Microsoft announced today that its Office 2007 productivity
suite has gone gold. The announcement further solidifies the company's efforts
to make Office 2007, Windows Vista and Exchange Server 2007 available to
businesses on November
30 of this year.
Over 3.5 million people participated in Office 2007 Beta 2
and all were beneficial in helping Microsoft iron out show-stopping bugs and
issues with the software. "We’ve crossed the development finish line, and
the team deserves to celebrate. The 2007 Microsoft Office system RTM completes
the most significant improvements to the products in more than a decade. It’s
rewarding to be able to send this release off to our customers and help them
take the next big leap forward in productivity," said Jeff Raikes,
president of the Microsoft Business Division.
According to eWeek,
Microsoft will also make available downloadable trial versions of Office 2007
products starting on December 1 in the United States and Canada. Office
Professional 2007, Office Small Business 2007, Office
Standard 2007 and Office Home and Student 2007 will be offered for
trial downloads. "After that, you can participate in the trial program for 60
days before being prompted to convert to full-packaged product through a simple
process on Office Online or by visiting a local retailer. The process of
activating trial software begins automatically when you first open any
Microsoft Office product trial," said Chris Schneider, senior marketing
manager for Microsoft's Information Worker Product Management Group.
As a refresher, pricing for Office 2007 is as follows:
- Microsoft Office Professional 2007 ($499/$329)
- Microsoft Office Small Business 2007 ($449/$279)
- Microsoft Office Standard 2007 ($399/$239)
- Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 ($149/NA)
Retail availability of Office 2007 is expected on January
30, 2007.
