Good news: your devices can all work together a little bit better, starting today.
Microsoft announced Thursday that it's releasing versions of its Office mobile apps for Android, plus a version of Outlook for iOS and Android.
It's been nearly a year after Microsoft first released Office apps -- well, at least Word, Excel and PowerPoint -- for the iPad. That was a big deal, given that many offices issue iPads, but still use Microsoft software.
The same three programs are now on Android tablets, and have the same "ribbon" navigation that should be familiar to any Office user, and let users create and edit word documents, use basic Excel features and work on PowerPoint presentations. All the documents can be shared.
Adding support for Android tablets expands that mobile reach even more, and gives Microsoft a way to keep its software marketshare even if offices decide to issue their employees Samsung Galaxy Tabs instead of Surface Pros.
The apps work for Android tablets with screens of 7 inches or larger, ARM-based processors and at least 1 GB of RAM. They're free, unless you want to use the apps on tablets with screens of 10.1 inches or more; for those devices, you'll need an Office 365 subscription. It also only works on devices running Android 4.4 (KitKat); roughly 40 percent of Android devices are running that version of the system.
The Outlook update brings much-needed improvements to the mobile Outlook experience for iOS and Android, including swiping gestures that let users schedule e-mails for later and find messages more easily. It also has Outlook calendar features, including one that lets you share your availability with others to make it easier to schedule meetings.
The Outlook announcement comes just a day after Amazon revealed that it is jumping into the work e-mail space itself, with a new product called WorkMail. WorkMail works with e-mail applications including Microsoft Outlook and native Android and iOS e-mail applications but hosts the information on Amazon's cloud. That takes direct aim at Microsoft, which of course has its own cloud services for businesses.
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