Microsoft is readying an entirely tablet focused version of Office for Android, and reports say the company is currently looking for testers to give the upcoming apps a spin. Now nearly a year after we got Office for Android phones, the Office team is launching pre-release beta programs for the tablet version which includes its entire line of Microsoft Office client, server and cloud services. Participants can expect to see new versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Visio, Access, various Outlook applications and more.
The Android tablet version of Office is now the second tablet focused platform Microsoft is bringing its flagship software suite to, after the iPad version hit back in March. The new Office for Android tablets is expected to launch later this year with a similar touch optimized interface found on the iPhone version. It also looks to be coming to market ahead of the Windows tablet iteration, which isn't expected until early next year.
Another version expected to get a refresh before the Windows tablets is Office for Mac. As we previously reported, Business Group Lead at Microsoft Germany Thorsten Hübschen said we were likely to see the long awaited Mac refresh before the year is out.
Businesses and individual users interested in participating in the pre-release beta programs can head over to Microsoft's "Tell Us About You" pages and submit a survey.