Android may get touch-friendly Office apps before Windows 8.x

Since his appointment as CEO in February of this year, Satya Nadella has made it clear that Microsoft needs to be more than a one-platform developer. Still, it may come as some surprise that the Android version of the latest touch-optimized Office suite will be released months before the Windows 8 variant.

Office's user base across PCs remains high, but in order to target mobile users, the majority of whom are on Android or iOS, the company is making a clear statement that it won't neglect these consumers.

At last week's Code Conference, Nadella said, "There are going to be Windows devices and there are going to be other devices and we have to make sure our services run on all of them".

According to ZDNet, the Android versions of the touch-screen apps are likely to be available by the end of the year, with the Windows version not arriving until spring 2015. While the news may come as a disappointment to Windows users, sources indicate that the later release date is more than just a coincidence.

Microsoft's Windows 9 is rumoured to launch at this time and is likely to include at least one version that doesn't include a desktop, at which point the Windows version of the touch-first Office suite should come into its own.

With the latest news following on from March's Office for iPad announcement, it seems clear that Microsoft is not willing to limit itself as a developer, as it looks to increase its market share across all platforms.

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