Screenshots, rumours and half-truths of Microsoft Office for iPad have been floating around for an age. Now, Microsoft has quashed these rumours. A Microsoft spokesperson broke the sad news:

“The Daily story is based on inaccurate rumours and speculation. We have no further comment.”

An article from an iPad-focused site posted a purported image of Office running on an iPad which Microsoft now calls “not our software.”

The Daily defends Microsoft’s rebuke. The Robert Murdoch owned site, The Daily, which initially broke the story believes that the full details are shrouded in PR-speak. Editor of The Daily, Peter Ha, says, “The launch screen may not be final, but the app itself is real. We were told that the app was done and it was being tested internally.”

Back in November 2011, the site broke news of Office for iPad, saying that the app will soon be submitted to Apple for approval.

Whoever got their hands on a prototype app was quick to point out the Metro-like layout. “The app’s user interface is similar to the current OneNote app, but it has hints of Metro, the new design language that can be seen in Windows Phone and in the as-yet-released Windows 8 desktop operating system.”

If there is a launch date, it’s unknown. There is no doubt that Office for the iPad would fit the platform like a well-worn glove but for the app to pass through the stringent Microsoft approval process will be a task within itself. From leaked rumours to a hasty denial, Office for iPad remains the dirty little secret in Microsoft’s stables. A final tweet from the big-M cements the story as pure speculation for now.

Great respect for The Daily but regrettably someone is giving them bad info, and that’ll be clear in the “coming weeks.”

— Microsoft News (@MSFTnews) February 21, 2012

It must be noted though that Microsoft was careful to remain ambiguous in its tweet. No mention of the iPad app was made, only that the coming weeks will clear all rumours.

Image: The Daily