Microsoft launches Office for Android preview

Microsoft has launched a preview of Office for Android smartphones. Pre-release versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint are available for phones running Android 4.4 or later.

Functionality looks much the same as the previous tablet-oriented releases, with support for creating and opening the same documents you’re using now, and the ability to save files to OneDrive (+ For Business), Dropbox and SharePoint. While you won’t need an Office 365 subscription this time, getting hold of the apps still takes a little work. You must first sign up to the official Microsoft Office for Android community, then wait for up to four hours for your tester’s permissions to be replicated before you can download.

The actual delay probably won’t be that long -- we only had to wait a few minutes -- but if you’re not recognized as a tester, or you can install only one or two of the apps and are warned that the other is "incompatible" with your device, try again later.

With that out of the way you should be up and running immediately, though, and further updates are automatic and hassle-free.

Word, Excel and PowerPoint previews for Android smartphones are available now.