Microsoft Office for Windows touchscreen devices previewed

Microsoft may offer versions of its Office software for iPad, iPhone, Windows Phone, and Android. But the company still hasn't released a version of Office for touchscreen tablet, notebook, and desktop computers running Windows 8.1.

But the company's working on a touch-friendly version of its Office suite, and Microsoft showed a preview today at the MS Build 2014 conference in San Francisco.

The new office suite features support for gesture-based navigation such as swiping to move between slides in a PowerPoint presentation, or pinching-to-zoom. You can also swipe down from the top of the screen to bring up extra options such as a pen you can use to circle parts of the presentation.

In all apps, the ribbon user interface has been tweaked with larger buttons. And there's a touch-friendly file selector.

Office will use some of the same technology Microsoft offers developers for creating Universal Windows Apps - so Windows tablet users will be able to use the same Office user interface as smartphone users in the future.

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Samsung updates tablet line with Galaxy Tab4 in 7, 8 and 10.1

Summary: Samsung releases three new mid-range Tab4 tablets as it strives to catch up to the iPad's dominance.

The 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab4. Image: Samsung

Samsung, the second largest seller of tablets worldwide, has released its next generation of Android Galaxy Tab devices.

The new Galaxy Tab4 comes in seven, eight and 10.1-inch flavours, and fill out the Samsung's mid-range tablets line-up following its launch earlier this year of the higher-end Galaxy TabPro, which came in a whopping 12.2-inch screen version, as well as 10.1-inch and 8.4-inch models.

While the specs for the Tab4 range don't represent a huge jump in specs, the new devices ship with Android KitKat and all have 1.2GHz quad-core processors instead of the dual-core chips that powered the previous generation of Tabs.

Samsung hasn't said whether it's using its own ARM-based Exynos line of processors or Intel chips, but it's thought to be the latter. Intel announced last year that the 10.1-inch Tab3 was running on its Clover Trail+ Atom Z2560 processor as well as its 3G and 4G chips.

Samsung appears to have standardised key specs across all three devices, with each shipping a 1280x800 resolution WXGA display - which is an improvement on the seven-inch Tab3's 1280x600 resolution. All three models have the same three-megapixel front-facing camera and 1.3-megapixel rear-facing camera and come in wi-fi only, wi-fi plus 3G and wi-fi plus LTE editions.

But there are a few unique changes to each model, mostly in the form of weight and thickness.

The seven-inch Tab4 has been slimmed down from 9.9mm thick to 9mm, and now weighs 274g instead of the Tab3's 300g. It has 1.5GB of RAM and comes with either 8GB or 16GB onboard storage. In the 3G and wi-fi versions, the microSD slot supports up to 32GB additional storage, while the LTE device can support up to 64GB of additional storage. The device has a 4,000mAH battery, which is the same as the previous generation device.

The eight-inch Tab4 has headed in the opposite direction and is slightly thicker and heavier than its eight-inch Tab3 predecessor. The newer model is nearly identical in width and length with 124mm x 210mm dimensions; however, it's 7.95mm thick compared to the Tab 3's 7.4mm.

The newer tablet weighs 320 grams. The wi-fi, 3G and LTE versions ship with 1.5GB RAM and 16GB onboard storage with a micro SD slot that supports up to 64GB additional storage. The device has a 4,450mAh battery, which is again the same as the Tab3.

Meanwhile, The 10.1-inch Tab4 is nearly identical in weight and dimensions, remaining 7.95mm thick but slightly lighter at 487g instead of the Tab3's 512g. The resolution otherwise remains the same at 1280x800, while it still ships with 16GB onboard storage. Similarly, Samsung has retained the 6,800mAh battery for this model.

According to Samsung, the devices will be available in black or white and will begin shipping globally in the second quarter.

While the Tab4 range only makes a few improvements to the Tab3 lineup, the devices cost than the iPad. According to Gartner, Samsung's sizeable Tab range has helped it carve out 19 percent of the tablet market in 2013. It shipped 37 million tablets compared to Apple's 70 million last year, with Samsung's tablet shipments growing 333 percent year on year.

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Microsoft releases Office for iPad: Top 5 things you must know before you ...

If you have long wanted to access your documents in your iPad, then there's good news for you. Microsoft has finally released Office for iPad. Before you get quick on downloading it on your device though, you might as well check out these five things about the new Microsoft Office for iPad so you know what you can expect once you finally have it in your iOS tablet.

1. Microsoft Office for iPad is composed of three separate and independent apps

If you search for Microsoft Office in the App Store, you won't actually find it as a single app but as three separate apps. You can opt to download only the Word if you only need to read and create word documents and skip Excel and PowerPoint altogether but since all three apps are free, you might want to download all of them.

2. You need an Office 365 subscription to enjoy the full benefits of the apps

The apps can be downloaded for free but don't imagine yourself creating or editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents in your iPad yet if you're not willing to shell out some money. You can only do these and get to maximize your usage of the apps if you subscribe to Office 365 which will cost you $99.99 a year.

3. You can't print directly from the apps

Here's one major flaw of the Office for iPad, you can't print your documents straight from the apps. Of course there's get-around to this such as emailing the document to yourself or saving the documents on the cloud and printing it using a different computer but the process can be time consuming and impractical especially if you're in a hurry. Many users will likely find the lack of direct printing option a major turn-off but such feature will possibly be included when Microsoft updates the apps in the future.

