14 DAY TRIAL // The latest series of leaked screenshots from the next generation of Office seem to confirm rumors that Microsoft is working to add a new application to the productivity suite.
As users can see from the images included with this article, a new app has made its debut in an early development milestone of Office 15 (Build 15.0.2714.1001).
Codenamed Moorea, the next generation Office 15 component shares visual identity elements with Word.
Of course, this is bound to change as work on the next major iteration of Office progresses, and by any estimates, Office 15 is still far from being finalized.
There’s no official word from Microsoft on what Moorea is exactly. It appears from the screenshots that the company’s promise is that Moorea will deliver “everything you need in one place…” (via WinBeta)
And by everything users need, the software giant refers to a variety of content, including text, video and pictures.
In this regard, my best guess is that Office 15’s Moorea will be a multimedia creation and possibly consumption tool.
The tile-based graphical user interface certainly appears tailored to NUI (natural user interface) devices, suggesting that Moorea has been designed with next gen form factors like slates / Tablet PCs in mind.
Still, there is nothing certain at this point in time, especially with the Redmond company keeping all Office 15 details under a tight lid.
It’s bound that the increase in the volume of leaked details and screenshots from Office 15 will be followed by the actually bits making their way in the wild, and it’s bound that some clarification will be provided as users get to play with Moorea.
I don’t expect Office 15 to ship for some years. In fact, 2013 sound pretty good when it comes down to the launch of Office 2010’s successor. And as such, it’s most likely that Microsoft will brand Office 15 as Office 2014.
