On Tuesday morning, Microsoft revealed the retail pricing for the various versions of the Office 2010 productivity suite that will launch by mid-year. Retail versions of Office 2010 will be made available in two basic versions—a traditional boxed product with accompanying optical-disc installation media and a Product Key Card version that provides a product key so that the user can install an electronically downloaded version of the software.
"Office 2010 will be offered in four versions, to make it easier to choose a version of Office that's best for you—Office Home and Business, Office Professional, Office Home and Student, and Office Professional Academic," Microsoft Office General Manager Rachel Bondi wrote in a blog post announcing the pricing.
The pricing is as follows:
Office Home and Student—Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote 2010. This version isn't licensed for use in any commercial, nonprofit, or revenue-generating activities, or by any government organization.
Boxed—$149
(Note: This product is a Family Pack and can be installed on as many as three PCs in your household.)
Product Key Card—$119
(Note: This version can be installed on only one PC.)
Office Home and Business—Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook 2010.
Boxed—$279
Product Key Card—$199
(Note: This product can be installed on as many as two PCs.)
Office Professional—Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access 2010.
Boxed—$499
Product Key Card—$349
(Note: This product can be installed on as many as two PCs.)
Office Professional Academic—Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access 2010. It will be made available only through authorized academic resellers.
Boxed—$99
Product Key Card—n/a
(Note: This product can be installed on as many as two PCs.)
Microsoft also revealed that the Office 2010 public beta has been phenomenally successful, with more than 2 million customers downloading, installing, and using the product on their PCs. That's a download rate of more than 40,000 per day, the company notes.