Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac to come out in US in January 2008

At last, Microsoft has announced that the long-expected Office suite for the Macintosh platform will debut in the United States on January 15, 2008.

The worldwide launch has been planned for the first quarter of 2008.

Though Microsoft usually releases the Mac counterpart of its successful Office suite within 6 months after the Windows-PC version, this time it will take Microsoft almost a year to complete the Office 2008 for Mac suite (which includes Microsoft Office Word 2008, Microsoft Office Excel 2008, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2008, and Microsoft Office Entourage 2008). The delay is mainly because of the changes the Mac platform has undergone in the recent years.

According to analysts, the “usual suspects” blamed for the one-year delay include Apple’s switch from PowerPC-powered Macs to Intel machines – which disrupted the working process at Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit (Mac BU) – and Microsoft’s stubbornness to have the Open XML file format accepted as an international standard.

The Open XML file format, already included in the PC version of Office 2007, will extend into Office 2008 for Mac, which will be available in at least 11 foreign languages (Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, and Norwegian).

The Open XML file format will be compatible with both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.

Craig Eisler, general manager of the Mac BU at Microsoft, said: “We built Office 2008 with the unifying goal of making it easier for Mac users to access the tools they need to get the job done – whether it’s creating a brochure for their business, managing their family schedule and finances, or finalizing a presentation to share between Macs and PCs. The Office 2008 for Mac will also provide the document fidelity with the 2007 Microsoft Office system that our users need to stay connected with their friends and co-workers on PCs.”

The modifications made in the updated version of the software include a more thorough adoption of common OS X UI elements and extensive use of Core Graphics (including the new Elements Gallery and some Word and Excel features).

According to Sheridan Jones, group marketing manager in the Macintosh Business Unit, Elements Gallery is “a visually rich gallery that allows you to quickly find commonly used, but often times hard-to-create elements. The Elements Gallery is intended to unlock the power of Office by making our rich functionality more discoverable and accessible. No longer do you need to search through hierarchical menus and tunnel through dialogs only to find another sea of commands. With the Elements Gallery, you can focus your time on exploring and perusing the collection of professional and attractive designer content.”

There will be three editions of Office 2008 – with two of them targeting specific users and distinct needs.

The first one is Microsoft Office for Mac 2008, which will cost $399.95 in the United States when bought for the first time, and $239.95 when users upgrade from a previous edition.

The second one, which is also the cheapest ($149.95 for the retail version), is Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition and it targets users with basic productivity needs. This version includes three user licenses for use by consumers and students, but does not include connectivity to Microsoft Exchange Server or support for automated workflows.

The most expensive version of software will be Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition, costing $499.95 for the full retail version, and $299.95 for the upgrade version.