Microsoft Office 2010 pricing announced

Microsoft has announced the UK price of Office 2010 and the great news is that it’s going to be cheaper than Office 2007.  And, they will be offering a new Starter version free with new PCs.

A new version called Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010 will be priced at £239.99, which represents a good saving over the previous Standard version of Office 2007 which costs £349.99. The new package will also include the OneNote note-taking program plus Office Web Apps, so you will get more software as well as a price cut!

And, further savings will be available for those willing to do without the usual packaging and physical DVDs.  You will be able to buy what Microsoft calls Product Key Card versions of Office.

The key card provides a license key that can be used to activate a copy of Office 2010 that has been pre-installed on a new PC or downloaded online – and not the actual DVD itself.

By foregoing the packaging, the price drops across the range – with Office Home and Business 2010 falling from £239.99 to £189.99. With the top-of-the-range Office Professional, the Key Card cuts the suggested price from £429.99 to £299.99.

So, now you can go green and save money at the same time!

The cheaper Office Home and Student version continues with the addition of OneNote and Office Web Apps. 2010 prices will be £109.99 for a boxed copy and £89.99 for the keycard version. As before, members of your family can install this version on upto three PCs – but unfortunately, projectfive can’t supply this version (for that, you’d need to head to the high street).

For those wishing to spend less than £89.99, then the cheapest version of Office 2010 will be free, but only when pre-installed on a new PC from selected PC manufacturers. The Office Starter edition will include lightweight versions of Word and Excel that lack advanced features such as change tracking etc.  For those of you who remember Microsoft Works, then this is what the Office 2010 Starter Edition will be.

The Office range has been reduced to three packages (plus the Starter Edition), though the Volume Licensing for Office 2010 will continue with details yet to be announced.  We’re really pleased with this move, as it will make it easier for our customers to chose which version best suits their needs.

Office Home and Student includes Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, and Office Web Apps.

Office Home and Business 2010 includes all of those plus Outlook 2010.

Office Professional also adds Publisher 2010, and Access 2010.