Microsoft Office On the iPhone? Apple Partners Say 'Meh'

Speculation is once again swirling about Microsoft bringing its Office suite to the iPhone, but Apple partners doubt that demand for productivity applications within the iPhone user base will ever materialize.

iPhone users have been able to read Word, Excel, and PowerPoint email attachments since Apple released the iPhone 2.0 firmware last July, but they haven't the ability to edit documents. At the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco earlier this week, Stephen Elop, president of the Microsoft Business Division, hinted that Microsoft could offer this functionality in a version of Office for the iPhone.

As some Microsoft watchers have noted, Microsoft last October revealed its intention to offer light versions of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint that users will access through Internet Explorer, Safari for the Mac, and Firefox, so editing Office documents on the iPhone looks to be just a matter of time.

But some Apple partners don't think there's much demand for Office on the iPhone, mainly because the device hasn't yet emerged as a bona fide tool for doing business while on the road.

"It's really hard to see the iPhone as a primary work device, and I don't see how people on the go would use it to edit documents, since most people already have laptops," said Ed Crelin, president and CEO of MacInsight, an Apple partner in Wallingford, Vt.

Shane Spiess, president of Portland, Ore.-based Apple reseller MacForce, who has a staff of 20 iPhone users who offer continual feedback on all aspects of the device, expects the iPhone to continue adding more computer-like functionality, but says it's not going to actually replace notebooks and netbooks.

Most productivity apps on Apple's App Store are simplistic and task oriented, which suggests that Office on the iPhone would be overkill for most users, added Spiess.

"I still find it hard to believe that many people are going to use productivity applications on a mobile phone," he said. As long as I can view a document while I'm on the road and respond to it if necessary, that's typically all I need," said Spiess.

But as iPhone penetration grows, some companies are betting that productivity applications for the device will eventually become a bustling business.

At the CTIA show earlier this week, QuickOffice, a Plano, Texas.-based mobile application developer, unveiled an iPhone app that lets users edit Word and Excel files. Called Quickoffice for iPhone, the $9.99 app includes document and spreadsheet editors, as well as file access and content management functions.

Jay Wooten, president of Visual Dynamics, an Apple specialist based in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla., says he's seeing growing demand for productivity solutions on both the iPhone and iPod Touch, and Office on the iPhone would likely appeal to many users.

"Having the ability to edit word processing documents, as well as spreadsheets and presentations, would open up some interesting possibilities," Wooten said.

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