Microsoft @ 2012 CES

Paul Thurrott

Mon, 2012-01-09 09:03

ces_twit

As with last year, I'm not in Las Vegas this week for what has turned out to be Microsoft's final appearance at the sprawling Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Turns out that Microsoft, like other huge technology companies, has finally discovered that January is a terrible time to announce products: It's right after the holidays for one thing and most of what's announced won't ship for several months. But my own reasons for skipping CES are even simpler: The show is simply too big and too much of it is irrelevant to what I do. Which is fine, as I can cover Microsoft's CES news remotely just as well as if I were there. In fact, it might be easier: I won't be suffering from fatigue or foot pain while doing it.

Don't misunderstand, however. This year's show is going to be big for Microsoft and those fans and enthusiasts of its products. There's going to be a lot of news around Windows 8 and Windows 8-based hardware--tablets, ultrabooks, and other PCs, as well as ARM-based devices--and of course Windows Phone 7. In fact, you may be aware that, prompted by blogosphere leaks, I've been slowly taking the wraps off Microsoft's Windows Phone CES announcements (in Microsoft and Nokia's Plans for Marketing Windows Phone in 2012 and Microsoft's LTE Plans for Windows Phone). But that's just the tip of the iceberg: I've viewed Microsoft's Windows Phone marketing plans for the first half of 2012 and it's a blockbuster, with a lot more news to come.

So there will be a lot happening this week. I'll use this article to aggregate all of my CES 2012 content, but the first big event is happening soon: Microsoft's CES 2012 keynote address. And I'll be covering it live, on video, with Mary Jo Foley on a special edition of Windows Weekly. Here are the details:

LIVE: Microsoft's 2012 CES Keynote with Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley

Follow along as Mary Jo Foley and I cover Steve Ballmer's 2012 CES keynote address--the last Microsoft will ever product--on Monday, January 9, 2012. Here are the details:

When: January 9, 2012 at 9:00 pm ET/6:00 pm PT (Keynote starts at 9:30 pm ET/6:30 pm PT)

I'll see if I can get a video archive of the event. Stay tuned!

CES 2012 articles and news

Newest articles and posts on top....

What The Tech 100: CES 2012 Special
Source: SuperSite for Windows
Date: January 11, 2012
This week on What The Tech: Andrew and Paul discuss many of the product announcements from CES 2012. Microsoft delivers their last keynote at CES. Nokia officially announces their first Windows Phone for the US, the Lumia 900. Several companies announce new, low cost tablets including Lenovo and Viewsonic. Will 2012 be a big year for tablets and Ultrabooks? Andrew and Paul also discuss the bevy of new TVs being announced from Lenovo, Samsung, and Vizio.

Windows Weekly 243: Live From CES
Source: SuperSite for Windows
Date: January 11, 2012
In the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Mary Jo and I join Leo in Las Vegas remotely to cover the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. We discuss the various announcements from final Microsoft CES keynote, the AT&T and Nokia press conferences, Android tablets and Ultrabooks, Windows Phone software updates, and more.

TWiT Live: Ballmer Keynote
Source: SuperSite for Windows
Date: January 11 2012
In a special live event Monday night, Mary Jo Foley and I did our best "Mystery Science Theater 3000" imitation and provided color commentary to Microsoft's final Consumer Electronics Show keynote address. Microsoft discussed Windows Phone, Windows 7, Windows 8, Xbox 360, and Kinect during the speech.

Ultrabook PCs and Tablets Dominate 2012 CES News Cycle
Source: WinInfo Daily News
Date: January 11, 2012
For the past few years, Apple's presence has hung over the Consumer Electronics Show like the dark shadow of Mordor in Tolkien's classic "Rings" series. But not this year: The big news makers at the 2012 CES are products lines designed specifically at two of Apple's most successful offerings. And unlike in years past, it seems that Apple's competitors have finally gotten it right.

Xbox and Kinect the Stars of Microsoft's Final CES Keynote
Source: WinInfo Daily News
Date: January 10, 2012
Microsoft's final CES keynote address focused on Windows Phone, Windows 8, and the Xbox. But it's somewhat fitting that most of the truly new information was about Kinect, the one truly successful consumer product that the company has launched in the past few years. But enthusiasts were disappointed that Microsoft only described existing features in Windows Phone and Windows 8, while providing absolutely no clues about the future at all.

Windows 8: Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga Flip
Source: SuperSite for Windows
Date: January 9, 2012
Get excited, people. While this will be only one of many Windows 8-based hybrid tablet devices announced this week at CES, it's one of the few I knew about ahead of time and one that I am personally quite excited about: It's called the IdeaPad Yoga Flip, and since it comes from ThinkPad maker Lenovo, it's going to be a very interesting Windows 8 device indeed.

Nokia Re-Enters the US Market with Windows Phone
Source: WinInfo Daily News
Date: January 9, 2012
At a 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) press conference on Monday, struggling cell phone giant Nokia officially announced its return to the US smart phone market with two Lumia models based on Windows Phone. The news further corroborates an exclusive report I published previously to the SuperSite for Windows in late December.

Microsoft Confirms Windows Phone LTE on AT&T First
Source: WinInfo Daily News
Date: January 9, 2012
Ahead of its final Consumer Electronics Show (CES) keynote, Microsoft confirmed my exclusive report from late December stating that AT&T Wireless would be the first carrier to offer 4G/LTE-based Windows Phones. HTC showed off its first LTE-based Windows Phone, the Titan II, while Nokia talked up its LTE plans on AT&T without discussing specific phone versions.

Lenovo Preps New ThinkPads For 2012
Source: SuperSite for Windows
Date: January 5, 2012
Just ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this coming weekend in Las Vegas, Lenovo announced numerous new ThinkPad notebooks that it will release throughout the first half of 2012. This doesn't represent the company's full PC lineup for this part of the year, but it does present a tantalizing glimpse at the portable computing future. I intend to purchase more than one of these devices.

Microsoft and Nokia's Plans for Marketing Windows Phone in 2012
Source: WinInfo Daily News
Date: January 4, 2012
With other blogs leaking somewhat inaccurate information about Microsoft and Nokia's plans for marketing Windows Phone in the United States during the first half of 2012, I thought it might be worthwhile to set the record straight. Microsoft and Nokia will not spend "in the neighborhood of $100 million" to market Windows Phone this year. The companies are spending much more than that.

Microsoft's LTE Plans for Windows Phone
Source: SuperSite Blog
Date: December 29, 2012
Microsoft and its Windows Phone partners do indeed intend to release a number of LTE devices in the coming half-year, all on AT&T. These devices include the the Nokia ACE, HTC Radiant, and Samsung Mendel.

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