REDMOND, Wash., April 2, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today kicked off its most extensive trial program ever for an Office product, giving individuals the opportunity to test-drive Microsoft® Office XP before acquiring, for the first time. Microsoft announced that Office XP will be available in retail stores and from certain hardware manufacturers on May 31, 2001. The individual trial program will enable over 1 million customers worldwide to try out the final Office XP Professional product before it is available. Microsoft also unveiled the Office XP suite lineup and introduced the Office XP Technology Guarantee for retail customers.
“We’re thrilled to give customers the chance to try Office XP before they purchase the product,”
said Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of Office at Microsoft.
“We think seeing is believing, and we’re confident our customers will find this is the best version of Office yet. We’re also pleased to announce our Office XP product lineup, which provides a wide range of choices for our customers to experience in this great new product.”
Broad Trial Program Encourages Individual Customers to Experience Office XP
Through the Office XP individual trial program, customers can order a 30-day trial copy of Office XP and experience a smarter way to work, which simplifies productivity, improves communication and collaboration, and extends Office with Web services. The trial kit includes the Office XP Professional 30-Day trial product, an Office XP demonstration CD and instructional information on new features to learn more about Office XP. U.S. Customers can order the trial kit for $9.95 (for shipping and handling costs) at http://www.microsoft.com/office/trial/.
Office XP Product Lineup and Pricing Details Unveiled
Microsoft also announced the Office XP suite lineup and pricing information for customers acquiring Office XP at retail. The Office XP suite lineup was designed to deliver a simplified and streamlined experience based on customer feedback. Customers will have a range of options to choose from, so they can select the Office XP suite that best suits their needs. The Office XP suites will deliver significantly more value than Office 2000 for similar retail prices. For example, Office XP Standard delivers breakthrough productivity enhancements to the most popular Office applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, for an estimated retail price of $239* for any Office 2000 or Office 97 customer. The Office XP retail and channel partner suite lineup includes the following:
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Microsoft Office XP Standard. Office XP Standard is designed for users requiring a core set of desktop productivity tools and includes Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Excel 2002, the Microsoft Outlook® 2002 messaging and collaboration client, and the Microsoft PowerPoint® 2002 presentation graphics program. Estimated retail price (ERP) for version upgrades is $239 (U.S.). ERP for new users is $479 (U.S.).*
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Microsoft Office XP Professional. Office XP Professional is the most complete solution for customers, offering exciting new features in Word 2002, Excel 2002, PowerPoint 2002, Outlook 2002 and Access 2002. ERP for version upgrades is $329 (U.S.). ERP for new users is $579 (U.S.).*
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Microsoft Office XP Professional Special Edition. Office XP Professional Special Edition is an introductory offer available for a limited time to existing Office customers in select worldwide geographies. This edition delivers exceptional value and a wide range of functionality, including Word 2002, Excel 2002, Outlook 2002, PowerPoint 2002, Access 2002, the FrontPage® 2002 Web site creation and management tool, SharePoint™ Team Services, Publisher 2002, and the new Microsoft IntelliMouse® Explorer. The ERP is $479 (U.S.).*
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Microsoft Office XP Developer. Office XP Developer includes everything professional software developers need to quickly build and deploy powerful, integrated Office XP-based business solutions. In addition to the entire Office XP Professional suite, it contains FrontPage 2002, SharePoint Team Services, and other professional tools and resources. ERP for version upgrades is $549 (U.S.). ERP for new users is $799 (U.S.).*
Hardware manufacturers are preparing to offer Office XP preinstalled on new PCs and are looking forward to delivering new systems that offer the significant new functionality and benefits of Office XP.
“We think Office XP will be an extremely popular product with our customers, and we look forward to offering Office XP with Dell computer systems,”
said Bill Amelio, senior vice president and co-general manager of corporate business for Dell, the world’s leading direct computer systems company.
“Microsoft is committed to providing its customers with excellent and compelling solutions, and we’re pleased to be working with them to offer best-in-class technology.”
Customers interested in purchasing a new PC with Office XP preinstalled will be able to choose from two Office XP suites:
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Office XP Small Business. Office XP Small Business is the Office suite designed for the small business or user requiring a core set of desktop productivity tools, including Word 2002, Excel 2002, Outlook 2002 and Publisher 2002. Pricing is determined by the hardware manufacturer.
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Office XP Professional with Publisher. Office XP Professional with Publisher is the most complete solution for customers, offering Word 2002, Excel 2002, Publisher 2002, PowerPoint 2002, Outlook 2002 and Access 2002. Pricing is determined by the hardware manufacturer.
Technology Guarantee Offered Through June 30, 2001
Microsoft also announced the Office XP Technology Guarantee, which helps ensure a smooth transition from Office 2000 to Office XP for customers that purchase Office 2000 at retail or from channel partners or select hardware manufacturers. Customers who obtain the Office 2000 suite or individual applications between April 2 and June 30, 2001, are eligible to receive the corresponding Office XP suite or application free of charge (shipping and handling charges may apply, and the technology guarantee dates may vary for different geographies based on product availability.)
“We anticipate great demand for Office XP at our stores due to the product’s breadth of new capabilities and experiences it offers customers,”
said John Lostroscio, vice president and general merchandising manager of CompUSA, America’s largest computer superstore retailer and the nation’s leading retailer and reseller of personal computer-related products and services.
“The Office XP Technology Guarantee program will enable our customers to take advantage of Office 2000 productivity enhancements now, and then get the additional value with Office XP when it is available.”
About Office XP and Microsoft
Office XP provides a much smarter work experience for individuals, teams and organizations. Office XP makes productivity simple for individuals by helping them get the most out of Office and giving them tools they can rely on. Office XP enables collaboration for everyone by revolutionizing the way people work with others on documents and introducing SharePoint Team Services to manage projects and activities via the Web. Office XP also provides a flexible way to solve business needs by delivering rich business solutions, improved security and reliability and tools businesses need to deploy and manage Office.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software –
any time, any place and on any device.
* Retail prices may vary.
Microsoft, Outlook, PowerPoint, FrontPage, IntelliMouse and SharePoint are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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