After years of development and beta testing, Microsoft Office 2010 is now available for purchase by consumers worldwide.
Microsoft Office 2010 hits stores today with three versions: Home and Student, Home and Business, and Professional. In stores, the versions will cost $149.99, $279.99, or $499.99 respectively, but by downloading the software and just purchasing a Key Card, the price drops to $119.99, $199.99, and $349.99 respectively.
The newest version of Microsoft's productivity software provides some major additions and upgrades to the 2007 version, including Outlook Social Connector and new multimedia editing tools. The biggest addition is Office Web Apps, a slim but very functional version of its desktop counterpart that allows for live document collaboration, online storage, and integration with Hotmail and other Microsoft products.
The release of Office 2010 comes one month after Microsoft Office 2010's upgrade release and two months after it was released to manufacturing.