New small-screen tablets running Windows have a new thing going for them, besides portability, new x86 processors, and an updated Windows 8.1 operating system on the way. Soon, tiny tablets will come with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 included right out of the box.
Engadget tracked down a Microsoft representative Wednesday at Computex, who confirmed that small Windows 8 tablets with screens less than 10 inches large will come with Office — that's Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote — right in the box.
Don't get too excited about this announcement. Noticeably missing from the list of applications is Outlook, which will come pre-installed on Microsoft Windows RT tablets beginning with the Windows 8.1 update, according to Engadget, but will not be available as an included feature for the mini tablets. Also, the less-than-10-inches and x86-based processor requirement means that there are not a lot of devices that will come with Office.
And as far as non-x86 based tablets, Microsoft says it "know[s] that the addition of Outlook for those using ARM-based Windows devices such as the Surface RT, Dell XPS 10, Lenovo Yoga 11, and ASUS VivoTab RT as well as new tablets to come in the future has been a popular request from consumers and businesses alike," Microsoft representative Brandon LeBlanc wrote on the Windows Blog. "We've listened and Outlook will be joining the other Office applications currently available on Windows RT, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote." Available, but not included.
One tablet where Office will be included is the Acer Iconia W3 — a new 8-inch Windows 8 tablet that will retail at $380 — which was specifically mentioned by the Windows Blog as one of the first small tablets to come with Office Home and Student 2013. You have to admit, that makes it a pretty good price, considering Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 is retailing for over $100 on its own.
Of course, with a new mini Windows 8 tablet, you'll soon get Windows 8.1 with several tablet-friendly updates, which, along with pre-installed Office on tiny tabs, Microsoft is hoping will help increase the languid sales of Windows 8 mobile devices. Here's the latest video from the company, showing off some of the new features of Microsoft Windows 8.1.
Stay with us for more information on more Windows 8 devices that will come with Office, as well as other tech news.