Mobile, Kinect Featured at Final CES Appearance

The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was kicked off by a keynote from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who highlighted the company’s consumer-focused products. Windows Phone, Xbox, and the upcoming Windows 8 were demonstrated at the keynote and on the show floor, but the biggest announcement was the Feb. 2012 production release of the Kinect sensor peripheral for Windows PCs. Microsoft previously announced that it will not participate in CES after 2012, likely because the show doesn’t align with its product cycles as well as other events do, especially events run by Microsoft.

Mobile Hardware Awaits Windows 8

Much of the attention for Windows at CES comes through OEM hardware unveilings and booth displays, such as those of new notebook and desktop PCs and other devices. For example, this year several manufacturers showed thin, high-powered, durable notebook computers (sometimes called ultrabooks) running Windows 7. These devices could help Windows take back some share from Apple’s iPad tablet, which has hurt sales of small, inexpensive Windows-based notebooks (often called netbooks).