<p>Microsoft's next-generation Office solutions and other "2013"-branded products will be released to manufacturing. Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate vice president of the Microsoft Office Division, announced the RTM milestone in a blog post. He claimed that the 2013-branded Office represents "the most ambitious release of Office we've ever done."</p><p>In July, Koenigsbauer and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showed off touch-friendly Office 2013 apps. These apps will run on the "Desktop" side of the Windows 8 user interface. Microsoft is also building "Metro-style" Office apps, but so far only the OneNote Metro-style app is available for testing. Gartner analyst Steve Kleynhans has described the new Office 2013 apps as very similar to those in Office 2010, but with screen layouts optimized for touch. Kleynhans added that he didn't consider Office 2013 to represent a major user interface change, but those familiar with Office 2007 and Office 2010 will notice some differences.</p><p>Office 2013 AvailabilityThose wanting to get their hands on the new 2013 products can expect them to be available in the "first quarter of 2013," according to Koenigsbauer. In the meantime, Microsoft will be running a promotional deal for new Office 2010 buyers, offering a free upgrade to Office 2013 when it's released. This promo will start on October 19 for those buying Office 2010 from retailers or resellers.</p><p>Microsoft's volume licensing customers will have the ability to download the 2013 products before general availability. Those products will be available through Microsoft's Volume Licensing Service Center by "mid-November," with pricing available on December 1.</p><p><a href="http://mcpmag.com/articles/2012/10/12/office-2013-complete.aspx">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/10/office-2013-goes-gold/">Office 2013 goes gold</a> (Ubergizmo)</p><p><a href="http://www.mobilenapps.com/articles/4701/20121016/microsoft-office-2013-reaches-rtm-status.htm">Microsoft Office 2013 Reaches RTM Status</a> (Mobile &amp; Apps)</p><p><a href="http://www.latinospost.com/articles/5553/20121016/microsoft-office-2013-release-date-price-new.htm">Microsoft Office 2013 Release Date, Price: New Office Released to ...</a> (Latinos Post)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dERpmtbQkPaj-oMHLF_S9HQncsvYM&ned=us">10 additional articles.</a></p>