12 August 2009

Microsoft and Nokia To Bring
Web-Based Office To Nokia Devices

Official details are still under wraps but according to numerous sources, Microsoft Corp. has reached an agreement with Finnish cellphone giant to make a web based version of Microsoft's Office suite that will bring ability to use Microsoft's familiar user interface on wide range of Nokia smartphones!

Microsoft already makes a version of Office for devices running Windows Mobile, but there is also software from other companies, including QuickOffice, Office Suite and DataViz Inc., that allow users to open Office files on Symbian based devices.

Microsoft has previously said that it will offer browser-based Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in two ways. For consumers, they will be offered via Microsoft's Office Live Web site, while businesses will be able to offer browser-based Office capabilities through Microsoft's SharePoint Server product.

The company has been pushed into this arena by Google, which has been offering its free Google Apps programs for some time. The deal with Nokia, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, could help Microsoft play a broader role in mobile devices while fortifying its Office business in the face of competition from free Web-based word processors, spreadsheets and other applications from Google Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and others.

The companies said the pact will be announced by Kai Oistamo, executive vice president for Nokia's devices unit, and Stephen Elop, president of Microsoft's business division, a group within the software company responsible for its Office business.

While Microsoft could expand the potential reach of its Office franchise with the Nokia deal, it's unclear how big an opportunity mobile users represent for the software. Creating and editing complex Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on the small screens of mobile phones is cumbersome compared with a PC.