[photopress:ITLenovo_Vista.jpg,full,alignright]Microsoft has problems with its Office suite of programs in that online versions — Google and so on — are starting to eat into the market. So it has formed an alliance with Lenovo to jointly promote sales of Microsoft’s Office 2007.
Zhang Yaqin, senior vice president of Microsoft China, attended the press conference as an acting CEO of the company. Zhang said that the cooperation with Lenovo once again represents Microsoft’s long term commitment and strategy in China. (He did not mention there was something akin to panic at Microsoft headquarters at the way the online program market is growing.)
Lenovo will pre-install Office 2007 software in its consumer PCs. Users can use the software for free in the first three months and choose to uninstall it or purchase a legitimate copy for only RMB899 when the trial use period expires. This special offer is mainly targeted at Chinese families and students.
Microsoft’s Office 2007 in China normally sells for about RMB1,499 retail.
Source: Jongo News