MICROFT'S OFFICE 365 LEAVES BETA

After making its beta debut last year, Office 365 is officially ready to spread its wings and offer its productivity web app wares to the business-minded masses. For $6 per-user, per-month small businesses get access to Microsoft Office Web Apps, Exchange, SharePoint and Lync video conferencing and can take advantage of the suite's integration with WP7 once Mango lands. Larger, enterprise plans start at $10 per user while adding support for desktop Office products and Lync VoIP solutions as you climb the pricing ladder.

WINDOWS PHONE 7 UPDATE TO BRING OFFICE 365, FACEBOOK CHAT AND BETTER XBOX LIVE INTEGRATION

The Windows Phone Dev Podcast unearthed some seemingly legit Windows Phone 7 screenshots last week that revealed a few new features apparently headed to the mobile OS, and it's now back with another batch that show yet more additions said to be included with the so-called "Mango" update.

That includes support for Facebook Chat and Office 365 (plus SkyDrive and SharePoint), as well as a revamped Games hub that suggests even more Xbox Live integration (including a rather interesting new "Automatic Sync" option). What's more, the lock screen will apparently now show the album art if there is a song currently playing, and it seems there will be some new group messaging options as well.

Of course, all that's still unconfirmed by Microsoft.

MICROSOFT OFFICE 365 MOVES TO PUBLIC BETA FOR SMALL BUSINESSES AND ENTERPRISE

Back in October 2010, Microsoft announced Office 365, the company’s first cloud-based productivity software product and, some would say, a direct response to Google Apps. On Sunday, Microsoft announced that Office 365 would now be offered as a public beta to both small businesses and enterprises.

The small business beta is open for companies with up to 25 employees who need a solution that doesn’t require an IT staff, but still offers essential email, calendar, and website services. There is also an enterprise version for any size organization looking for more features and control, Office Professional Plus, Active Directory, and high-end archiving. Once an account is activated, which may take 2-4 weeks as part of the beta, users will have 30 days (from activation) to decide whether they would like to purchase the service or not.

Small business owners are billed month-to-month starting at $6/user while those enrolling in the enterprise program have four plans to choose from starting at $10/user/month for the E1 plan. Currently, only the E3 plan, which begins at $24/user/month, is available in the public beta. All four (E1-E4) are described below.