Microsoft to Release SharePoint Apps For Windows 8, Windows Phone and iOS in Early 2013

According to ZDNet, Microsoft is working on SharePoint apps for Windows 8, Windows Phone and iOS that will be released early next year. Microsoft has readied prototypes of the apps that are being demoed at the SharePoint Conference 2012, which kicked off today in Las Vegas, including a SharePoint Newsfeed app and a SkyDrive Pro app.

“‘We’ve had a design team four times in size compared to what we’ve had working on previous SharePoint releases,’ said Jeff Teper, Corporate Vice President of Office Servers and Services Program Management. The result: Mobile apps that reflect the “modern” style that Microsoft is pushing across Windows 8 and Windows Phone.”

For users with Windows Phone 7.5 or 8 devices, a test build of the SharePoint newsfeed is available by navigating to aka.ms/spwp in Internet Explorer and following the onscreen instructions. Microsoft also provided the mockup screenshot below of what the newsfeed will look like on Windows 8, although a test build is not yet available on that platform.

Official mockup of SharePoint newsfeed for Windows 8. (Source: Microsoft)

SkyDrive Pro, the new name for the SharePoint Workspace, will soon be available as an app for Windows 8 and iOS users; however, specific launch dates remain unknown. SkyDrive Pro is already available on Windows Phone 8 as part of the Office Hub, providing cloud storage and more on the go.

 [ZDNet]