Microsoft unifies key Office apps for Android users

New Delhi, Feb 18 (IANS) Microsoft has made its unified Office experience combining the Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps available for Android users worldwide.

Now these key apps are available independently as well as in a unified form.

Earlier the unified experience designed for mobile users was available only to Office Insiders as a preview, and Microsoft had only started testing it with a small group of users, Thurrott.com reported on Monday, adding that the company was releasing the app for everyone this week.

The app allows users to instantly create PDFs from photos or Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, easily transfer files between their phone and computer or share instantly with nearby mobile devices, sign PDFs using finger, quickly jot down ideas and notes with Sticky Notes and scan QR codes to open links, among others.

The Office app can be downloaded for free and in-app purchases in India can range from Rs 420-Rs 590 per item.

“Anyone can download the Office app for free and start using it right away. Access and save documents to the cloud by connecting with a Microsoft Account (for OneDrive or SharePoint) or by connecting to a third-party cloud storage provider,” according to Microsoft.

“Logging in with a personal, work, or school Microsoft Account connected to an Office 365 subscription will unlock premium features within the app,” it added.

According to a report in Android Police, the new Office app does not work too well with tablet devices yet.

It is also not known if Microsoft is planning to roll out a similar unified experience for iOS users.