Microsoft to launch Office for Mac 2011 in late October
AppleInsider StaffThe latest version of Microsoft Office will be available in more than 100 countries at the end of October. Two editions will be available for purchase: Office for Mac Home and Student 2011, starting at $119, and Office for Mac Home and Business 2011, starting at $199.
Microsoft said the new pricing and edition options available with Office for Mac 2011 are closer to the software's Windows counterpart. In addition, customers who purchase Office 2008 for Mac will be able to upgrade to Office 2011 at no cost through the Microsoft Office for Mac Technology Guarantee Program.
"We develop Office for Mac to give you the tools to create great-looking and compatible documents — with options to pick the right edition for your Mac needs," said Eric Wilfrid, general manager with the Macintosh Business Unit at Microsoft. "More than ever before, Office 2011 brings the familiar productivity tools and features of Microsoft Office to a suite of applications that work great on the Mac."
The 32-bit software suite will be available in 13 launguages: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish. Two new languages were also added to the mix for this year's update: Polish and Russian.
Customers who buy Office 2008 for Mac between Aug. 1, 2010 and Nov. 30, 2010 at Microsoft or an authorized reseller are qualified for a free upgrade to the latest version. Customers can register online and must submit a form with their product key and dated sales receipt by Dec. 31, 2010.
Starting at $119, Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Messenger. A Family Pack will also be available for $149, with three installs.
For $199, Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Messenger, and also adds Outlook into the mix. The return of Outlook will be an application written from the ground up in Cocoa for Mac OS X. A family pack for the Business edition of Office for Mac 2011 will run $279, with two installs available. Home and Student customers can also upgrade to the higher-end product through the online upgrade functionality.
Finally, authorized academic stores will also sell a discounted version of the suite, dubbed Microsoft Office for Mac Academic 2011, for higher education students, staff and faculty. For $99, users get one installation including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Messenger and Outlook.
For more, see AppleInsider's extensive coverage of Office for Mac 2011:
