REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 1, 2002 — Microsoft Corp. today announced a joint limited-time offer with Apple Computer Inc. that brings greater savings and compatibility to Macintosh users. Starting today, Microsoft®
Office v. X for Mac is available for less than $200 with the purchase of any new Mac. The special price for Office v. X with the purchase of any new Mac is the latest demonstration of Microsoft and Apple’s shared commitment to offering Mac customers great products at great values. It marks the first time that the Office for Mac suite has been made available to purchasers of Macs.
“This is an incredible offer for consumers and a perfect example of Apple and Microsoft working together to provide a great value to Mac customers,”
said Phil Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing at Apple.
“The combination of a new Mac with Mac OS X v. 10.2 ‘Jaguar’ and the powerful Office v. X for Mac gives customers the most advanced Mac operating system with the world’s most popular office productivity suite — all at a price that can’t be beat.”
This package is also another example of recent efforts from the Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU) to give users of Mac the most compelling and valuable products. In the past quarter alone, the MacBU has made available a Service Release for Office v. X, MSN®
Messenger 3.5 for Mac, Palm handheld synchronization for the Entourage (TM) X e-mail and personal information manager, and the Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client, as well as unveiled its plans to deliver MSN for Mac OS X in early 2003.
“As our relationship with Apple continues to grow, we’re excited to work with Apple to make it easier for new Mac buyers to acquire our latest version of Office for the Mac, Apple’s newest hardware, and the new Mac OS X v. 10.2 ‘Jaguar,'”
said Tim McDonough, marketing director for the Macintosh Business Unit at Microsoft.
“Together, Office v. X and Macs running ‘Jaguar’ will enable new users of Mac to communicate with their PC counterparts more seamlessly than before.”
From Oct. 1, 2002, through Jan. 7, 2003, consumers in North America who buy any new Mac will be able to get Microsoft Office v. X for Mac for $199.99 (U.S.) or $299 (CDN). This product normally retails for $499* (U.S.) or $749* (CDN). A similar offer is running in Japan from August until December 2002, and there are plans to offer it to customers in Australia, Europe, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore in November. All Macintosh computers are loaded with Apple’s latest operating system, Mac OS X v. 10.2
“Jaguar,”
which was launched in August.
About Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit
The Macintosh Business Unit at Microsoft is a leading developer of software and online products for the Macintosh platform. With the largest Mac-focused development team outside Apple Computer, the MacBU comprises 145 full-time Mac product experts. Committed to the Macintosh platform since 1997, the MacBU delivers award-winning products developed to meet the unique needs of Mac users. Current products include Microsoft Office v. X for Mac, a productivity suite that includes the e-mail application and personal information manager Entourage X, Word X, Excel X and PowerPoint®
X; Internet Explorer 5.2 for Mac; and MSN
Messenger 3.0 for Mac. More information about the MacBU and Microsoft Macintosh products is available at http://www.microsoft.com/mac/ .
About Microsoft
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.
* Estimated retail prices. Reseller prices may vary.
Microsoft, MSN, Entourage and PowerPoint are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Apple, Mac and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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