Microsoft launches Office 365 Personal Edition for Rs 330 a month

Microsoft has launched Office 365 Personal, the recently announced, cheaper subscription option for Office 365, in the Indian market. Priced at Rs 330 a month or Rs 3,299 a year, the Office 365 Personal subscription service provides access to the Office applications for Windows/Mac, and the ability to install and use the Mac and mobile versions of the office suite on a tablet (including the iPad) and a smartphone. While the Office 365 Home Premium allows one to use the service across up to five PCs or Macs, Office 365 Personal is valid for just one computer, one tablet and one smartphone. Microsoft announced that subscriptions for Office 365 has been growing with more than 3.5 million home users paying for the service. In addition to Office 365 Personal, Microsoft also announced Venue Maps for Bing, its search engine. The service displays interior and exterior maps as a layer on top of Bing Maps, complete with store names and precise location data. The service will be available for 120 malls and three airports (Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi). ​Several extra features have also been added to Bing Search on Windows phones. Consumers searching for local destinations on their Windows phones will automatically be provided with directions on how to reach that destination, with an option for audio drive directions. According to Chakrapani Gollapali, country general manager, consumer channels group, "Today's consumers are seeking a more optimized experience across their phone, tablet and PC and the combined power of Microsoft devices and services provides the best experience they can have today across all these. We at Microsoft are working hard to deliver unmatched immersive experiences to the next 25 million consumers, powered by our first and third-party devices and our capabilities in the consumer cloud space." Commenting on the launch of Office 365 Personal, Ram Kumar Pichai, general manager, Microsoft Office Division said, "More and more consumers today are looking for a home productivity suite which will allow them to move between devices and have constant access to important documents online. Office 365 Personal will address the needs of all these consumers."