Microsoft Launches Office Mobile for iPhone, But Not iPad

Well, Office for iOS is finally here.  Well, sort of.  The new Office Mobile is an iPhone-only app that allows users to view and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.  While the app is free, it requires a subscription to Microsoft’s Office 365 service in order to function.

Here’s an action shot of Office Mobile for iPhone:

This is all very exciting, but I can’t help but laugh at the marketing attached to this launch.  One of the big bolded headers in the post announcing Office Mobile for iPhone is “Optimized for the small screen.”

That section goes on to read, “Office Mobile has been optimized for the small screen of your phone so you can get the important things done quickly.” [emphasis added is our own].

Basically, I read that as Microsoft isn’t confident enough in its Surface tablet line of products to offer Office Mobile for the iPad in addition to the iPhone.  I mean they have to give someone at least some semblance of a reason to purchase the Surface RT or Pro, right?  Now, that’s not to say Office Mobile won’t work on your iPad — it will, it’s just not optimized for it, which as you know can make using an app much less enjoyable.

Oh well.