As anticipated, the next release will move towards the Metro UI of Windows 8 and be more conducive for use on touch tablets.
It’ll also be more tightly integrated with Microsoft’s SkyDrive, incorporate social networking features, whilst continuing its emphasis on facilitating collaboration.
Check out the Customer Preview for the new Microsoft Office 2013.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has just unveiled the new Microsoft Office, available for download here. The webcast from San Francisco was broadcast on July 16 (3am July 17 Singapore time).
The preview is only for Windows, the Mac version of Office 2013 will only be available in the full release of Office 365.
Office for Windows 8
Office 2013 will work with touch, stylus, mouse or keyboard across Windows devices, including tablets.
OneNote and Lync will be the first new Windows 8 style applications for Office.
These applications are designed to deliver touch-first experiences on a tablet.
A new radial menu in OneNote makes it easy to access features with the finger.
Included in Windows R will be Office Home and Student 2013 RT, which contains new versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote applications.
These will be included on ARM-based Windows 8 devices, including Microsoft Surface.
Office in the Cloud
Documents and personalised applications settings can be stored on SkyDrive so that they will be synced and available as long as the user is logged on to the Internet.
Quick Impressions
I’ll be trying out the preview but first impressions is that while Office 2013 is moving towards a Metro UI, much of it is still catered for the traditional Windows 7, which is slated to run alongside Windows 8 for some time yet.
That’s good, because I’m never one to support change simply for the sake of change.
Integrating with SkyDrive allows the user to switch between user accounts and to access their synced documents from multiple devices.
Otherwise, most of the changes sound evolutionary rather than drastic.
Stored settings include most recently used files, templates, custom dictionary, and where in the document you were at when you last quit the application.
The new Office is available as a cloud-based subscription service.
As subscribers, consumers automatically get future upgrades in addition to exciting cloud services including Skype world minutes and extra SkyDrive storage.
Subscribers receive multiple installs for everyone in the family and across their devices.
The new Office is also social and lets the user stay plugged into his/her networks through Yammer, SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics and Skype (which is included in Office).
Ballmer discussed three new Office 365 subscription services, which will include the new 2013 editions of the Office applications — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access.
Three new Office 365 subscription services
- Office 365 Home Premium — designed for families and consumers. This service also includes an additional 20 GB of SkyDrive storage and 60 minutes of Skype world minutes per month.
- Office 365 Small Business Premium — designed for small businesses. This service also includes business-grade email, shared calendars, website tools and HD webconferencing.
- Office 365 ProPlus — designed for enterprise customers who want advanced business capabilities and the flexibility to deploy and manage in the cloud.
Subscribers will receive future rights to version upgrades as well as per-use rights across up to five PCs or Macs and mobile devices.
The full lineup of offerings and pricing plans will only be announced in the fall.
Find out the details about Office 2013 here.
