14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's tablets equipped with a freeware copy of the Office suite will get so popular that they will overtake Android's market share in 2015, says Taiwan-based analyst firm TrendForce. Still, they won't manage to get too close to the current leader of the market, the iPad.
The prediction was made after the company announced last week that all Windows RT tablets would come equipped with a freeware copy of Microsoft Office that would be delivered to users via Windows Update.
This is actually the ace up Microsoft's sleeve, reveals TrendForce's analyst Eric Chiou, mostly because the other tablets on the market do not feature such a powerful Office suite. WitsView, a TrendForce sub-brand, expects this to happen in 2015 when Windows tablets will be popular enough to challenge Android devices.
iPad's market share is expected to drop to 59 percent in 2015, while Windows tablets will grow up to 21 percent.
“Win8 tablet’s incorporation of business software such as Office will not only differentiate it from most other entertainment-oriented tablets, but also allow it to successfully gain a portion of Apple and Android devices’ market shares,” Eric Chiou told The Register.
Microsoft will offer only a preview of the next Office iteration on the first Surface tablets, as the suite isn't yet ready to be released. Tablet buyers, however, will be able to download the full product in the last months of 2012 via Windows Update at absolutely no cost.
Although the RT Office will still lack some features, such as Flash support, it's still regarded as a key addition to the newly-developed tablet, as the other devices on the market do not feature such an advanced Office suite.