The Apple Beat: Microsoft ramps up its iOS offerings

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

It took a while but Microsoft is finally ramping up its iOS apps and is doing so in grand fashion. Released this week were SkyDrive for iOS, OneNote for iPad and My XBox Live, an Xbox companion app as well as Kinectimals which interfaces with a Microsoft Kinect game of the same name. Could this be a sign that the much anticipated Microsoft Office for iOS is forthcoming?

Microsoft is the world's most important software company and have long been one of the key developers of Apple on the Mac front specially with MS Office. 

For the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad, Microsoft is a little late to the app party. But that's okay.

It did release a Bing search app, a Windows Messenger app and a Microsoft Tag app as well as the stunning Photosynth iOS app which in my opinion remains the best shoot-and-stitch panorama app on any mobile phone and possibly even on any camera. These are all very good applications but none of them focus on Microsoft's key product areas.

The new apps are free except for Kinectimals, which is a game and costs $ 2.99.

Now with the SkyDrive app, users can access their cloud storage from their iOS devices. Xbox users can play with their avatars and achievements  using the My XBox Live and OneNote puts pressure on all the notetaking apps in the market (OneNote is a mature mobile app,  originally designed for TabletPC and now integrated into Microsoft's Cloud service). 

Microsoft gets it. They understand the power of the ecosystem and even if they grudgingly accept iOS's lead in mobile devices, it is a smart move to have a presence in the dominant mobile operating system.

We haven't tested all these apps yet but we're expecting seamless integration with iOS and a polished user interface, this is Microsoft after all, and not some novice startup.

By maintaining these apps for iOS users, Microsoft keeps them locked into the XBox, Skydrive and OneNote ecosystems, promoting loyalty (and paid subscriptions).

In the end, it doesn't matter (that much) what device you use to access the service as long as you use the service religiously. Sounds familiar? This is how Microsoft Office made its competition irrelevant and remains the dominant and ubiquitous office suite in both Mac and PC markets.

Which brings us to Microsoft Office on iOS, it has to come soon and it has to be brilliant.

We're getting into the battle of the cloud services now and Apple, Google and Microsoft have all established their frameworks. Apple and Google also have office suites along with a dozen other app vendors on iOS.

A report last month from The Daily hinted that an iOS version of Office was in the works, specifically for the iPad.

 The report stated "the tech giant is actively working on adapting its popular software suite for Apple’s tablet.

With the iPad making up over 80 percent of the tablet market and millions of people worldwide using Office, that could mean big bucks for the tech giant based in Redmond, Wash."

Yep, just how Microsoft makes money on each HTC Android handset sold, it needs to find some way to cash in on iOS.

Microsoft needs to "bring it," with their iOS app for the iPad. Make it easy to use, fast, elegant and completely leverage all the features that make Office so dominant but scaled just right for the iPad.

Like it or not, the iPad is a computing platform now. Even Adobe, who resisted getting into the iOS app game because of the Flash debacle is bringing a slew of really cool and useful content creation apps to iOS including the much anticipated Photoshop Touch for iOS (but not before giving Google a few months lead time).

Will we see these Microsoft Apps on Android?

Not bloody likely.

The most we can expect is Skype (a given) and Bing and some Xbox companion apps. I don't think Microsoft relishes the thought of having to support its apps on Android's vast and multifarious selection of versions and devices. They don't need the headache.

The presence of these new iOS apps in iOS is Microsoft saying, "Yo, we're still here and we are making apps you can trust and want to use, even if it is on a non Microsoft device." Microsoft is thinking about their users and making decisions that make business sense, not just in the short term but in the long run.

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Gadjo Sevilla is a long time Mac user and technician and has been covering Apple's business and products for over 15 years. The Apple Beat is a weekly opinion column focusing on the latest Apple news.