Microsoft, Office is now available for free on mobile devices.

Microsoft, Office is now available for free on mobile devices.
Microsoft  hadn't even made Office available on mobile devices.That began to change in 2013, when Office came to the iPhone and eventually Android smartphones. Office didn't debut on the iPad until March of this year.

Still, you needed a  subscription to use the software.since you get access to some functionality that non-paying customers don't. Office 365 includes integration with Dropbox and 1 terabyte of Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage.

However, with the free Microsoft office , all iPhone, iPad and Android owners can create and edit Office documents, spreadsheets and presentations -- without necessarily being subscribed to office.

Microsrofts decision was probably  reached to due to the rise in mobile phone usage than hat of laptops and desktop computers -- Office's mainstay. Competitors' products were also getting better and were available to mobile users -- and the price was better. Google (GOOGL, Tech30) has long offered its Drive productivity apps for free to customers, and Apple (AAPL, Tech30) began offering its iWork suite of apps for free to iPhone and iPad users last year as well.

By giving away Office for free to mobile users, Microsoft is making a bet that it will maintain a strong base of Office for PCs as well. Those who use Office for mobile will probably appreciate the interoperability with their PC version of Office. And editing, creating and even reading documents on mobile devices is still a mostly painful process, so the need for Office on the computer hasn't eroded yet.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is still pushing its Office 365 subscription. Office for mobile is still a better experience if you pay for it, . Microsoft said unlimited OneDrive storage is coming soon.

Besides from that Microsoft is also planing the launch if its first ever Microsoft app .

Source cnn