Microsoft & Nokia Come Together Over Office

Filed in archive Announcements on August 12, 2009

The world's top software maker and top handset maker have reached an agreement. Microsoft confirms that it has reached a deal with Nokia to make a mobile version of its Office software that works on devices made by the manufacturer.

Microsoft said it will launch the latest version of its Office product next year, including an online version that will let users access Word, Excel and PowerPoint right over the net.

The deal with Nokia helps Microsoft expand into mobile devices while countering the recent entries of free Web-based word processors, spreadsheets and applications from Google, Sun Microsystems and others.

The agreement is another sign that the two companies, once fierce rivals, are coming closer together as mutual threats have emerged (such as Apple's iPhone, RIM's Blackberry, and Google's Android).

Yes Microsoft already makes a version of Office for devices running its Windows Mobile operating system and other companies have released programs that allow users to open Office files on BlackBerrys and other smartphones but this latest merger represents the first of its kind.