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Office 2010 Military Appreciation Edition

Microsoft has a reasonable deal for active US military, but it’s not as good as the similar Office 2007 package.

A popular but little known deal for military personnel is the Microsoft Office Military Appreciation Edition (MAE). The offer is only available to current US military including Coast Guard, National Guard, Reserves as well as retired military who have ‘PX’ access.

Office-Watch.com had a lot of coverage on the Office 2007 MAE which was the Standard bundle (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) for $79.95 compared to a retail price of $349. As a bonus the MAE license allowed three simultaneous installations instead of the usual two. There was even a discount on that deal to $50 for a limited time.

For Office 2010 the Military Appreciation Edition isn’t close to being as good a discount. The price is the same, $79.95, but now it’s the same programs as the Home and Student edition (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote) with the all-important Outlook being dropped.

Office 2010 Home and Student edition officially retails for $149 so Microsoft claims it’s a good discount of around 46%. However the Home and Student edition is usually heavily discounted once the initial sales of Office have dropped off. Microsoft itself offered their $149 Office 2007 package for around $77 back in 2008. Office 2007 H&S edition could regularly be had for less than $100 and it’s reasonable to expect similar discounting for Office 2010 in the months ahead.

The Office 2010 Military Appreciation Edition is still a good deal but it’s not as generous as Microsoft is making out when compared to street ‘civilian’ prices. The switch of products in the MAE and dropping Outlook, while retaining the same bundle name, means the MAE offer isn’t as great an offer than it was.

For details on the Office 2010 MAE go to the Microsoft site or AAFES.com direct.


Technology Guarantee and the Military Appreciation Edition

If you bought the Office 2007 MAE during the Technology Guarantee period you can qualify for a free upgrade to Office 2010. You’ll get the Office 2010 Home and Business edition as the free upgrade package which includes Outlook 2010.

If you’re able to buy the Office 2007 MAE during the remaining Technology Guarantee period (purchases March 5, 2010 and September 30, 2010) then it’s an even better deal.

 

Thanks to Sam W. for his help with this item.

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