Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer told an audience Tuesday that Microsoft is working on Office for iPad with a touch interface.
Ballmer was at a Gartner even in Florida when he mentioned that the iPad app would appear shortly after the Windows version of Office appears with a touch first user interface, according to The Verge. However, Ballmer did say that the touch-based interface is "in progress" but didn't give a launch date.
Previously Microsoft released an Office version for the iPhone which required an Office 365 subscription, but was not for use with the iPad.
Microsoft is apparently now aware of the need for its software to be available across devices, especially because of the rise of Apple devices in corporate America. With so many iPads in the office, it's necessary for Microsoft to cater to that device and it needs touch-based technology to do so. Unfortunately, we don't know when that will actually happen.
It would be nice to be able to use Word or Excel on an iPad, but there are other apps that mimic them. The longer Microsoft takes to create the software, the more money it loses.
