ffice 15 on Windows on ARM Completely Free? Probably Not

After Microsoft released its detailed description of Windows on ARM (WOA) last week, there has been some speculation as to the pre-installed Office 15 apps. Essentially, will they be free, or will they each have their own pricetag, or will users be required to purchase the entire Office 15 suite?

As previously reported, Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows and Windows Live Division, said that the Metro-styled Office 15 apps -- Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint -- will be full-fledged desktop versions that are "significantly architected" for both touch and minimized power/resource consumption.

"They're claiming it's a full version of Office, but that it's a 'consumer version,'" said Michael Silver of Gartner, who was briefed by Microsoft. "But we're not sure what that means." Al Hilwa, an analyst with IDC who was also briefed by Microsoft last week, added that there will be some level of capability to those Office apps, "but what we don't know is who pays for it."

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