i suspect that they are trying to spread their service tentacles as wide as they can go.

stand alone editing of office files is of lesser importance then being able to access a storage pool and collaborative system thats automatically backed up, and available from anywhere.

basically, microsoft is shifting at least its consumer end of tings towards a environment of apps and devices tethered to online services, where the true muscle is not the apps but the services on microsoft controlled servers.

and if the same apps, by flipping a virtual switch, can talk to sharepoint, exchange and other business grade microsoft products, the better. Then they can sell the same product to both sides, and just alter abilities based on what code is used to activate it.

windows and desktop office have behaved this way for ages, and now they are heading the same way with pocket office.

oh, and if celio redfly, smartbooks and similar keeps things going, we may well see that the pocket office will change from being a lesser cousin of the desktop version to being a equivalent product. The limitations are no longer about cpu power, but about screen size and input systems. I may go as far as claim that separating desktop os and phone os is a legacy notion, and that one may well carry ones work 24/7, between a desktop dock, home dock and maybe a on the road dock, if needed.