Microsoft Office for Android delayed until 2014?
This little cat and mouse game between Android trying to catch itself a piece of Microsoft Office isn’t going too well. After missing a reported 2012 launch date for the office editing suite, the service was rumored to be on its way this year. 2013 isn’t quite over yet, but we might already be forced to throw in the towel this year.
ZDNet is reporting that Microsoft’s timeline for Office development has been reshuffled a bit, and Android got the worst of the result. According to an unknown, but “trusted” source, the first “Gemini” update this October will update core Office apps with Metro styling and touch controls for Windows 8 and RT. Following that, a release of Office for Mac and Windows Phone will land in April 2014. Finally, Microsoft will get around to Android and iOS in October 2014.
With more than a year to wait one might be a little tired of this never-ending fairytale by then. The fact that Google Drive and many other office replacement apps already exist doesn’t help Microsoft win over any of its customers in the mobile space. We can’t judge just how important an official Office suite will be until Microsoft actually releases one, but many folks have already embraced other tools and have been doing just fine without it. Are any of you counting on this app or have you already settled for a perfectly fine alternative until Microsoft gets its act together?