Office For iPad Caught In Wild

Microsoft's Office Suite for iPad has apparently been revealed in the wild, with the document creation and editing software reportedly headed to Apple's App Store approvals team imminently. Word, Excel and PowerPoint files can all be opened and created in the app, according to The Daily's brief hands-on, with the interface apparently similar to that of the existing OneNote for iPad app, along with hints of Microsoft's Metro UI.

That UI will play a significant role in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8, and the iOS Office app is expected to preview exactly how the company will reskin Office for Windows 8 tablets. Documents can be stored locally or on Microsoft's cloud servers, for collaborative work, though there's no indication of whether other Office apps will be joining the initial three supported.

Android tablet owners shouldn't get their hopes up, however. Microsoft apparently has no intention of putting together Office for Google's platform – which is already catered for by Google's own Google Docs  suite – despite the increasing number of keyboard-enabled Android tablets.

Meanwhile, a new iOS OneNote app with more Metro styling to its UI is also apparently in the pipeline. Specific release dates are unknown, but the app is reportedly completed and so its availability is likely reliant solely on how willing Apple is to allow it into the App Store.