Office 2011 for Mac release date: late October

In a post from two months ago, we had announced that Microsoft will be releasing Office 2011 for Mac this autumn. Now, they decided to give us some more details about their soon-to-come release.

It seems Office 2011 for Mac will hit the market at the end of October in 3 suite versions (editions). Released a few months after Office 2010 for Windows, the successor to Office 2008 for Mac will cost less than you might expect, as Microsoft wanted Office to be priced about the same regardless of the OS.

As said above, Office for Mac will come in three different editions:

• Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 will include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Messenger, priced $119 (the initial price was $149) with a single licence or $149, with a Family License (installable on three computers).
• Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 will feature Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Messenger and will cost $ 199 (the old price was $399!) with a single license or $ 279, if you want the family license
• Microsoft Office for Mac Academic 2011 – similar with Office for Mac Home and Business 2011. It will cost $ 99 with a single license. Note that, in order to buy it, you have to show proff of employment or enrollment in an academic institution.

Office for Mac 2011 is available as 32-bit (x86) application only, because full transition to Cocoa for Mac OS X wasn’t possible. Furthermore, Outlook will replace Entourage as Office’s e-mail client, contacts and calendar software on the Mac.

The newest Office for Mac will be available in 13 languages- English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Japanese, Russian, Polish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish and Swedish.

Unless you really need it, you shouldn’t buy Office for Mac 2008, as it is more expensive than the upcoming Office for Mac 2011. Our advice is to pre-order when possible or to wait for the official release.

If you really need it, and buy a qualifying Office for Mac 2008 Mac product, such as Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition, Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition, Office 2008 for Mac Business EditionVersion Upgrade, Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition Special Student Offer, from Microsoft or an authorized reseller (sites such as eBay are NOT authorized resellers) between August 1 and November 30, will get the chance to upgrade to Office for Mac 2011 for free, as part of the Technology Guarantee program. This free upgrade program is also available for those who bought Office 2007 before the official Office 2010 RTM (release-to-manufacturing).

In order to receive the free complementary upgrade copy of Office 2011 for Mac (it’s free for downloading, the DVD disc costs), the buyer has to register and request the Office for Mac 2011 upgrade at Microsoft’s official site, by providing the unique product key and filling in the online registration form until December 31. Note that each upgrade request needs to be entered separately. The customer has to confirm the purchase by sending the dated sales receipt. When Office 2011 for Mac is ready for the purchaser’s country and language, they will be informed by e-mail.

Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 features a function similar to Windows Anytime Upgrade, which will allow users to upgrade from the Home and Student to Home and Business edition online, after an additional payment. However, the price wasn’t disclosed.