Big winner with Office for iPad and Android delay: Google

Summary: Microsoft is reportedly delaying a launch of Office for the iPad and Android to late next year. That may be too late with Google poised to take Office customers.

Microsoft Office has long been expected on the iPad and Android tablets, even though the company in Redmond, Washington, has never confirmed that it's coming. But those two mobile markets are too large to ignore, and analysts have predicted that Microsoft is losing billions of dollars each year without a version of Office for them. Now comes word that this new version of Office is coming, but won't appear for over a year. That very well may be too late for the bunch in Redmond.

Quickoffice
(Image: Google)

My colleague Zack Whittaker believes Google Docs will take some of these customers away, but that's not the biggest threat to Microsoft. The longer Microsoft neglects to release the iOS and Android versions of Office, a greater number of customers owning iPads and other tablets will discover competing Office-compatible apps for those platforms. Having used many of these suites for years, it is clear they are robust enough to fill the need for Office for many owners.

It hasn't been stated but don't be surprised when Google releases the latest version of Quickoffice for the iPad, Android tablets, and all chromebooks to compete directly with Microsoft Office.

There is an even bigger threat to Microsoft in the mobile Office market that is already sneaking in to steal customers lacking real Office. That threat is Google, and not with Google Docs, as Whittaker believes. No, the real threat that Google will throw at Microsoft is Quickoffice.

Quickoffice has been a top Office-compatible suite on both Android and iOS for years, a viable alternative to Office. It is so good that Google bought the company (and thus the product) last year.

Google hasn't been sitting on Quickoffice, either. It has already produced new versions of the office suite for the iPad and Android that are free for paid Google Apps customers. Google has stated that it will integrate Quickoffice into the premium Chromebook Pixel laptop. In other words, the company is positioning Quickoffice as a full-featured business alternative for Microsoft Office on three different platforms.

The free version of Quickoffice released by Google is not the only one. Quickoffice Pro, the latest paid version, is available for both iOS and Android for $19.99 each.

It hasn't been stated, but don't be surprised when Google releases a new version of Quickoffice for the iPad, Android tablets, and all chromebooks. This version may not be free, but it's almost a given that it will be cheaper than Microsoft will price Office to remain profitable. This will put a quality office suite that competes with (and is compatible with files produced by) Microsoft Office on the huge iPad and Android markets. It won't be as complete an office suite as that from Microsoft, but it will be good enough for a large portion of that market.

This delay of getting Office to competing mobile platforms will end up biting Microsoft where it hurts. The pit bull (Google) doing the biting has executed a master plan with Quickoffice, and it will be significant. It will change the street definition of Scroogled when Google hits Microsoft's profitable Office business.

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Topics: Mobility, Android, Google, iPad, Microsoft

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

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Android laptop? No! Give us Android apps on Chromebooks instead

An Asian source that often shares rumors that have no basis in fact recently put one out there about upcoming Android laptops. I'm not linking to it, as it's not a news report; it's pure conjecture. It's also a very silly idea on all fronts.

(Image: James Kendrick/ZDNet)

A laptop running Android would offer nothing of benefit to consumers or the enterprise. The OS is designed for phones with small screens, and tablets with slightly larger ones that are totally operated by touch. As good as Android is on those devices, it would not be of much use on a laptop as the primary OS.

We already have Android tablets with laptop docks, like the Transformer line from Asus. These tablets are quite nice for occasional use in the dock as a laptop stand-in, but not as full-time laptops. While a few Android apps work fine on these hybrids in laptop mode, most really need a tablet form to be useful. That's lost on a pure laptop form.

An Android laptop would certainly need a touchscreen to even use most apps. The only apps that would be feasible to use on a laptop are those that scale up to a larger screen; there are quite a few that do, but far more that don't. There would need to be a way to find "laptop" apps in the Play Store, and even that would be hit and miss.

There are some good office suite apps on Android that would open the chromebook up to the enterprise market. While not real Office, these apps go a long way to replacing Microsoft's suite for many.

No, Android laptops won't serve any users that aren't already covered well by existing products. What I'd rather see Google make happen is bring Android apps to the chromebook.

With the first touch chromebook already on the market, it makes far more sense to bring Android apps to Chrome OS. These apps would extend the already useful OS by opening it up to the thousands of apps already out there. While many of the apps wouldn't be a good fit for the laptop form, quite a few others would work just fine.

There are some good office suite apps on Android that would open the chromebook up to the enterprise market. While not real Office, these apps go a long way toward replacing Microsoft's suite for many. Chromebooks could waltz right into the enterprise with ease if they could run Android apps.

The enterprise angle aside, chromebooks with Android apps would have outstanding entertainment options. There are lots of good games and media apps on Android that would be right at home on the chromebook touchscreen.

Chromebooks are solid devices without Android, and I'm not suggesting they need the apps to be useful. But if you have a choice to run the apps, then why not?

I'm happy with the Chromebook Pixel I am using, as it is a fine laptop. But when I think of it adding Android apps to the mix, it would be outstanding.

This would be the case of adding utility to an existing group of products, and that's always a good thing. Making an Android laptop that doesn't provide any utility not already possible with existing products serves no purpose. So please, Google, we don't need Android laptops. Give us chromebooks with Android instead.

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