Ballmer, out. American Idol's Ryan Seacrest helped Microsoft bid farewell to the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday, and just for old times sake, the company once again refrained from making any bombshell announcements.
The biggest news out of CEO Steve Ballmer's annual address at the 2012 International CES? The popular Xbox motion sensor controller Kinect will be available on Windows Febuary 1. Cue the deflated trombone.
Rumors that he would unveil a brand new version of Xbox were unfounded.
The computing giant has taken its lumps for falling behind rival Apple in the key tablet and smartphone markets, but has clearly established itself as the leader in gaming.
Sales of the Kinect device have hit more than 18 million just over a year since launch, Ballmer bragged.
Meanwhile, in a question and answer session with Seacrest, Ballmer said he was excited and upbeat about Windows Phones. "Our phone puts people first," he said.
Touting the company's partnership with Nokia, Ballmer announced that the Lumia 900 will be available in the U.S. in a few months. Also, an HTC Titan 2 with a 16 megapixel camera is on the way.
Ballmer then gushed about about Windows 8, which he promised would deliver a a "no-compromise experience." He assured that Windows 7 computers will run the touch-activated Windows 8. Amog the new devices the will run the new OS -- the Acer Aspire, Lenovo IdeaPad U300s, Samsung Series 9 and HP Envy 14 Spectre.
A potentially awkward introduction by CEA President Gary Shapiro actually made for a heartwarming moment.
Microsoft recently announced it was ending its run at CES, saying that their "product news milestones" are not in sync with the timing of the event. It was at CES in 2008 that Bill Gates made official his retirement.
Shapiro graciously opened the door for Microsoft's return in a few years, suggesting that it was more of a trial separation rather than a nasty divorce.
"Microsoft took a risk on us early and we both benefited," Shapiro said in thanking the company attracting attention to CES over the years.
CEA expects this year's CES will be the most innovative show on record, with more than 20,000 new products slated to be announced this week.
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