The update marks a complete overhaul of Office for Mac and finally sees the franchise ditching Entourage in favor of Outlook. Since Entourage has been much-maligned since its introduction, a native OS X version of Outlook is a welcome addition to the Office for Mac suite.
Additional features seem to be mainly aesthetic, but Microsoft has said that speed is a priority across the suite. Here's a video that was released along with this morning's announcement on The Office for Mac Blog:
As with all things Microsoft, not just one package will suffice. Versions include: Office for Mac Home and Student 2011, Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 and Office for Mac Academic 2011. Home and Student 2011, which includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Messenger, will retail for $119 for a single install or $149 for a three-install Family Pack. Meanwhile, Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 will retail for $199 for one install and $279 for two installs.