In place of a review, we could have printed a comparative table highlighting the strengths and deficiencies of StarOffice against those of Microsoft Office, the undisputed market leader in office software.

But let us skip straight to the bottom line: unless, and only unless, you actively need the more advanced functions of Office, including document sharing in workgroups and the ability to author your own macros, we think that StarOffice can meet the demands of any home or business user - with one significant limitation, which we will come to later

So who should consider StarOffice? Well, in one corner there are budget-conscious home consumers, ie, nearly everyone who uses a computer. But will StarOffice's plain packaging and pedestrian marketing - coupled with Sun's poor brand recognition in relation to Microsoft - see it leaping from shop shelves into our shopping baskets? We doubt it.

We also expect that the impressive Microsoft Works package - which includes Word 2002 alongside a full suite of office applications and extras such as Encarta and AutoRoute - will continue to be computer manufacturers' pre-installation package of choice for mid-range PCs, with heavily discounted versions of Office XP available as an upgrade. StarOffice will therefore face an uphill struggle to establish itself in the home.

Instead, we suspect that business users will constitute the core market for Sun. StarOffice runs on Windows, Linux and Solaris PCs, which makes it easier to introduce across a multiplatform office environment. An important plus is good (but not perfect) compatibility with Microsoft's proprietary Word, Excel and PowerPoint file formats, so it could be introduced either alongside or as a wholesale replacement for Microsoft Office.

Because StarOffice looks and behaves much like its Microsoft rival, Office-trained staff can make the switch with ease. Moreover, with the advent of product pricing, developer Sun Microsystems has made a firm commitment to properly develop, expand and support the suite. Business managers can be confident that it is here to stay and, importantly, that future upgrades will be affordable.

StarOffice boldly claims three clear advantages over Office XP Standard Edition: a drawing application, a database and value pricing. This last is self-evidently true and much to be commended, even if we do lament the end of the free ride. (You can still get a free version of StarOffice from OpenOffice.org, but Sun is no longer directly involved).

Even if you overlook the limitations of the bundled database (which are considerable; this is no Access clone), and even if you accept the dubious inclusion of a drawing utility in an office suite, there is no escaping StarOffice's Achilles heel: it has no Outlook-style contact manager/scheduler/email client.

If you are used to using Outlook as the hub on which you plan your business day and organise your workload, you will feel the absence of such an application keenly. There is no lack of suitable software around, of course - even Outlook Express will do at a pinch - but it does considerably narrow StarOffice's appeal as the backbone of your office system.

Specifications

£53 (including VAT)
Contact: Sun Microsystems 0800 731 0658
www.sun.co.uk
Minimum requirements: Pentium processor, Windows 95, 64MB Ram (128MB recommended), 200MB free hard drive space.