We've talked about the compatibility of Word's new default file format (.docx) with previous versions of Office and Office for Mac,
Office 2007 Professional Plus Key, but what about compatibility with Windows Mobile? Will you be able to read and edit .docx files on the go?
Yes. Pocket PC editions of Windows Mobile 5.0-powered devices (as well as future versions) will support the new default format (.docx),
Microsoft Office 2010 Pro, just like they currently support the legacy format (.doc), by the middle of 2007. Of course, Excel and PowerPoint's new formats will be compatible as well.
In other file format news…Ecma International approved Office Open XML as an Ecma standard and voted to submit the formats to the International Standards Organization (ISO) for consideration as an ISO standard (Ecma press release & Microsoft press release). Translation: the Open XML file formats new to Word,
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007, Excel,
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, and PowerPoint 2007 are not "Microsoft formats",
Office Ultimate 2007 Key, they are a thoroughly documented (~6,000 pages) international standard format, and thus enable a new level of interoperability and compatibility with 3rd party applications.
Nice.
-Jonathan