MS Office for Mac 2011 launches October 26th

Available now for pre-order, the new Office suite 2011 for Mac will be launching in late October, Microsoft have confirmed. The last version released in early 2008 is getting a little long in the tooth, and Microsoft have seen it fit to finally bring it up to date with some notable additions. Probably one of the first you’ll notice is the speed at which the programs fire up – Microsoft claim they have greatly improved the speed not only at start up, but in the program itself. Another new feature is a look similar to the current Windows counterpart, Office 2010 and its ‘ribbon’ menu interface. Entourage is also being replaced with a new Outlook client, though it’s unclear whether it’s actually new or just a rebrand.

However, if you’re desperate for the Office suite and need it right now, you can purchase Office 2008 and get a free upgrade to the newer edition when it’s available.

In true Microsoft style, there will be a plethora of different versions at different price points. The cheapest being the Home and Student Edition is £89.99 for a single user licence and includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The top end Home and Business adds the Outlook email client and, for two licences, rounds off at the top of the range with an RRP of £239.99.

Posted by: Vince