Having installed Microsoft Office Mobile on an Apple iPhone 5 the next step was to install it on the Apple iPad. Interestingly, attempting to install on a second generation iPad fails with the message “This App is Incompatible With This iPad. This app requires a camera with autofocus.”.

Curiously, the App installs just fine on a later iPad but it does leave one wondering why an application like Microsoft Office Mobile would require a camera and be prepared to fail an install for something like the lack of autofocus.

It’s worth mentioning here that the current version of the app, with the odd title “Office Mobile for Office 365 subscribers” is primarily designed for iPhone size display screens however the iPad is a supported platform according to the app requirements on the iTunes App Store. Also the app, as the title indicates, requires a subscription Office 365 which can be purchased through the app (currently £79.99 per year).

Office Mobile for Office 365 subscribers provides access to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents (although you can’t currently create new PowerPoint document). The app also utilises SkyDrive for file storage.

There is currently  little regarding this particular issue and this document will be updated when more information becomes available.