Microsoft Office For iPad Coming Soon?

Say what you want about Microsoft – Windows in particular – but one cannot deny just how many of us have gotten used to Microsoft Office. Not that there is a lack of alternatives which do the job – from Open Office to Apple’s own suite of word processing apps. It’s just that it’s hard to beat what Microsoft Office has to offer – especially Excel.

It is thus no wonder Microsoft Office has long been available for the Mac and is also available on the iPhone (although I find it really hard to come up with a reason to pay for an Office 365 subscription to use the software on my iPhone – it’s just not worth the hassle, in my opinion).

It’s a totally different story on the iPad, however, as the larger screen does make it more viable to get some work done on the device; and that is why talk about Microsoft Office for iPad has been going round.

Is this finally going to become a reality?

ZDNet says that Microsoft Office for iPad is “not dead”, and it even has a codename: Miramar. And, more than not being dead, the software might just arrive this year, maybe even before the touch-first version of Office makes it to the market. It does make more sense for Microsoft to prioritize a product which has an existing demand over a “new” version which has not been tested in the market.

As for how Microsoft Office for iPad is going to be made available, there are no concrete details, although it shouldn’t come as a surprise if they go the route of Office for iPhone – via subscription to Office 365.

So when is this coming out? We have the doubters who say it never will, but the noise surrounding the release of Microsoft Office for iPad is growing; and some say we may see it in the first half of the year.

Have you been wanting Office on your iPad? Or, are you happy with Pages/Excel/Keynote?

[Image via appnyt]