Microsoft site references Office Mobile for iPhone, Excel & PowerPoint for iPad

References to "Office Mobile for iPhone," "Excel for iPad," and "PowerPoint for iPad" were discovered in official documents published to Microsoft's French website. The references were first discovered by Mac4Ever, while additional evidence was highlighted by MacRumors on Monday.

AppleInsider was also first to report earlier this yearthat Microsoft is working on an updated version of Lync for iOS that is expected to feature Microsoft's Metro interface, just like Office for iPad. Accordingly, the support document makes mention of "Lync for iPhone 15 Technical Preview."

No further information on these applications is available from Microsoft's site, but the mentions are yet another piece of evidence suggesting the company is working on a mobile version of its Office suite for Apple's iOS platform.

Screenshots claiming to show the rumored Office for iOS surfaced last month with a report that claimed the software will be arriving on the App Store in early 2013. Office for iPhone and iPad is expected to offer free document viewing, while editing of files will require a paid subscription.

Mentions of a version of Office for iOS have come previously from Microsoft itself, including a Czech Republic product manager who said the software will arrive as soon as March of 2013. A spokesperson for Microsoft later declined to give a specific date, but did say its Office suite will "work across Windows Phone, iOS and Android."

In May, AppleInsider was also first to report that Microsoft is working on a new native iOS application for Outlook Web App, called "OWA Mobile Client for iOS," that will offer compatibility with Exchange 2012 mailboxes. It too is expected to feature Microsoft's Metro interface.