Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced that the next version of Office for Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) MacOS, Microsoft Office 2011, would be available by the end of October with pricing which is more in line with current Windows versions.
The Redmond-based software maker said that Office 2011 Mac Home and Student edition will be priced at $119, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Messenger for Mac – a 20% price reduction from Office for Mac 2008’s $149.95 price. The “Home and Business” edition will cost $199.00 and add the company’s Outlook email client and collaboration application, a sharp decrease from the previous edition’s pricing of $399.95.
The company will also offer a “Family Pack” which will allow for up to three installations of the Home and Student edition for $149.00. The Multi-Pack edition gives two installations of the Home and Business edition for smaller business owners for $279.00. The company will also include an academic edition which will cost $99.00.
The new version of Office for the Mac will make use of the “ribbon” interface first introduced in Office 2007 and add a new template gallery with thousands of predesigned document designs. Outlook will also offer a conversation view.
“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, Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU) at Microsoft, in a statement. “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.”
