Redmond (ip-192.com): Microsoft’s Office Web Apps, the limited add-supported online version of Microsoft Office 2010, will allow customers for the first time to access and use well known applications such as Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint for free. In a move seemingly aimed to counteract Google Apps, users will be able to store their documents online rather than on a computer.
Enterprise customers can buy the new Office and SharePoint 2010 products now, small business and home users will have to wait another 30 days. One of the main new features allows users to work on a document or presentation simultaneously while connected to the Internet. Previous versions of office allowed users to track changes made in documents e-mailed back and forth. Now teams can switch from a PC based version to the online version of office and collaborate.
To access Office Web Apps, users need to sign up for Windows Live. 500 million people have already done so, Microsoft says, and approximately 500 million people are using some office products. This relates to a market share of around 94 percent, according to research firm Gartner. Sizeable competing products are OpenOffice, a free productivity software package that is part of most Linux distributions, and Google Apps for Business and Google Docs. Google's online suite of software that is still lacking a true relational database offering is currently used by about 25 million customers.
In sync with Office 2010, Microsoft has also updated its mobile application set. Customers that already use Office Mobile on a Windows Mobile 6.5 device can update their productivity software free of charge. The new version comes with a new interface and the applications are geared toward touch-screens.
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