Category: Microsoft Office 365

Microsoft has announced that users of the new Outlook.com experience will soon have improved support for handling files from Google Drive and photos from Facebook.  The updates are going to be rolling out over the course of the next few weeks and it is a back end change so there is nothing you need to do.  Once you have the update, Google Drive files will be available to you from the Attach menu when creating an email.  Today when you want to do this you have to open a wholly separate tab.  That will no longer be the case and it will make attaching files out of Google Drive quicker and simpler.

Microsoft and Lenovo have entered into an agreement which will see the Redmond company’s apps appear on the Beijing based company’s future Android phones.  The announcement by the companies will bring Microsoft Office apps, OneDrive and Skype to select Lenovo devices going forward.  Which specific devices is not laid out in the press release.

“Microsoft’s thrilled that our productivity apps will be pre-installed on Lenovo’s premium devices,” said Nick Parker, corporate vice president OEM Division, Microsoft. “The marriage of Microsoft’s apps and Lenovo’s Android-based devices will enable customers around the world to be more productive, more connected and achieve even more.”

For Lenovo, they are gaining access to some of Microsoft’s patents and IP (Intellectual Property) to be cross-licensed in Motorola and Lenovo devices.

Today over at Amazon, you can take advantage of a sale the retailer is having on various Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions.  The discounts vary by package but if you chose the Office 365 Home or Office 365 Personal, it gives you free access to the full features of the Office apps for Android on your phone or tablet.  Even if you are already an Office 365 subscriber, you can take advantage of the sale.

Office 365 Home allows you to install the full Office suite on up to 5 PCs or Macs plus 5 tablets and 5 phones.  That package is on sale today for $89.99, a savings of 10%.  It is delivered to you by download (you will get the key to add the suite to your Microsoft Office account) and this isn’t just the web versions but the full PC or Mac versions too.

Over at Amazon, you can pick up a great deal on Office 365 Home Edition from Microsoft.  Right now if you order the card version (meaning they ship you a card with your access codes), you can get it for just $76.09.  That’s a savings of $24 over the regular $99 price tag.  Keep in mind too that this is the Home edition so you can install Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs (or any combination) with this one purchase.  The license gives you access to download both the offline versions (the Office apps you are familiar with like Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Excel & Access) as well as the online versions of these apps plus a few more, like Sway, online.  Across 5 PCs or Macs, this breaks down to just $15 a year for each computer to have Office.  Yep, it’s a pretty good deal.  From an Android perspective, if you have Office 365, you get access to all of the mobile versions of Microsoft’s apps for free too.  These will be completely unlocked when you sign in with your Office 365 account.