Microsoft continues to show that it is very focused. Along with increasingly interesting hardware, with this proposal that represents the entire Surface range, now It's time to give Microsoft Office a spin through an application that unifies the experience of Word, Excel and Access. This is Office, the new app for mobile devices.
Office, the only application you will ever need
Office is the new Microsoft application, a new way of understanding and, above all, promoting the use of the different office tools associated with the Office 365 subscription. But if you are interested, let's go in parts.
The new application could already be seen a few months ago, in summer to be exact, in the new Samsung terminals. This app brought together all the Microsoft Office applications in one place. It is a kind of HUB from which to create and access any type of file, such as Word, Powerpoint or Excel documents. Also to the documents that could be stored in OneDrive.
The idea is to have an app that gives access to everything. In this way the user experience is much more simplified, but above all agile. Especially if we take into account that we are talking about mobile devices where the interfaces and multitasking work are not as efficient as on desktop systems.
The interface, as you can see in the screenshots, is quite simple and somewhat similar to what Google offers through Drive. A place where all the files are, a button to add the type of document you want and another with actions. That's so fast. Then there are more details, but the basis is that it is comfortable to use during the day to day.
When it comes to working with each of the different types of files, it behaves in the same way as the independent applications. That is, if you are in a spreadsheet you will have all the formulas and cell editing. In plain text documents, everything you need to format and create writing exactly the way you want. The only limitation will be the size of the screen and how comfortable it is for you in front of a desktop or laptop computer.
To all this are added those extras such as OneDrive management or the possibility of scanning documents through the cameras of mobile devices on which the new application is installed.
In short, Microsoft proposes a much more comfortable and productive work experience. And the truth is that it is very well thought out. So much so that, looking at it, one wonders why it wasn't done from the beginning. It is true that sometimes the aim is not to overwhelm the user with multiple options that he never uses, but in cases like this of the Office suite it made sense because to a greater or lesser extent everyone would use a .word, .ppt or .xls at some point.
If you want to try this new application you will have to enter the beta program. Something that Right now it has a limitation in the case of iOS, but as it expands or generates opportunities you can try. If not, let's hope it doesn't take long for the final version to be released and it's already available to everyone. In the case of Android yes you can download the public beta now.