Microsoft launches Office 365 Home Premium
Microsoft has today announced the worldwide availability of Office 365 Home Premium for consumers. The cloud-based subscription service allows users to access the full Office suite on up to five Macs, PCs, or Windows tablet devices for £79.99 ($99.99) per year, or £7.99 ($8.34) per month.
From a press release issued by the company:
Today’s launch of Office 365 Home Premium marks the next big step in Microsoft’s transformation to a devices and services business,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. “This is so much more than just another release of Office. This is Office reinvented as a consumer cloud service with all the full-featured Office applications people know and love, together with impressive new cloud and social benefits.
Office 365 Home Premium features:
Office 365 Home Premium is available in 162 markets in 21 languages and includes the following:
- The latest and most complete set of Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access
- One license for the entire household to use Office on up to five devices, including Windows tablets, PCs or Macs, and Office on Demand available from any Internet-connected PC
- An additional 20 GB of SkyDrive cloud storage, nearly three times the amount available with a free SkyDrive account
- 60 free Skype world calling minutes per month to call mobile phones, landlines or PCs around the world
- Future upgrades, so you always use the latest time-saving technology
As MacRumors notes, while Windows users will be able to access an all-new 2013 version of Office, Mac users will be stuck with the 2011 version – until the company updates it. Based on previous releases, that could be around 12-18 months.
Standalone versions of Office remain available to purchase for those not wanting to use the subscription service.
