Microsoft has two of the world’s strongest software products in its line up. One of these is the Windows operating system, in use in every office I’ve ever worked in, and in use in most homes, too.
The other is Office, which is just as ubiquitous and all pervasive. Obviously, if a smartphone is running Windows, the integration with Office must be pretty good, too. Right?
The software
The Mozart comes with a version of Office pre-installed. This includes mobile versions of Word, Excel and OneNote (the finest piece of software ever to come out of Redmond). It also has a PowerPoint reader, although I haven’t tested it yet. It seems that you can only create new OneNote, Word and Excel documents. I must remember to test if you can edit existing PowerPoint documents.
The Acid Test
I originally drafted this blog post in Word on the phone. For the curious, I’ve made the .docx file available for download so you can see for yourself how it handles formatting.
Word is a very friendly app to scratch out ideas. I wouldn’t want to have to write anything too large or complex, but the editing is nifty, responsive and unobtrusive.
I haven’t tried reading anything complex in the app though. I don’t have a need for that functionality. If you have a document you would like to see rendered on the WP7 interface, just drop me a line in the comments.
Below is a quick video of Word in action. Filmed on my iPhone 3GS in low light under a desk lamp. The only audio should be movement rattle and the annoying high-pitched whir of my PC fans.
Download the .docx : Testing Word blog post