In spite of the vague public wording around its Windows Vista and Office 2007 release plans, Microsoft is continuing to tell its hardware and software partners that its goal is to release the two products simultaneously in January. In March, Microsoft announced publicly that it would not meet internal deadlines that would allow it to launch Vista and Office 2007 before the end of 2006, as the company had been planning. Then, in late June, Microsoft officials acknowledged that the company's internal Office 2007 release dates had slipped and instead of delivering the product to businesses in October, it would commit to doing so by the end of calendar 2006.
At the time Microsoft announced the new Office delay, it also changed its public tune on when it planned its Office 2007 retail launch. Instead of promising a January 2007 launch date, Microsoft officials said they would commit to an "early 2007" launch for Office 2007. That change in wording led many to speculate that Office 2007 would launch some time after Vista.
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News source: eWeek
