Microsoft Office 365 vs. Google Apps: In Pictures

Microsoft Office 365 vs. Google Apps

Office 365 is Microsoft's Office suite in the cloud, and much more. The tools bundle desktop and Web software, and they compete with the purely cloud-based Google Apps for Business. They're expected to become available in final form Tuesday, some two months after a public beta release.

Among the differences we found in our tests: Google Apps, which includes the free Google Docs tools, plays nicely in any browser. But Office 365 works best in Internet Explorer, as it transitions easily from editing in the browser to opening a document in the desktop version of Office. Google Apps integrates well with Android phones, while Office 365 and SharePoint work best in the Office hub of Windows Phone 7 handsets. Here's a closer look at how Microsoft's and Google's business productivity packages work, both on the desktop and on smartphones.