“Apple’s rivals are always on edge when new iPhones are unveiled, but Tuesday’s iPhone 5S event made an unlikely loser out of Microsoft,” Julianne Pepitone reports for CNNMoney.
“Apple is now offering its five iWork productivity apps for free on new iPhones and iPads — a direct challenge to Microsoft’s Office. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the apps in the iWork suite, which previously cost $40, are the best-selling mobile productivity apps on any platform,” Pepitone reports. “Office Mobile apps come with two big catches that Apple’s iWork doesn’t have: Office Mobile is available only for users who subscribe to Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud-based Office service that costs $100 per year. And the Microsoft apps don’t work on tablets — likely because Microsoft wants to give its own struggling Surface tablet a fighting chance.”
Pepitone reports, “That’s not going to cut it, particularly now that iPhone users can get iWork with no price tag or other strings attached… Apple iWork is the scariest foe that Microsoft Office has yet faced, according to Zeus Kerravala, an independent analyst. Apple’s offering, which includes iPhoto and iMovie, plus three services that let users create documents and presentations, has deeper functionality than other popular free alternatives, including Google Docs, Evernote and Dropbox. To counteract the threat, Kerravala thinks Microsoft should make full-functionality Office Mobile apps available to all Apple and Android non-corporate users. ‘If you were going to lose that person to another platform, you’re going to have trouble monetizing them anyway,’ Kerravala said.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: There’s nothing unlikely about Microsoft being in a losing position at an iPhone event. Apple been killing them at every iPhone event ever held.
Now, we wrote back in July:
Microsoft had a chance to preserve one of their cash cows by making Office for iOS and Android. That window of opportunity is closing, if it hasn’t already.
The world has or soon will realize that, no, actually you do not need Microsoft Office to word process or create spreadsheets and presentations.
The failure to create Office for iOS and Android in a misguided push to sell tablets and phones running Microsoft OSes will be looked at as one of, if not the, biggest mistake Microsoft made during their ill-fated attempt to recover after being repeatedly, unmercifully steamrolled by Apple’s Steve Jobs with the iPhone, iPad, iCloud, App Store and the rest of the formidable iOS ecosystem.
Related articles:
Apple kicks Microsoft when it’s down with free iWork for iOS apps – September 10, 2013
Apple’s iWork for iCloud beta seeded to consumers; brings iWork to Windows PCs; may be free, hurting Microsoft’s Office 365 – July 19, 2013
NY Times’ Pogue: Microsoft’s Office Mobile for iPhone is very little, very late – June 19, 2013
Microsoft releases Office Mobile for iPhone via Apple App Store – June 14, 2013
