Microsoft Reveals Pricing for Office 2013

Microsoft just announced how it’s going to sell the next version of Office, called Office 2013. The new edition has changed dramatically to better match Windows 8, and not just in terms of user interface: This will be the first version of Office that Microsoft sells via subscription.
Microsoft revealed the subscription model when it first unveiled Office 2013, but now we know exactly how much it will cost: $8.33 a month or $99.95 a year. That’s for Office 365 Home Premium, which includes all the client software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and others), but as a subscriber you’re now entitled to all software updates and access to web services included with Office, such as continually updated templates.
Microsoft is also throwing in 20GB of SkyDrive storage with the subscription as well as 60 minutes of Skype minutes per month (they don’t aggregate). The subscription covers five different devices (either PC or Mac) and — importantly — an number of users. The idea is a family with multiple PCs and Macs in the house only needs to buy one subscription to Office; individuals will see only their files and preferences when they log in with their Microsoft IDs.

There’s also Office 365 Small Business Premium, priced slightly higher at $12.50 per month or $149.99 a year. The package is similar, including ongoing updates and the option to install on up to five devices, but the business edition will be for a single user or employee. The business edition also includes more integration with Microsoft’s SharePoint, Lync and Exchange services.
Neither edition carries an “initial” fee for the download. Microsoft says the subscription model is the new normal, and that even though Office will be available as a traditional one-time purchase ($219.99 for Home and Business edition, $399.99 for Professional edition), it expects a subscription will make the most sense for many Office customers.
“This release of office is designed in a very different way,” says P.J. Hough, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Office development. “We’ve invested heavily in this new streaming technology for delivering Office to PCs. It’ll stream incredibly fast, they’ll be able to use the apps while it’s streaming, and after it streams to your computer — in a matter of minutes — it behaves a lot like traditional Office. You can go offline or take it on a plane, so it’ll work offline.”
So how does the subscription work with Windows RT devices, which will have the Office apps pre-loaded? Using those apps doesn’t require a subscription, but you’ll only be able to access “subscription content” once you start paying. In any case, however, RT machines won’t count against your five-device limit. Updates will likely roll out at a “different rate” for RT devices, says Hough.
“A good analogy is that iOS 6 doesn’t install on the first iPad,” he says. “At some point, that device actually doesn’t get a subset of updates that happen — primarily because devices have changed, in terms of capabilities. So I expect RT devices will feel a little like that. But we’re talking years from now.”
And what if you need Office right away, and can’t wait for Microsoft to formally launch Office 2013? If you can wait until the week of Oct. 19, you should, since starting then Microsoft will offer an upgrade package to anyone buying Office 2010. If you buy the Home Premium edition, you’ll get the first year of your Office subscription free, and for the Small Business edition, you’ll get three months.

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SNL Spoofs Confusing Smartphone Marketing [VIDEO]

When Saturday Night Live decides to make fun of Verizon, there’s something deeply satisfying about it. See if you agree when you watch this skit that aired Saturday night onSNL, poking fun at the alphabet soup and numerical nightmare that you’ll find yourself embroiled within if you decide to buy a connected device.

Unless you’re an absolute expert about smartphones and 3G and 4G and all the various protocols and model numbers and powerful sounding names attached to such products, you might feel lost if you find yourself inside a store like this. Whew! Don’t feel bad. It’s complicated. Many people have no idea what kind of connectivity they have.

We run into the same problem when reviewing smartphones, especially when we’re trying to describe how fast a certain smartphone or tablet is when using 4G LTE. It’s fertile ground for deliberate confusion on the part of Verizon and other cellphone carriers, because wireless connectivity can vary from block to block, and even from room to room in your house.

In addition to the plethora of connectivity confusion, we’re especially amused by this video’s skewering of the barrage of choices when it comes to smartphones. Because there are so many different handsets from which to choose, many consumers are tempted to throw up their hands and give up, keeping the cellphone they’re using now.

When presented with too many choices, people are less likely to choose anything. In a classic Columbia University study of consumer choice, when given a choice of six flavors of jam in a supermarket taste test, people were 10 times more likely to buy one than if they were given a choice of 24 flavors.

Now think about this in the context of buying a smartphone: As of today, Samsung has an absurd 134 cellphone choices on its website. How likely is a novice going to choose one of these, or just give up and keep the cellphone he’s using now, or make a snap decision based on getting out of the store as quickly as possible? Maybe Apple is onto something with its single smartphone brand name: iPhone.

What do you think? Are there too many choices in the smartphone world? How about in the tech world overall?

keep up with the newest technologies and contemplate about how these will be used in the future. On this blog I'll share my thoughts about the future of technology, based on the high Tech Road Show Blog inventions of today.

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