Microsoft Office For iPad Is Finally Here

As expected, Microsoft has just unveiled an iPad version of its popular Office productivity suite at a press conference in San Francisco. All three apps - Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint - are compatible with the iPad/iPad mini and can be downloaded on the App Store now. Users will need to have iOS 7 or later installed on their devices. Here’s a quick video that shows off some of the highlights of the suite. Click here if you can’t see it. Much like the iPhone version of the productivity suite, users will need an Office 365 subscription to take full advantage of the apps. The cheapest subscription will set you back $99.99 per year. But sometime in 2014, Microsoft will launch a cheaper subscription plan, which will cost $69.99 per year. The good news, if you don’t want to purchase a subscription, is that you can still view documents and even give presentations. But if you want to do any editing or create a new document with the apps, it will take a subscription. Unlike the iPhone version, which is more of a watered-down Office, Microsoft seems to have gone all out with the iPad apps. While the familiar Ribbon UI is still front and center, it looks to be a great example of a touch-first interface. The introduction press conference was the first official event with Microsoft’s newly appointed CEO Satya Nadella.