Microsoft Office Revamp for Windows Phone Is Coming Soon: Belfiore

Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Operating Systems, Joe Belfiore, confirmed the Office suite of apps for Windows Phone is in the pipeline and fans will "hear much more" soon.

On Thursday, Belfiore greeting 'Happy New Year' to Chinese Windows Phone fans on Weibo assured them they will hear about Microsoft's plans before the start of the Chinese New Year, which begins on February 19, and at 'a single event'.

This suggests that the 'The Next Chapter' of Windows 10 scheduled on January 21, where the company is expected to unveil the consumer preview of the upcoming OS, could also see the announcement of the updated Office for Windows Phone.

To remind you, Microsoft had released the updated and free versions of Office for Android and iOS in November last year, but it didn't touch company's own Windows Phone platform. It has since updated the Android and iOS apps as well.

"As we end our 2014 I want to acknowledge the comments and letters you all have sent, noting that you have been frustrated seeing Microsoft launch new applications like Office on iOS and Android, without accompanying news around what will happen on Windows Phone. I want to assure you that our Office team has not forgotten Windows Phone - we're just aligning all of our news and announcements to a single event. You'll hear much more about what we have planned before Chinese New Year," said Belfiore on Weibo.

Apart from Windows 10, a new report earlier this week suggested Microsoft's plans for a new browser along with the Windows update.

Citing sources, the report had claimed that the company has codenamed the new browser as "Spartan", and suggests it is not an upgrade of the IE11. It adds that the IE "Spartan" will pack several new features and will look more like Chrome and Firefox, apart from also supporting extensions. It also notes that the new browser will be a "lightweight browser."