While much of the technology world is focused on the innovations rolling out at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, Microsoft is priming the pump for Office 2010 sales. The software giant on Tuesday revealed pricing details on the next version of its productivity suite.
Not surprisingly, Microsoft will offer Office 2010 in four versions, Office Professional, Office Home and Business, Office Home and Student, and Office Professional Academic. Microsoft said the multiple packages aim to make it easier for consumers to choose the most appropriate version.
Two pricing schemes are offered for each version: One for the boxed product and another for downloads. The education-only Office Professional Academic sells for $99 on the low end while Office Professional -- with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access and Office Web Apps -- sells at $499 on the high end. The digital versions are $69 for Office Professional Academic and $349 for Office Professional.
Office Home and Student includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Office Web Apps for $149 boxed and $119 digital. Office Home and Business adds Outlook and a business license for $279 boxed and $199 digital.
The Office Home and Student boxed product is also available in a Family Pack, allowing consumers to install the software on three PCs in one house. The purchase rights for Office Home and Business, Office Professional, and Office Professional Academic boxed products allow usage on two PCs. The product key card downloads are valid for a single installation.
Office Momentum
"Heading into the new year, the Microsoft Office team is motivated more than ever by what we're hearing about customers' experiences with [beta] Office 2010," said Rachel Bondi, general manager for the Microsoft Office team. "Many people think Office is just for the workplace, but millions of people are using Office at home, at school and for their small businesses to get things done."
Bondi points to figures from the NPD Group as evidence of momentum. According to NPD, Office Home and Student 2007 was the number-one-selling PC software product -- including games -- at retail in the U.S. during the week of Black Friday 2009. Office Home and Student 2007 was also one of Amazon.com's top three holiday best-seller software products in 2009.
Meanwhile, Bondi added, the Office 2010 beta is generating record interest and use, surpassing the previous Office 2007 beta download rate. In just seven weeks, more than two million people around the world have downloaded and are using the Office 2010 beta. That's a rate of more than 40,000 downloads per day. (continued...)
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