Microsoft Office Mobile for Android arrives, requires Office 365 subscription

We've been enjoying Microsoft Office on the iPhone for a little while now, but it has finally arrived on Android smartphones, with support for tablets still MIA, just as with the iPad on iOS. Office Mobile for Android brings cloud-based office suite fun to Google's mobile platform in the form of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The Android version of Office Mobile is pretty much identical to the iOS version as far as features that it provides, except for the general user interface, which received a slight change in Android to accommodate Google's requirements, but other than that, Android users should feel right at home with the new app if they've been using it on iOS.

Sadly, you'll still need an Office 365 subscription in order to use the app, but the app itself is completely free to download. Office 365 plans cost as low as just a couple of dollars per month if you're a student, and just a bit more if you're using it for business purposes. This isn't too much cash, but it certainly doesn't beat the free cost of Google Docs and iWork for iCloud.

As of now, there are no plans for an Android tablet version, but Microsoft is recommending users use Office Web Apps on tablets. In any case, though, the editing on the mobile Android app are fairly limited, with just the basics to work with, like font style and making simple corrections. The app is available now in the Google Play store as a free download.