Comments for Microsoft Document Editor Coming To The iPhone

Microsoft Document Editor Coming To The iPhone

2008-10-31T13:15:00Z

DataViz, makers of Documents To Go, a Microsoft Office editor app for mobile devices, has confirmed that they are developing an application for the iPhone. The application would allow for editing of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files on your iPhone, or, presumably, your iPod Touch. According to a company representative, the application will likely be available in early 2009.

]]> Documents To Go is popular smartphone software that runs on the Blackberry, Palm, Windows Mobile, and Symbian platforms. Once installed, it allows for viewing and editing Microsoft Office files. Although you can't do everything that you could do with Microsoft Office desktop software, the Documents To Go app allows for several editing techniques from the basic (cut/copy/paste, spell check, replace/replace all, etc.) to the more advanced (font effects, paragraph alignment, insert charts/tables/comments, cell formatting, track changes, etc.). Those more advanced formatting abilities are available in the premium version of the program, but both it and the standard version are paid applications.

However, it's unknown at this time if the iPhone version of the Documents To Go application will function exactly the same as its predecessors. The company would not confirm anything else beyond the fact that they are indeed working working on an application and that they expect it to be available in early 2009.

iPhone Edges Closer To Business Use

Surprisingly, the competition for the Documents To Go iPhone app may come from Microsoft themselves, who confirmed at this week's PDC event that their new Office Web Applications suite will be available as a technical preview by year end. According to Microsoft, Office Web apps will work in IE, Firefox, and Safari browsers. We're hoping that means iPhone's Safari browser, but we won't know until testing begins.

Until then, something like a Documents To Go iPhone app could push the iPhone even closer to enterprise adoption, especially considering that the phone now works with Microsoft Exchange Server. Currently, Office files arriving as email attachments can be viewed on the iPhone, but making changes to those files is not possible. Providing editing tools may be the final step towards getting the iPhone past the barriers of I.T., where there are still holdouts claiming the iPhone isn't a business-ready device.

You can sign up here to be notified when this app becomes available.

Comment from Baard Overgaard Hansen on 2008-10-31

2008-10-31T14:20:57Z

great, but can it do copy and paste???

Comment from Sarah Perez on 2008-10-31

2008-10-31T14:30:44Z

@Baard yes! in a document though... :)

Comment from Baard Overgaard Hansen on 2008-10-31

2008-10-31T14:32:12Z

@Sarah, then it is not just great, but wonderful :)

Comment from vev from patio furniture on 2008-10-31

2008-10-31T14:47:23Z

Great info! Thanks for sharing.

Comment from Aad 't Hart on 2008-10-31

2008-10-31T16:01:20Z

What is the use of this if you can soon (Office 14) edit your documents from the web...

Documents on a device is something I just don't understand...

Comment from Scott on 2008-10-31

2008-10-31T18:21:23Z

I must violently disagree on the iPhone's enterprise value...Okay, maybe not violently, but something close to it.

The iPhone is the best phone for business hands down. It's a mini computer.

- Scott from http://venturedig.com

Comment from Mona N. on 2008-10-31

2008-10-31T19:19:33Z

Documents to go has been saying this for the past few months. Hurry already! :)

Comment from commy on 2008-10-31

2008-11-01T03:00:18Z

The world just got a little bit smaller. Google Earth is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing you to fly to the far reaches of the world from the palm of your hand
Google Earth now available for iPhone !!

Comment from Matthew Holloway on 2008-11-01

2008-11-02T01:06:14Z

"According to Microsoft, Office Web apps will work in IE, Firefox, and Safari browsers. We're hoping that means iPhone's Safari browser, but we won't know until testing begins."

There are some prerequisites they'd need to solve first. Microsoft Office Web apps are based on HTML+JavaScript+Silverlight.. and browser plugins like Silverlight are more related to the underlying platform than the browser, so first they need to get Silverlight on the iPhone. Apple are the gatekeepers and they're (probably) concerned about the battery use of heavyweight apps (remember that they considered Flash heavyweight and it was excluded from the iPhone) and the speed, and that Silverlight is a competing platform to theirs.

Back in March Ballmer said "I can't say there has been extensive discussion" about putting Silverlight on the iPhone. Then a few days later they said that it would happen if they reached an agreement with Apple. In September Adobe said they would port a version of Flash to the iPhone but that they would need to agree with Apple as they were the gatekeepers of the platform. And Jobs famously said that Java wouldn't be available: "Java's not worth building in. Nobody uses Java anymore. It's this big heavyweight ball and chain.".

So Microsoft and Apple could agree to make Silverlight available but they'd probably need to agree to a lightweight version of it (much like Flash Lite).