs can run easily on multiple devices connected to the web.

The programs will store documents online through Microsoft’s SkyDrive service by default, meaning users should change settings to store documents all alone computer. The programs may also remember settings, including where you last left off in a document, as you progress locations. The net-based services approach is one Google have been promoting with its own suite of comparable programs.

“Here is probably the most ambitious release of Office that we have got ever done,” CEO Steve Ballmer said Monday in unveiling the recent Office in San Francisco.

A preview version of the recent Office suite is being made available online . Microsoft Corp. isn’t saying when it’s going to go on sale or what the cost may be. Those details will are available in the autumn.

Other features within the new Office include:

- Inkling, which helps you to use a stylus to put in writing on a device’s screen. Handwritten notes are converted automatically to text.

- Integration with Yammer, a social network for businesses, and with Skype, a video chat service. Microsoft agreed last month to shop Yammer for $1.2 billion, while Microsoft spent $8.5 billion to purchase Skype last year.

- Bing Maps might be portion of the recent Outlook email program. If there’s an address in an email, just tap on it to get directions.

- A “reading” mode on Word will enable you read word-processing documents on a tablet or e-reader. That mode will make the document look more like a book page. It’s also possible to embed video into Word documents, or share a document directly on Facebook.

Source