This may not have been the way Microsoft would have chosen to announce its Office for Mac 2011 launch date, but it worked.
Per Macworld, Microsoft will launch the next version of Office for the Mac in just under six weeks, according to Amazon.com.
The Seattle-based online retailer listed Office for Mac 2011’s availability date as October 26th for all versions of the upcoming suite.
Previously, Microsoft had only promised to ship the newest version of Office before the end of October.
Amazon did not display prices for the two new editions, Home and Student 2011 and Home and Business 2011. Each will come in two configurations, a one-license package and a multi-license version.
Last month, Microsoft set the prices of Home and Student 2011 at US$119 and US$149 for the one- and three-license editions, respectively. The Home and Business editions will list for US$199 and US$249 in one- and two-license versions.
Microsoft will not sell discounted “upgrade” versions of Office 2011, as it has for the suite’s predecessors. The decision followed a similar move earlier this year when the Redmond, Wash., software maker dropped upgrade editions and pricing for Office 2010 for Windows, which debuted in May.
Customers can save money by buying the current version, Office for Mac 2008, and then taking advantage of a free upgrade offer that Microsoft also launched last month.
Customers who purchase Office for Mac Home and Student 2008 (listed Friday for US$125 on Amazon) will receive the three-license version of the 2011 suite, a US$25 savings. Purchasers of the 2008 Business Edition, now selling for US$200, will get a free copy of the two-license Home and Business 2011, a savings of US$49.
Microsoft will also sell a US$99 academic edition of Office for Mac 2011 to college students, faculty and staff. The discounted version will include the same applications as Home and Business, but will not be sold at general retail.
The final system requirements for Office 2011 for Mac are as follows:
– A Mac computer with an Intel-based processor.
– Mac OS X version 10.5.8 or later.
– 1 GB of RAM or more.
– 2.5 GB of available hard disk space.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
One reply on “Amazon leaks Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 release date”
I hate ever second that I have to use Mac Office at work –but it’s the only way I can (mostly) reliably trade working files with less fortunate, Window-using coworkers. If MS can just junk all the useless extras and adopt most Apple APIs they’ll have a winner. But we’ve all been so thoroughly burned so many times before. . .