Microsoft Windows Office 2013 officially unveiled

With September's expected Windows 8 release date on the horizon, Microsoft has officially unveiled Office 2013 with PC and tablet integration

Microsoft has officially unveiled the recently rumoured Office 2013 release with the new software suit to land as the first fully Meto-optimised offering fully attuned for use on both PC and tablet devices. Making the announcement in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer took to the stage last night to give Office 2013 its first official outing whilst describing the upcoming software package as "the most ambitious release of Microsoft office that we’ve ever done." Describing Office 2013 as "a new generation that brings some of the same boldness and beauty that we’ve shown you in Windows 8 and Windows Phone," Balmer has recommended the latest Office suite, which has been optimised to better work with touchscreen devices, will be as appealing and useful to students and families as the classic business user. The most lucrative arm of Microsoft’s expansive business, Office packages currently earn the company a staggering $15 billion per year with around one billion people using the software across 90 per cent of the world’s business machines.

With the full Office packing coming in for a Windows 8 themed overhaul, the likes of the frequently used Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Excel are all set to benefit from a new design and a selection of additional performance enhancing features whilst the likes of OneNote are as well set to be spruced up. As Word adds the ability to directly edit PDFs and improved options for embedding YouTube clips into documents, PowerPoint users are to benefit from accessing notes and individual slides on a Windows 8 tablet whilst using their PC to project a presentation. On top of this, improved handwriting recognition is set to aid tablet-based OneNote users whilst Microsoft’s recent acquisition of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) giant Skype sees the service integrated directly into the Office 2013 package alongside improved social networking functions.

Although Microsoft failed to give an Office 2013 release date or pricing information while yesterday's announcement, it is expected the newly revamped software could land alongside the Windows 8 launch this autumn.