Microsoft probably bringing Office 2010 to Nokia phones

It’s looking increasingly likely that Microsoft and Nokia are about to announce a native version of Office 2010, the latest version of Microsoft’s ubiquitous productivity software, on Nokia smartphones.

In the past, Microsoft said there will be a native version of Office (i.e., one that you download and run on your phone) that runs on Windows Mobile phones, plus a version that runs in the web browsers of other smartphones like the iPhone. However, given the relatively low market share of Windows Mobile, plus the ever-increasing buzz for other mobile platforms, that strategy doesn’t sound too smart — it would probably lead more users to access the web version of Office than the native one, at least on their phones. The software giant probably doesn’t want that to happen, since it continues to extol the virtues of native software (and to make lots of money by selling that software), even as it takes steps towards the web.

With Nokia supporting a native application, Microsoft’s reach would expand dramatically. This might even be the first of many alliances between Microsoft and smartphone makers — given its strength among business users, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion seems like another obvious candidate. If this is just the beginning of a broader native strategy for Office, that would make a nice contrast with Google, which has been touting the opposite strategy of building web apps for the mobile browser and has even suggested that native applications will eventually become extinct.

Keep in mind that this is still mostly speculation. All Microsoft has said officially is that it will hold a joint press conference with Nokia tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 8am Pacific. But that announcement seems to back up Beyond Binary’s report that the companies are going to announce a mobile Office deal.

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