Microsoft Office for the Mac 2011 will hit store shelves in late October, Microsoft said Monday, and the new release of the popular desktop productivity application suite will cost considerably less than the current version.
Microsoft plans to release Office 2011 for the Mac in 13 languages in 100 countries.
The new software will be generally available in two editions: Office for Mac Home & Student Edition 2011, priced at $119 for a single installation and $149 for a three-installation family pack; and Office for Mac Home & Business Edition 2011, priced at $199 for a single installation and $279 for a two-installation multipack.
An Academic Edition, available only to higher-education students, faculty and staff will be priced at $99.
All editions include Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Messenger for Mac while the Home & Business and Academic editions also will include Outlook for Mac.
Office for Mac 2008, the current release of the application suite, is priced at $149 for the Home Edition and $399 for the Business Edition.
Microsoft said qualifying customers who purchase the current release between Aug. 1 and Nov. 30 could upgrade to Office 2011 through the Microsoft Office for Mac Technology Guarantee program.
Last week Microsoft, in a video posted on the Microsoft Office for Mac team blog, showed off improvements to Outlook for Mac. The new release adds the ribbon interface to the applications and an online gallery of design templates for users.
