Simplify Your Work: Office 2008 for Mac Details Revealed
25/09/2007 06:03
PR Newswire
PARIS, September 25 /PRNewswire/ --
- New Special Media Edition provides powerful digital asset management
tools.
The Macintosh Business Unit (Mac BU) at Microsoft Corp today announced at
the Apple Expo in Paris its product line-up for the upcoming Microsoft(R)
Office 2008 for Mac release. The flagship product, Office 2008 for Mac, is
the core suite that includes Microsoft Office Word 2008, Microsoft Office
Excel(R) 2008, Microsoft Office PowerPoint(R) 2008 and Microsoft Office
Entourage(R) 2008 for exceptional productivity on the Mac. A new combination
for Mac users is Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition, which features
the Office 2008 applications together with the Microsoft Expression(R) Media
digital asset management system. Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition is
geared toward professional users who need Microsoft Exchange Server support
and Automator tools and are looking for one product to meet their
productivity and digital asset management needs. Completing the product
line-up is Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition, a specially priced
version for users with basic productivity needs.
All versions of Office 2008 for Mac support the new Open XML file format
and are Universal applications that will perform natively on Power PC- and
Intel-based Macs. Each version will be available in Dutch, English, French,
German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish, and, for the first time, in the
Nordic languages (Danish, Finnish and Norwegian).
"We built Office 2008 with the unifying goal of making it easier for Mac
users to access the tools they need to get the job done -- whether it's
creating a brochure for their business, managing their family schedule and
finances, or finalising a presentation to share between Macs and PCs," said
Craig Eisler, general manager of the Mac BU at Microsoft. "And, of course,
Office 2008 for Mac will provide the document fidelity with the 2007
Microsoft Office system that our users need to stay connected with their
friends and co-workers on PCs."
Delivering the Industry Standard
Office 2008 for Mac features a leading suite of applications that Mac
customers rely on to get their work completed with Word 2008, Excel 2008,
PowerPoint 2008, Entourage 2008 and Microsoft Messenger for Mac. Mac users
can simplify their day by using powerful new tools and easily located classic
Office for Mac features.
As showcased at Macworld Expo 2007, Office 2008 for Mac is designed to
help users get more from their Macs by making key functions accessible
through a more intuitive design and by introducing smart features such as
Ledger Sheets in Excel 2008, My Day with Entourage 2008, Publishing Layout
View in Word 2008 and SmartArt graphics in PowerPoint 2008 that are simple to
use and yield powerful results. Entourage 2008 also features improved
Windows(R) Exchange Server support, with enhanced reliability and
functionality.
"We've worked closely with Microsoft since it launched the first version
of Office for Mac more than 20 years ago," said Ron Okamoto, vice president
of Worldwide Developer Relations at Apple. "Office delivers tremendous
compatibility across platforms for Mac and PC customers, and we look forward
to another great user experience with Office 2008 for Mac."
A Suite to Meet Every Need
The Mac BU will offer two versions in addition to Office 2008 for Mac
that meet distinct user needs:
-- Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition features the complete Office
2008 for Mac productivity suite specially packaged with a full version
of Microsoft Expression Media for Mac to empower the media-savvy Mac
user with smart digital asset management tools. Expression Media is a
powerful and customisable image management software application for
importing, annotating, organising, archiving, searching and
distributing users' ever-growing collections of digital files.
-- Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition provides the basics of
Office 2008 for Mac for home and school users. This version includes
three user licences for use by consumers and students at home but does
not include connectivity to Microsoft Exchange Server or support for
automated work flows.
Pricing, Availability and Technology Guarantee
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac will be available in the US beginning 15
Jan 2008, with global general availability in the first quarter of 2008.
There also are specially priced upgrade versions for legally licensed users
of previous versions.
-- Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, $399.95 (US)(i) for the full retail
version; $239.95 (US)(i) for the upgrade version
-- Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition, $149.95
(US)(i) for the full retail version
-- Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition, $499.95 (US)(i)
for the full retail version; $299.95 (US)(i) for the upgrade version
Today also marks the start of the technology guarantee programme that
allows customers in select regions who purchase qualifying Office 2004 for
Mac product(s) to upgrade to a version of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac for
only the cost of shipping, handling and applicable taxes. More information
about the programme specifics in various regions is available at local Office
for Mac web sites.
About Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit
The Macintosh Business Unit at Microsoft is a leading developer of
software and online products for the Macintosh platform. The group comprises
approximately 180 full-time Mac product experts and is dedicated to creating
innovative software for Mac customers worldwide. For more than 20 years,
Microsoft has developed award-winning software for the Mac. Current products
include Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac, a productivity suite that includes the
e-mail application and personal information manager Entourage 2004, Word
2004, Excel 2004, PowerPoint 2004 and Messenger for Mac 6.0. More information
about the Mac BU and Microsoft Macintosh products is available at
http://www.microsoft.com/mac.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise
their full potential.
About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)
Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft
employs more than 12,000 people in 60 subsidiaries, delivering products and
services in 138 countries and territories.
(i) All prices are estimated retail prices and may vary by retailer.
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for other purposes. Microsoft Corp shall not, at any time, be liable for any
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contract, negligence or other action arising out of or in connection with the
use or performance of the material. Nothing herein should be construed as
constituting any kind of warranty.
Web site: http://www.microsoft.com
Aimee Martin, +1-206-268-2253, aimee.martin@edelman.com, or Rosalie Duryee, +1-206-268-2241, rosalie.duryee@edelman.com, both of Edelman, for Microsoft; NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft in EMEA, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/emea or the EMEA Press Centre at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at the time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact the Microsoft EMEA Press Office at +44-870-243-0515 or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/contactus. If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft Corp, please visit the Microsoft web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft's corporate information pages. Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070925/AQTU035, AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org, PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com