Office 365 Update Plus Microsoft Renews Barnes & Noble Partnership

Two interesting pieces of news from Microsoft passed across the web on Thursday, and while different, are interesting pieces of news. Microsoft updated its Office 365 line for personal subscriptions, and Microsoft also renewed its Barnes & Noble Partnership For E-Readers.

While neither of these pieces of news are spectacular on their own, they both show where Microsoft is going as a company. Office 365 is a huge revenue maker for them, and any thoughts about a future Microsoft eReader went down the virtual tubes with the agreement renewal with B&N.

Office 365 Gets Personal

Microsoft announced the Office 365 Personal package on Thursday. This package is meant for individuals versus family and small business/enterprise packages that it currently offers. It is limited to one PC or Mac, plus one tablet. This more personal approach to Office 365 works for those with less than 5 PC’s that the family plan offers.

The new Office 365 Personal package will retail for $69.99 per year, or $6.99 per month. This wil give individuals access to the full Office 365 package for under $7.00 per month, and makes it a very affordable package. Many people just have one PC or tablet, and this will give them all the Office products that they need.

Barnes & Noble Agreement Renewed

The other piece of news is regarding the agreement that Microsoft and Barnes & Noble have in regards to e-Readers. In the latest filing, Nook Media is allowed to stop continuing support for the Nook Windows app, and to stop working on the Windows Phone app. This leads to speculation that a Nook Windows App might be coming down the stream.

Another term that was continued on in the agreement, was a Microsoft Consumer reader. This reader doesn’t have a whole lot known about it, and no official word came from Microsoft on this product. Microsoft’s Office Reader App and a potential Xbox reader app is in the pipeline, but this MCR might be a whole new app entirely. Either way, Microsoft hasn’t lost hope with B&N, and the eReader moves on.

I like the Office 365 move by Microsoft. I’m confused by the Barnes & Noble agreement, but many are according to tech blogs too.