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Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/30/microsoft_office_for_ipad/

Microsoft prepping Office for iPad?

So says Rupert Murdoch's fondleslab rag

By Rik Myslewski in San Francisco

Posted in Phones, 30th November 2011 00:21 GMT

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Microsoft is said to be preparing a version of its Office productivity suite for Apple's überpopular fondleslab, the "magical and revolutionary [1]" iPad.

So say unnamed sources speaking – fittingly enough – to The Daily [2], Rupert Murdoch's less than wildly successful iPad newspaper, launched [3] with great fanfare this February.

The Daily provided scant details – well, none, actually – about the purported iOS Office, saying only that Microsoft is "actively working" on an iPad version.

The article [4] also noted that a version of Office for Mac OS X Lion is expected near the end of 2012. Although Microsoft's system requirements for Office for Mac 2011 say that it is compatible with Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later, such Lion-only features as full-screen mode are not supported.

With Apple's tablet taking a bite out of PC sales, it's not surprising to hear even an unsubstantiated rumor that Microsoft is planning a version of its cash-cow productivity suite for the iPad. Should such a suite appear, however, it will most certainly need to shift the decimal point on its pricing one place to the left. Microsoft Office for Mac Home & Student runs $119.99 and Home & Business, $199.99.

Apple's iPad productivity apps – Pages [5], Keynote [6], and Numbers [7] – run $9.99 each. ®