Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) apparently pushed back the iOS and Android versions of Office to fall of 2014. That’s according to what may be a road map for Microsoft’s Gemini project. The purported map also includes timing for other Office products.
A source showed CNET’s Mary Jo Foley the alleged road map, which starts with Gemini wave 1.0. The first wave incorporates the Blue metro-style / Windows Store features into the main Office programs, including Word, PowerPoint, OneNote and Excel.
The programs will become more touch-based so that they can work on Windows 8 and Windows RT. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) apparently intends the new versions not to replace the original programs, but to simply supplement them. The map indicates that the apps will become available no later than October of this year.
According to the map, Gemini 1.5 is scheduled for April of next year and includes the Mac Office and Windows Phone updates. In addition, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) intends to customize Office for LSX hardware, which basically means a large-screen experience.
Also in April of next year, Office RT is expected to come out. According to CNET, this could be a refreshed version of RT’s desktop version of the four main Office programs. The current RT suite was ported to ARM and has been bundled in with Windows RT. Although a source told Foley that Microsoft has finished porting most or all of its Office apps over to ARM, she doesn’t believe this milestone will include the porting of any other than the four main Office apps over to Windows RT.
The map also indicates that the RT version of Outlook might not come out until fall of 2014, even though it’s believed that the app is currently being tested. Fall 2014 also has the iOS and Android versions of Office. Previous indications have pointed to an early to mid-2013 release of these versions.
The map also makes no mention of tying in Office 365, which is Microsoft’s subscription version of Office.
