Well for those of you looking into the iPad you are possibly in luck, according to TheDaily Microsoft is preparing to release a slimmed down version of Office for iOS. The new Apple specific software would include Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The reasoning behind the lack of an Outlook app is not clear although we do know that Apple does not like anything the replicates a core function of the iOS and as Outlook does mail, calendar and tasks it is possible that they wanted to avoid potentially being rejected by the Apple review process.

The time line for launch of this new “App” is also not known, but we would suspect that it will fall into line with the release of Windows 8 for ARM. Microsoft would not want to hurt potential sales of their new OS on Arm based tablets by giving people something they want on a potentially more attractive product. By timing the launch of this with their own release they are covering all of the bases, which on one hand it smart and on the other could be a problem.

Still this move does show that Microsoft is returning to their push for tablet systems and that we can expect more from them in this arena. Of course, with Microsoft’s last two OS launches they failed to build enough consumer interest to truly move people to buy the new OS. Windows 7 was better than Vista to be sure and Windows 8 is getting better press than 7 did (with the exception of the logo). The tricky part will be convincing people to buy into the new UI (Metro) when that same UI is doing very poorly on the platform it was built for.

I think that the CPP (Customer Preview Program) numbers and interest will be a very telling factor here. If the numbers of downloads are good and the feedback from the press and consumers both constructive and positive Windows 8 could pick up. If not; well we could see another OS that takes 18 months to grab hold like Windows 7 did (which is a very good OS to be honest)…

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