RUMOR: MICROSOFT TO INCLUDE MICROSOFT OFFICE 2013 WITH ITS NEW WINDOWS 8 PHONES WHEN THEY LAUNCH LATER THIS YEAR

 

This morning Paul Thurrott, the well-known Microsoft watcher, writing in Windows IT Pro, detailed a number of Windows 8 features that Microsoft either mentioned or alluded to in its presentation last week in San Francisco.

The post, however, did include something that TNW hadn’t heard before, that in Windows Phone 8, a fresh set of productivity apps will be included, under the Office 2013 brand. This makes sense, as Windows Phone 8 is also bringing a new version of Internet Explorer, and likely the new Xbox Music service as well; the inclusion of refreshes is the name of the game for the next generation of Windows Phone.

Even more, the timing makes sense. Windows Phone 8 will be out later this year, as will, it appears, the next version Office. Office 15, its working name, will be called Office 2013. The fact that it will be called Office 2013 will not force the code to actually come out in that year; there is a history of Office releases coming out before their name would indicate.

Therefore, given that Windows phone 8 will have, according to Thurrott who is very rarely wrong, Office 2013, in 2012, indicates strongly that the next version of Office will come out this year. Again, not a surprise, but another indication to back our assumptions. Microsoft wouldn’t release Office 2013 mobile before the desktop version, right?

As we reported last week, other features besides MS Office 2013 that Microsoft intends to use to entice business customers include:

• New app installation processes. 
• Encryption 
• Improved device management for enterprises. 

The company has yet to detail the full set of consumer-facing features that Windows 8 will contain.

Don’t expect to see that list soon. Microsoft is going to keep it tight to its chest, as it doesn’t want people holding off buying a handset now, to buy one later; much of Windows Phone 8 won’t work on hardware that isn’t shipped with the code, meaning that any phone bought before its release will suffer from a lack of future firmware upgrades. For that reason, Microsoft wants consumers to not know what they won’t get in the future, and thus buy a handset now. It’s a dance, but one that may work.

COMMENTARY:  I think including MS Office 2013 on Windows 8 phones is a fantastic idea for the reasons given in the article.  However, creating a spreadsheet on a mobile phone is not very productive due to the small screen footprint.  Hopefully, MS realizes this, and if MS engineers are smart like they were in designing Microsoft's dazzlig Surface tablet, they will provide a separate keyboard or larger screen phone like the Samsung Galaxy S3 phone.  That phone comes with a stylus that allows you to doodle, write comments on emais, drawings, etc.  The Surface tablet, with a 10.1-in screen, so it might be logical to assume that MS will come out with a larger Windows 8 phone as well.  That's not a prediction, but I think Samsung's phone will start a trend of bigger screen mobile phones.

The Nokia Lumia 610, 800 and 900 series phones running Windows 7.5 OS have larger screens. My favorite is the Nokia Lumia 900 with a 4.3-inch screen. That's nearly an inch bigger than the iPhone 4S.  The handicap is the slower 3G speed, slow processor and screen resolution.  However, Lumia phones running Windows 7.5 offer tight integration with Microsoft Office (see below).  The screen resolution should not be a handicap, as text readability is excellent and you can see images much clearer than the iPhone in bright sunlight.  Somehow, I have a feeling that Nokia will produce an even bigger screen on their next Lumia 900, that will allow MS Office 13 to really zing.  Rumors are already circulating that a future iPhone will come with a larger screen.  

Courtesy of an article dated June 26, 2012 appearing in TheNextWeb

Comments

[Okna Wrocław]

To be honest, it doesn't matter what they gonna put in in the new version of Windows Phone wether that system is underwhelming...

[municipal bond]

Hi Turk, thanks for sharing and i really enjoy reading this. I totally agree with you about using MS office on a mobile phone is not productive due to small screen of the gadget. Better use a laptop or wait for the release of MS very own tablet called Surface.

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