CES 2012 - Microsoft's Keynote

It is the end of an era at CES! Last night saw the world's technology press gather for Microsoft's final CES keynote speech. And while Gary Shapiro played down Microsoft's departure it was obvious from Steve Ballmer's speech that CES just was no longer a good fit for Microsoft.



The keynote was presented by Ryan Seacroft in conversation with Microsoft's Steve Ballmer. Among the announcements was the news that the kinect for windows will be released on Feb 1st. This is great news for Windows users keen to experience gaming via their PC. They also announced their plans to challenge Apple's dominance of the phone and app arena with the release of two new windows phones - the Nokia Lumia 900 and the HTC Titan 2 as well as their soon to be released app service Windows Store.

Gary Shapiro of CES also presented Ballmer with a gift to celebrate and commemorate Microsoft's 15 year relationship with CES.

This keynote speech was more about looking back than looking forward though and I feel that Microsoft really are going to have to up their game if they're to challenge Apple's dominance.