Microsoft Office for iPad will hit the App Store within weeks, according to a new report in The Daily. A photo, published by The Daily, shows Microsoft Office running on an iPad and reveals that it will be available in the App Store soon.
Originally the Office for iPad was rumored in November of last year by The Daily and today they report that the Office for iPad project has been wrapped-up by the design team. Hickey from The Daily claims that after a brief hands-on with a working prototype of the Office for iPad, the app hints of Metro interface and similarities with current OneNote app.
A brief hands-on with a working prototype of the software revealed a number of new things. The app’s user interface is similar to the current OneNote app, but it has hints of Metro, the new design language that can be seen in Windows Phone and in the as-yet-released Windows 8 desktop operating system.
Word, Excel and PowerPoint files can be created and edited locally and online. But it’s unclear if Microsoft will support other Office apps at launch or at all.
According to The Daily’s source the Office for iPad project has been completed and will soon be submitted to the App Store for approval. Their source also claims that the OneNote app for iOS will also receive an update soon to reflect the Metro interface.
When Office for iPad finally hits app store, it will compete with the likes of Quickoffice, Documents to Go, and Apple’s own Pages, Keynote and Numbers apps.
Update 1
In a statement released to The New York Times, Microsoft denies the rumors of an iPad version of Office coming soon.
Update: 2 The Daily‘s Peter says that the photo the site is legitimate. He also provides a fresh image of what he claims is the icon of the Office for iPad.
Update 3: Microsoft has reached The Verge and not only confirmed Mary Jo Foley’s statement, but gotten a bit more specific, saying: “the screenshot provided to The Daily is not Microsoft software.”
via [The Next Web]