WASHINGTON: Microsoft has launched a new Keyboard for the Excel on all the Android Tablets. Now you can download Excel keyboard from your Google App Store for free. This new keyboard is not like the old default keyboard. Microsoft has categorized this keyboard with new tools and symbols that the old default keyboard don’t have.
The Keyboard for Excel is a simple concept; on Android tablets, most keyboards (especially the default keyboard) aren’t designed well for interacting with a bunch of numbers and symbols. So the Microsoft Garage just up and fixed that problem by creating a bespoke keyboard with easy access to the buttons you need on Excel. And beyond that, the “put it on Android, and see how it does” ethos here is actually sort of inspired: this isn’t a huge product release, it wears its limitations on its sleeve, and it calls itself an “experimental keyboard.” Heck, it only works on tablets (and the ironic thing is that Microsoft now makes keyboards for Android Watches and Android tablets, not Android phones).
The keyboard isn’t a big deal, but the ethos a company like Microsoft needs to have to quickly produce and iterate on it is very much a big deal. Take a look at all of the apps that Microsoft has on the Google Play Android app store right now. Yes, there’s some big name stuff and some abandonware, but there are also some neat experiments that showcase the breadth of what Microsoft does right now. Of their 64 apps (63 of which are free), nearly every one is a small sign that Microsoft is starting to understand how to develop and release software in the mobile age. It’s a similar story on iOS, by the way.
For that Android keyboard, Microsoft even links to a UserVoice page, a service designed for consumer feedback that’s usually used by startups trying to engage a community. Microsoft is very far from a startup, but it’s starting to act like one.
