Microsoft introduces 'Office 365 Personal' subscription

(Photo: Microsoft)Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announces the availability of Microsoft Office 365 in New York, N.Y., on Tuesday, June 28, 2011. Office 365, the company's newest cloud service, brings together Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Lync Online in an always-up-to-date cloud service, for a predictable monthly subscription.

A Microsoft Office 365 subscription comes in two options – Home Premium and Personal. According to PC World, those who do not need the family plan Home Premium can opt for Personal, which works with a single device - whether a Mac, PC or tablet. The subscription fee is $6.99 monthly or $69.99 annually. For Home Premium, the fee is $9.99 monthly or $99 annually. Microsoft said the personal subscription will be available later this spring.

With the Personal subscription yet to arrive, Office 365 Home Premium continues, but will shorten its name to Office 365 Home to reflect its "home"-aspect, which licenses up to 5 Macs or PCs and 5 mobile devices like tablets and phones. Office Personal is for single subscribers with no other family member. Whether you subscribe to Office Home, or Office Personal, Microsoft offers 60 minutes of international Skype calls for free per month as well as 20GB OneDrive storage.

A representative from Microsoft said that subscribers of Office Home having more than one tablet or mobile device can use Office Mobile app on one, and Office Online Web app for the other device. Microsoft defines a tablet as a device with either a detachable or touch keyboard in which Surface tablets could fall on. A Windows PC, Surface Pro or Pro 2 qualify for a Personal SKU. Surface 2 comes with Office 2013 RT with Office functionality, but not the most recent updates of an Office 365 subscription.

Credit: Microsoft Sweden

For the Millennial generation whose preference might be a native Office suite, but not living with parents, Office Personal could be a good fit.

Senior marketing manager Chris Schneider said that they at Microsoft are committed to deliver a great Office experience to their customers. They believe that with the options, customers can pick what fits their individual unique needs.

Microsoft is busy migrating their users from software suites like Office 2013 to the subscription model of Office 365.

Copyright © 2014 Ecumenical News