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Surface mini is dead but Office for Android nears birth

A smaller Surface machine isn’t coming soon but Office for Android surely is.

The rumor mill is running hot about the Surface Mini (comatose, possibly deceased) and Microsoft Office for Android (in gestation).

Microsoft did have a plan for a smaller version of their Surface computers but it was apparently killed. Buy why? Surely Microsoft needed a mid-size device like the iPad Mini or Nexus 7?

Microsoft does need such a device in their range but there’s little point in doing that when sales of the full size Surface computers are so relatively poor. Sure, there’s plenty of hype about Surface computer but the high real price (compared to the misleading headline price) means that sales aren’t as great as Microsoft might hope.

The main reason for the delay in Surface Mini is Microsoft Office, or rather the lack of a version of Office that would suit a small screen device.

Surface Mini needs a touch based / Modern interface version of Office – that’s in the works but isn’t ready yet. Even when ‘Office Touch’ does come out, it’s probably not a good idea to launch the Mini hardware at the same time because if one fails, they’ll both look bad.


Office for Android

Next cab off the Microsoft Office rank looks like Office for Android devices.

Office for iPad: The Complete Guide

Office for iPad has been a success from Microsoft’s viewpoint … and ours too with the fantastic popularity of our Office for iPad: The Complete Guide available right now for only $4.95 (hint, hint).

Almost immediately the Office for iPad apps became the ‘go to’ apps for editing Office documents, despite the presence of many other apps that can do a similar job. Office for iPad has boosted the case for paying an annual fee for Office programs since that’s the only way to get the full editing features.

With so many Android devices out there, Microsoft needs to plant an Office flag there before some rival becomes entrenched. It will also give more people a reason to ‘subscribe’ to Office which is Microsoft primary goal.

The considerable expertise shown by the Office for iPad developers should mean a good Android product. Fingers crossed.

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