App of the Week: Microsoft Office – Now Available for iPad

Being productive on the go just got a whole lot easier. Earlier this week, Microsoft released their Office suite of apps specifically for the iPad. Though the collection of apps normally come bundled together for the PC and iPhone, you’ll have to download and install Word, PowerPoint, and Excel separately onto your iPad.
Each of the apps are free to install from the Apple App Store or Microsoft Office website , but be mindful that the app by itself will only give you storage and viewing capabilities. In order to unlock all the features, including the ability to create and edit documents, you’ll need an Office 365 subscription, which has home, education, and business options.
The apps have all of the functionality that one would expect from Microsoft’s productivity suite, optimized for touch. Many of the common desktop features make an appearance, including the “ribbon” interface. With this app release, Microsoft made sure that content and formatting are maintained across all of your devices, so you shouldn’t see any inconsistencies when moving your files back and forth between mobile and desktop.
Some of the more robust features of Word include full support for templates, tables, track changes, headers and footers, and spell-check and word count. There is also picture formatting, as well. Similar features exist for both PowerPoint and Excel.
While there are a plethora of features available, some of the more advanced tools are understandably missing. You won’t find mail merge, grammar check, or an integrated print feature in any of the apps.
For those who have experience using Microsoft Office for their desktop, this iPad app release is long overdue. Though the iPhone and Android phone versions have been available since 2013, Microsoft made sure that the wait for iOS tablet users was definitely worth it.
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