31 January 2013, Singapore – The all-familiar Microsoft Office is back with a new look and functionalities. The reinvented Office – The Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium is a yearly subscription cloud service that is designed for busy households (note: not individual). That’s right, the Office 365 Home Premium 365 can be used/installed in up to 5 devices you own (including Macs!). This means everyone at home can enjoy the benefits of the latest and most complete set of Office applications.
The new Office 365 Home Premium is really convenient. Because it is hosted in cloud, your documents and your personal settings are always available whenever you are. All you have to do is sign in online to your account. I hear a lot of bosses cheering because your work documents will be readily available whenever and wherever you are as long as you have an internet connection (ouch). On top of that, it has new functionalities such as People Card that will aggregate all your contacts from different sources (including social network platforms) in a single location. Another notable feature is the PDF Reflow that allows you to use information from PDFs in Office documents. To sweeten it further, it comes bundled with free 60 minutes of Skype world calling (landline, mobile or PC) plus a 27 GB cloud storage with SkyDrive.
In short Office 365 Home Premium includes the following:
- The most complete set of Office applications – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access.
- One license for the entire household – use Office on up to five Windows PCs or tablets or Macs, and get Office on Demand from any Internet-connected PC.
- 27 GB of cloud storage with SkyDrive – 20 GB more than the normal user.
- 60 free Skype world calling minutes per month – so you can call any mobile, landline or PC in the world.
- All future upgrades such that consumers’ copies of Office are always updated with the latest from Microsoft.
At the same time, Microsoft also launched the more affordable Office 365 University that is targeted for students, faculty staffs and staffs in eligible tertiary institutions. This version comes with:
- All of the applications, SkyDrive storage, Skype calling and future upgrades included with Office 365 Home Premium.
- One license for the user – use Office on up to two Windows PCs or tablets or Macs, and get Office on Demand from any Internet-connected PC.
Microsoft also announced they will upgrade Office 365 multiple times per year, ending the company’s traditional three-year release cycle. Office 365 Home Premium subscribers will get future updates and new capabilities automatically without any additional hassles. For example, subscribers will automatically get the new applications and upgrades when available, such as the forthcoming Office applications for Mac and as-yet unannounced capabilities.
For those of us who prefers the traditional suite, the Office 2013 is also available. The license is only valid for a single user in one device. Users are still able to leverage on the power of cloud with their personalized settings and documents saved within the cloud with just a single sign-in.
Pricing and Availability
The new Office is available at all authorized retailers:
| Office 365 Home Premium | S$138 per year for up to 5 Windows PCs or tablets or Macs |
| Office 365 University | S$108 for 4 years for up to 2 Windows PCs or tablets or Macs |
| Office Home & Student 2013 | S$189 |
| Office Home & Business 2013 | S$299 |
| Office Professional 2013 | S$549 |
For more information on the new Office, please visit office.com.