MS Office on iPad soon (ignore Microsoft denials)

Here comes Microsoft Office for the iPad. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) appears to deny that it's close to release on the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) tablet, but in IT Blogwatch, bloggers conclude that all is not as it may seem.
 
By Richi Jennings: Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: The World's Largest Rope Swing...
 
 
Gregg Keizer reports "renewed rumors":

The Daily, which late last year...[said] Microsoft was developing a version of its...Office suite for the iPad, today bolstered that claim with a purported screenshot.
...
Microsoft released OneNote for the iPad last December...but has kept mum on plans to port other applications. ... Microsoft's Business division, which generated more [money] last quarter than any other part of the company, would be responsible. ... The release...could be just weeks away.   

    
Matt Hickey [insert pedestrian "love byte" gag]:

Sources now say that the app will soon be submitted to Apple for approval. ... A brief hands-on...revealed a number of new things. [The UI] is similar to the current OneNote app, but it has hints of Metro. ... Word, Excel and PowerPoint files can be created and edited locally and online.
...
Sources [said] an Android version...is not in the works, [but] an updated OneNote iOS app [is].   

But Brian X. Chen has bad news for iPad-toting Officeistas:

A Microsoft spokeswoman [said] “The Daily story is based on inaccurate rumors and speculation.” ... She added that a screen image...showing an Office product for iPad was “not Microsoft’s software,” she said.   

Mary Jo Foley parses the denial:

As a long-time Microsoft watcher, I’ve seen lots of Microsoft denials. ... Does this mean Microsoft isn’t building Office for the iPad? No. ... Notice Microsoft officials did not say that Microsoft isn’t building...Office for the iPad. ... (I’d be more surprised [if not].)
...
A more truthful answer could have been...“This isn’t what the final launch screen...may end up looking like.” But...they tried to discredit the whole report, hoping that those reading would say “nothing to see here.” ... I think Microsoft’s main quibble with The Daily’s report today may be around the alleged timing. ... .   

And Preston Gralla analyzes the sans-Android side of the rumor:

That makes it clear: Google, not Apple, is Public Enemy #1 at Microsoft. ... But it's a mistake for Microsoft to release a version of Office for the iPad and not for Android. ... [If] Microsoft is to succeed, it needs to compete on all platforms...Android is the most popular mobile operating system.
...
Microsoft apparently considers Google too dangerous a competitor to cooperate with.   

Meanwhile, Hickey's boss, Peter Ha, baits the bear:

If @Microsoft is pissed about what we published today on @Office for iPad, they likely won't be happy with our follow up.   

   
And Finally...
World's Largest Rope Swing
[hat tip: Katie Judge]
   
 
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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. He's the creator and main author of Computerworld's IT Blogwatch, for which he has won ASBPE and Neal awards. He also writes The Long View for IDG Enterprise. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can read Richi's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.