Microsoft adds a new $70 'Personal' SKU to its Office 365 line-up

Microsoft is adding a new low-end Office 365 SKU to its line-up, officials announced on March 13.

THe Office 365 Personal SKU, coming 'this spring,' is focused on individuals. For $69.99 a year or $6.99 per month, users can install Office on one PC or Mac, plus one tablet.

This new SKU is not replacing Office 365 Home Premium, which Microsoft is renaming to "Office 365 Home." Instead, it's a new subscription option for users who don't need to put Office 2013 and/or Office for Mac 2011 on up to five PCs and Macs (in total). Office 365 Home is priced at $99.99 a year and also gives users access to Office Mobile on up to five iPhones and/or Android phones.

Microsoft officials said in January 2014 that the company now has 3.5 million Office 365 Home Premium subscribers. Microsoft launched Office 365 Home Premium in January 2013.

I've asked Microsoft officials which tablets are included as part of the new Office 365 Home deal. I've also asked whether Office Mobile is part of this package. I'll provide an update if and when I hear back.

Update: Currently, users can install Office (Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint and Outlook) on a single Windows tablet under the terms of this SKU (which makes sense given Microsoft still hasn't launched Office for iPad or Android tablets... yet.) Office 365 Personal subscribers also get 20 GB of OneDrive storage for free as part of the deal. And they can install Office Mobile on iPhones and Android phones for free as part of Office 365 Personal, too. (Microsoft isn't yet saying how many phones in total.) Windows Phones come with Office Mobile already bundled for free, so Windows Phones don't count against users' total.

My bet is this new Office 365 Personal offering is setting the stage for Microsoft to deliver Office for the iPad.