Microsoft’s Senior Category Manager for the Mac version of Office said on Tuesday that a version of the productivity suite for Apple’s iPad was news to her. This casts doubt on new rumors from The Daily published on Tuesday saying that Office for iPad is so real that it’s been submitted to Apple’s App Store for approval.
In a statement given to The Mac Observer in response to questions about Office for iPad, Danell Arvberger, Sr. Category Manager - Office for Mac, said, “Interesting, this is the first I’ve heard of it. Thanks for sharing the article. If I find anything out and able to share I will let you know.”
In the world of corporate communications, that counts as a categorical denial. While it’s possible that the Mac manager for Office wouldn’t know anything about an iOS version of the suite, it frankly seems a tad unlikely.
Still, one would think that Microsoft would want to get its market-defining productivity apps on the world’s most popular tablet. Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads in the two years since it was introduced, making it a rich potential market for Microsoft to expand its Office empire.
As it is, there are a variety of third party apps on the App Store that can open, view, and/or edit most Microsoft Office documents to one degree or another. Apple also brought its iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) suite to the device.