Download Gold: Office for iPad Strikes it Rich

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For those who thought Office for iPad was too late to the party, the numbers tell a different story. Today Microsoft announced that Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote combined have been downloaded a staggering 12 million times in one week.

If you doubt that number, then just take a look at the App Store charts.

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are still ranked as the top three free iPad apps, and they have sat there comfortably for a whole week. Apple was very welcoming on Microsoft’s launch day with big banners advertising Office’s arrival in the App Store.

Another approach that is certainly helping Office’s downloads is Microsoft’s decision to go freemium. The apps are free to download and view documents in, but to edit you need an Office 365 subscription. The base cost for Office 365 is $10 per month, and Apple takes its normal 30% cut of in-app subscriptions that are purchased.

The camaraderie between Apple and Microsoft over Office has been so strong that Tim Cook and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella even shared on the love on Twitter. For companies that have historically been at odds, it’s all a little weird to observe. I guess Google and Samsung has taken the top spots on Apple’s list of hated competitors.

Maybe Apple and Microsoft are entering a new age of respect for each other? Well… minus the Surface tablet ads.

Source: Microsoft

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