If you went anywhere on the web today you know that Microsoft has released Office for iPad, consisting of three separate apps. Word, Excel, and Powerpoint are free apps available in the Apple app store. While free, they are limited unless you have an Office subscription plan, including the Office 365 subscription that is $99.99 per year.
In a follow-up announcement after it took the wraps off its long-awaited Office for iPad app, Microsoft has announced that it will run a promotion on Friday in its own Microsoft retail stores offering free year-long Office 365 subscriptions to iPad owners. The Office for iPad app requires a Office 365 subscription in order to engage the editing and creation functions in the app — without one, it will act only as a viewer and file manager for Office documents. The first 50 people to bring an iPad to a Microsoft retail outlet will get the free subscription, a $99 value.