Details about the new Office help bring together in a more cohesive way new and updated products that Microsoft has announced recently -- the latest operating system, Windows 8, the cloud service SkyDrive, and the new PC/tablets called Surface.

The company's vision is that consumers will buy a Windows 8 device such as Surface and subscribe for an Office service that provides cloud access to the applications, automatic upgrades, extra cloud storage and Skype minutes for calling regular phones from Office apps. The service accommodates multiple users and devices within a family, for example.

The Surface devices can operate with a full keyboard and mouse or act as tablets controlled via touchscreen, so they can readily handle applications in whatever mode best suits the user.

Work done in Office is by default saved to the cloud. Users can access it via SkyDrive from any device and it will be formatted appropriately to fit the devices' screens.

The service has features to improve productivity such as bookmarking where in Office applications a user last worked and providing a button to jump directly to that spot.