Microsoft is not a company to accept defeat but they will adapt when it is smarter to do so. The company has had its ups and downs, of course—as every company does—but the Windows developer was a bit late to the mobile industry and the market has pretty much already chosen sides. Indeed, the mobile market mostly consists of Google Android users followed by Apple iOS users, leaving very little room for Windows Mobile to pick up ground.
But Microsoft is a smart company and, as such, they have adapted their popular Office software suite for optimized use on Android devices. Since the Apple OS is a direct competitor with Windows, it makes a lot of sense for Microsoft to approach the mobile market with this strategy. Furthermore, Android powers the majority of mobile devices on the market today, and since it is open source, Microsoft won’t have to pay any fees to develop on the platform.
Indeed, this is a wise choice for the Redmond, WA-based company.
And so, Microsoft continues to update its Office suite for Android, bringing several new features to its latest installment. Among these is the long-sought ability to pin a file to your home screen for faster access. Otherwise known as “bookmarking” this has long been a feature of Google Docs, but has not been available within the Windows suite for Android.
In addition, the Microsoft Office suite for Android update—released on Tuesday—brings more support for IRM-protected files so that you can view information rights management protected documents, spreadsheets, and presentations on your handset. You will also find new options to export documents to the OpenDocument format, which will allow you to save work in .ODT, .ODP, and .ODS formats (for documents, presentations, and spreadsheets, respectively). Finally—and FINALLY!—this latest update will adds Microsoft Word support for files saved in plain text format (.TXT) so you no longer need a different, third-party processor for the very simple task of reading a .TXT file.
A few smaller—but still significant—upgrades also include a wider color palette (if you have an Office 365 subscription), which you will see when you opt to format a file. Furthermore, Microsoft Outlook users will appreciate it is now easier and quicker to edit and save a document after opening it directly from your email.
