Simplify Your Work: Office 2008 for Mac Details Revealed

Simplify Your Work: Office 2008 for Mac Details Revealed

September 25, 2007

New Special Media Edition Provides Powerful Digital Asset
Management Tools


    PARIS, Sept. 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- 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. 

    ( Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070925/AQTU035 )

    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)* for the
full retail 
       version; $239.95 (US)* for the upgrade version
    -- Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student
Edition, $149.95 (US)* 
       for the full retail version  
    -- Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition,
$499.95 (US)* for 
       the full retail version; $299.95 (US)* 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.

    * All prices are estimated retail prices and may vary
by retailer.

    This material is for informational purposes only.
Microsoft Corp disclaims all warranties and conditions with
regard to use of the material for other purposes. Microsoft
Corp shall not, at any time, be liable for any special,
direct, indirect or consequential damages, whether in an
action of 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.

    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 [phone] 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. 


    For more information, please contact:

     Edelman

     Aimee Martin
     Tel:    [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]
    
     Rosalie Duryee
     Tel:    [phone]
     Email:  [e-mail]