Mobile versions of Microsoft Office are now free

Free office-productivity suites have been the norm since the early days of mobile apps. But Microsoft resisted the trend—until today. The company just announced that iPhone, iPad, and Android tablet users can now get the suite free. Previously, mobile Office users had to fork over $99 a year for a subscription to Office 365 if they wanted to edit or create files, although a version allowing read-only access was free.

There's a new Office for iPhone, an updated version of Office for iPad, and a preview of the Android tablet version; the full Android suite will be available in early 2015. The Office suite includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and One Note. You still have to pay for non-mobile versions of Office, with prices starting at $140 for the home and student version. Other options are the $99 annual subscription or a monthly plan that costs $7 to $10, depending on how many computers you install it on.

Microsoft is also working with Dropbox, launching a new program that lets users edit and share Office files from right within Dropbox, sync files across devices from Dropbox, and access Dropbox from within Office.

We'll check out the new versions of the software. Meanwhile, we took a look at the earlier version of Office for iPad, and liked it. Our biggest gripe was the payment scheme. That's no longer an issue, and that's great news for consumers.

—Donna Tapellini