Samsung has announced an expansion of its partnership with Microsoft that will include pre-installing Office apps on some of Samsung's tablets in the first half of 2015. The company had already announced that the upcoming Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge would have Microsoft's OneNote, Skype and OneDrive apps pre-installed, along with offering those owners 115GB of free storage on OneDrive for two years.
Now Samsung is extending that pre-installation partnership to include Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, and Skype on "select Samsung Android tablets". Specific tablet models were not announced.
Those pre-installation deals are for consumers, but businesses can also benefit from the new Samsung-Microsoft agreements. Samsung said:
Businesses that purchase devices through Samsung's business-to-business sales channels will have access to three versions of Office 365 – Business, Business Premium, and Enterprise – coupled with Samsung's KNOX security solution. The bundle also includes a setup service from Samsung to help businesses get up and running with products and provides ongoing support.Microsoft Office 365, powered by the cloud, provides businesses with access to familiar Office applications, including email, calendar, video conferencing and up-to-date documents, all optimized for a seamless experience across any internet-connected device – from PCs to smartphones to tablets. Samsung KNOX provides a way for customers to easily switch between personal and business profiles on their devices, while helping keep them secure.
The new partnerships were announced after Microsoft and Samsung settled an ongoing legal dispute in early February over patent royalty payments.
Source: Samsung