4. You can't just use any cloud service

You need Microsoft OneDrive, formerly Skydrive to access or save your documents, spreadsheets and presentations on the cloud. You may easily store copies of your computer files on Google Drive, Dropbox and Box but these popular cloud services won't be an option if you use Office on your iPad.

5. You can dictate words into a document

One of the downsides of using the iPad for writing is it does not have the same keyboard that makes writing on computers easier. Fortunately with Word, you can use your voice to input words. You simply need to tap the Microsoft icon that you will find on the digital keyboard and you can start dictating the content of your document.

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Office for iPad establishes the tablet as a true PC

Microsoft's announcement that it's bringing Office to the iPad is a game changer. Naysayers have belittled the tablet as a toy or a content consumption gadget since it launched. The argument has always been shaky, but with the world's most popular productivity suite now available for the iPad, you can no longer deny that the tablet is, in fact, just an evolution of the personal computer.

The debate is partially semantic. Diehards will tell you 'PC' refers only to a traditional Wintel computer. But most of us extend the term to encompass Mac OS X, Linux, and Chrome OS, as well, and the defining characteristics have more to do with how we use them.

For the vast majority of businesses and consumers, the primary activities on a PC boil down to email, social networking, Web surfing, and producing content--like Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations. There are still certain industries and specific applications that require a given platform or operating system, but for 80-plus percent of users a tablet like the iPad can do the job.

Even without Microsoft Office, both iPads and Android tablets have apps and services available to meet basic computing needs. Now that Microsoft has developed touch-enabled native versions of the core Office applications for the iPad, it's more than capable of going head-to-head with a desktop or laptop PC for productivity power.

I'm a long-time proponent of this idea. Just over two years ago I said, 'When laptops became notebooks, then netbooks, then ultrabooks there was no panic about the end of the PC. They're all just variations on a theme--different sizes and shapes of personal computers. The same is true for tablets.'

I also pointed out that Apple and Microsoft were both strong illustrations of the point. Both companies--the developers of the two leading desktop operating systems--were aggressively pursuing paths intent on melding desktop and mobile, and evolving the traditional desktop experience for the tablet.

Microsoft continues to steer down that path with its own desktop and mobile platforms, but it also recognizes the world has changed. Sales continue to decline for traditional PCs, while tablets and smartphones have usurped the role of primary computing device for many users.

Microsoft developed the Office for iPad apps because it understands that the Wintel platform no longer enjoys the virtual monopoly it once did, and it never will again. The PC has evolved to include tablets, and Microsoft has adapted by providing the tools users need to get things done no matter what form their 'personal computer' may take.

This story, 'Office for iPad establishes the tablet as a true PC' was originally published by .

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Microsoft Office available for iPhone and Android phones

Last Thursday Microsoft made its mobile office software free for phones running the Google Android OS and for Apple iPhones. Android and iPhone users now have free access to the complete mobile Office suite, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

The release is so far looking to be a success on the Android platform, with more than 15,000 five star ratings at the time of this writing and an average of 3.9 stars overall.

Taking back from third parties

Until now, Android and IPhone users who wanted to open Microsoft documents had to rely on third party software like Kingsoft Office, Office Suite 7 and Google's own QuickOffice. It will be Microsoft's hope that by releasing this software they'll be able to snatch back these users and regain some good will.

This kind of behavior is very odd from Microsoft, who in the past have been very reticent to distribute their software to platforms they don't own. It may well be a sign that things are changing and the tech giant is taking a more consumer-minded approach to their software.

Key features of Office Mobile

· cloud backups - MS is bringing its cloud infrastructure into play with this latest move. Users will be able to access any documents that is saved on either Onedrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint.

· Recently viewed - This cloud connection also makes it easy for users to use their phone to view any recently opened documents on their computers buy using the 'recent documents' panel.

· View and edit email attachments - The software will allow users to modify any Office documents attached to emails.

· Mobile optimisation - The different Windows applications have all been optimised to work best on the small screen.

· Similar functionality to computer software - Users will be able to use charts, animations, SmartArt Graphics and shapes in their work, just like they would on their home or work computer.

· Pick up where you left off - If you open a word document from the cloud on your phone that you previously had open on your computer or another device, it automatically resumes at the place you left off reading.

· Easy browsing - PowerPoint mobile's 'slide navigator' view lets you move through slides faster. It also has a 'speaker notes' function which helps you to practice your presentation.

· Formatting - Regardless of the device you are working on, the formatting will remain consistent throughout.

Problems

The most obvious problem with Mobile Office is that it requires users to utilize OneDrive instead of local storage. This isn't a problem for those who already use OneDrive regularly or don't mind having multiple places to store files.

But if you're not one of those people then being forced to sign up for yet another account is a very frustrating requirement. Especially when you consider that most of Mobile Office's best features are directly linked to the Cloud.

Furthermore, whilst it's good to see Microsoft making their stuff available to Android users, the fact still stands that Mobile Office is not currently compatible with Android tablets. This is unusual considering the speed at which the Apple iPad got its own version of Office.

And even more confusing when you consider the amount of people using Android tablets (largely thanks to Samsung's dominance in the marketplace.) As long as there isn't a tablet compatible version of Mobile Office for Android, Microsoft is missing out on a serious userbase.

It's good to see Microsoft taking the time to put its software in the hands of users not directly tied to its OS (at least in the mobile sphere), but the company's insistence on the use of OneDrive and the lack of an Android tablet presence may still hinder adoption of Mobile Office. If Microsoft listens to its audience though, and makes the right changes, it could see a huge number of users come on board.

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