Amidst an attempt at making the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show keynote feel like a party, Steve Ballmer et al. failed to bring any charisma to the stage. The hour and a half of demos, beat boxing, and weird musical groups were filled with uncomfortable chuckles and awkward silences. The focus of the night was to pump-up enthusiasm for Windows 7, Windows Mobile, and the all encompassing ‘Cloud’ experience. If they did nothing else during the time on stage, I think they did a good job of showing how Windows 7 WILL be everything we wanted Windows Vista to be and so much more.
Here are the highlights from the show and what we can expect from Microsoft and partners in the coming year:
Focus on the Convergence of PC, TV, and Phone:
Windows will be the linchpin bringing our digital lives together. Many R&D dollars will be spent to bring the full digital experience together. Human computer interaction (touch, speech, and gestures) will help make this transition smooth and close the gap to make this an everyday occurrence for the masses.
Windows 7:
Vista was the backbone, Windows 7 is the experience. Features like integrated touch capabilities, longer battery life, and a totally redesigned UI make for a user experience that may rival the hype for OSX. Multitouch will help bring the computer screen to life and feature many of the much touted iPhone type feels.
Windows Live:
Partnerships with Facebook and Dell will help make Live the social experience that will be organized and fun. New Dells will come preloaded with the Live bundle.
Windows Mobile:
Eleven phones running WM and Verizon will soon be integrating Live search into their bundle.
Windows at Home (TV and Xbox):
The Web and broadcast TV experience will begin to merge with services that allow networks to create applications for an interactive viewing experience. IPTV, like AT&T Uverse, will continue to make breakthroughs and become the mainstream video channel. Xbox Lives NXE was the beginning of a social experience and new features, like the Primetime Channel, will bring users together for worldwide events in the comfort of your home. Xbox Live and Netflix subscribers will now be able to control their Live queue right from their WM phone (cool feature!).
HALO:
Ok. Maybe this should have gone in the previous category, but my love affair with Halo makes me give it its own category. Two new games, Halo Wars and Halo ODST, will release in 2009 to continue to Bungie dominance of the Xbox platform.
Windows Surface
The surface platform will continue to gain specialized uses in Universities and hospitals. There was a cool (but dated) demo of how surface will be integrated with specialized fields.
WOW! It was almost painful trying to recap the Keynote. Like I said before, it was fairly boring and the attempt bring the pizazz fell directly on its face. Luckily this is only a small part of CES 2009. Let’s hope they can find some more charismatic speakers to bring some life to the CES10 keynote!
If you are interested in hering the keynote first hand, here is a link to the audio feed from the stage: http://tinyurl.com/7agcy2. Enjoy!
January 8th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Thanks for the wrap up!
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