Following the announcement of Microsoft Office 2013 early this week, Microsoft has now also detailed how the new cloud-based productivity suite will be accessible via Windows Phone 8 devices.
In a post on Microsoft's new Office Next blog, partner group programme manager, John Jendrezak, explains the new cross-device functionality of Office 2013: “Your world is changing quickly and the number of devices - smartphones, tablets, PCs - that you use on a daily basis is multiplying. Each of these devices has computing power, local storage, connectivity, and a form factor optimised for specific tasks, but is also able to do just about anything you can do on the other devices as well.
“Examples like Skype, Spotify, Netflix and SkyDrive show us how applications recognise you when you sign in and delivers you your content targeted to specific devices. We see the Office experience the same way.
“Your content and applications should be available to you wherever you are and on whatever device you are using in a way that is consistent and familiar to you,” says Jendrezak.
Jendrezak explains the roaming settings in Office 2013 create new settings that roam with the user across any connected device. “For example, Word and PowerPoint make it easy to get right back into your work by remembering where you left off in each document or presentation. So, if you didn't have time to finish reviewing an important document before you had to leave work, Word will remember what paragraph you were last reading/editing when you open that document on another machine.
“PowerPoint remembers the slide you were on so you don't have to go hunting for that last edit in a long deck. These features extend to your mobile device as well. For example, your Windows Phone will show your recent files for one-touch access while you are on the go.”
The new Office 2013 interface will debut when the first Windows Phone 8 devices are released later this year. This week, Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky announced at the cimpany's annual sales meeting that Windows 8 will be officially released on 26 October. It will be available as an upgrade and on new PCs.
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