Microsoft has confirmed that it will officially launch Office 2013 on Jan. 29 in New York following several leaks and rumors surrounding its public release. A tweet by the Microsoft Office Twitter account and new landing page on Microsoft's Web site for Office 365 suggest that the newest version of Microsoft's productivity suite will be released on Jan. 29.

The most remarkable feature of the new version is Microsoft's emphasis on subscription-based licenses. The subscription pricing will benefit you if you regularly upgrade.

It should be noted that unlike the older versions (such as Office 2010), Office 2013 will not allow multiple machines to use the software. The new standard license offers only one machine and the subscription model comes with five licenses. The business version of the update offers built-in integration with Microsoft's SharePoint, Lync and Exchange services.

Office 2013 represents a rethink of the productivity software, a Mashable report said. "Microsoft re-designed Office for Windows 8, changing aspects of the design, features and back end to better suit a world of touchscreens, cloud connectivity and social networks," it said. Though the new version is designed for Windows 8 machines, Office will still run on traditional desktop environment and even on Windows RT devices.

Though mobile users are definitely among those most likely to benefit from an upgrade, it's not clear if the new version will be Apple iPad friendly. The upgrade brings in greater collaboration with the Office Small Business Premium level as it includes online meeting tools. The new SkyDrive cloud storage includes 10 GB.

Microsoft priced the Office 2013 at $99.95 a year for consumers and $149.99 a year for businesses. You can still download the new version in one-shot at $219.99 for the Home and Business edition and $399.99 for the Professional edition.

Office 2013 offers an app store where developers can share their apps to all Office users. It will feature versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access.