Microsoft CES Keynote: Slate PCs, Something for everyone, and Xbox Natural User Interfaces

Steve Ballmer (CEO) and Robbie Bach (President of the Devices & Entertainment division) shared the keynote and CES. They talked about what Microsoft did in 2009 and what Microsoft will do in 2010. I live-tweeted the session and my raw tweets are included below. In addition, I’m including some of the big messages I heard in the keynote.

The biggest messages I heard in Microsoft’s vision and plans for 2010 are:

• PCs will come in all shapes and sizes- including slates; there will be something for everyone.
• The Cloud will be combined with software on the PC.
• Adding the PC Experience to anything makes it better. (e.g., watching TV or playing games)
• Xbox live will broaden its market to have something for everyone.
• Xbox live will let you play games with Natural User Interfaces.  Project Natal will be available for the 2010 holiday season.

PCs will come in all shapes and sizes- including slates; there will be something for everyone.

Microsoft wants to be on all the screens in your life, and provide you with a connected experience on all of them. This includes your PC, your mobile, your television, your entertainment devices, and your car. Ballmer showed the latest and greatest in a number of PC form factors, including all-in-ones, netbooks/notebooks, and the Slate PC.  There are lots of technical advances in devices, making them thinner, lighter, smaller and bigger, faster, and with more interface capabilities, such as touch.  They will come in all shapes, sizes, and colors and in a wide range of prices. There will be something for everyone.

The Cloud will be combined with software on the PC.

Microsoft showed e-reading software on its PCs, including Blio. It also showed Amazon PC software running on the HP Slate PC. They also showed the collaboration capabilities of Office 10.

Microsoft also pushed its three big services: Bing, Media Center, and Xbox Live.

Bing will be how Microsoft provides its services that rival Google, providing services built on search, maps, location, multimedia (photos, music, video), and social.

Microsoft will combine the PC experience with the television experience through Media Center. Using Media Room, they will integrate pay TV services (such as uverse) with the PC experience and make your pay TV content available not only on your TV and PC, but also on your mobile device.

Microsoft pushed their platform message, saying that the PC is a platform for partners and developers though they tend to get conflicted on whether they are providing a platform or an experience. When they say they are a platform, I hope they mean it.

Adding the PC Experience to anything makes it better. (e.g., watching TV or playing games)

Throughout the keynote, Microsoft pushed the theme of adding the PC Experience to your other experiences. The PC Experience means things like browsing, searching, shopping, and chatting with friends. The other experiences including watching TV or playing games.

Microsoft said they will have a bigger announcement about Windows Mobile at 3GSM, so they did not touch on it much here.

Xbox live will broaden its market to have something for everyone.

Microsoft mentioned the new game that will be coming in 2010, many of them will be “exclusively first” on the Xbox. There was a cool video showing the next generation of their Halo game which is called Halo Reach. It will be available as a multi-player beta this spring to Halo 3 owners. I think they touted this as the largest multiplayer gaming “beta” ever.

Microsoft is hoping to expand Xbox live to a much broader audience. As such, Xbox live will also offer the Game Room, which will have 30 classic arcade games in their original style- visuals, audio, and all. In addition, they will add a social gaming aspect to these games through Xbox live services.

Xbox live will let you play games with Natural User Interfaces.  Project Natal will be available for the 2010 holiday season.

Microsoft is making a big push towards Natural User Interfaces, which they pronounce NUI (like GUI). Robbie Bach nicely described the research to development pipeline that is being invested in this, ranging from 10 year research to 3 year user experience development to 1 year software development. The goal will be to provide games that allow you to pay with your whole body. Picture the Wii but without a game controller. Or more accurately, your body is the game controller. This effort is called Project Natal and Microsoft plans to provide it for the 2010 Holiday season.

What did you think of these messages? If you saw the keynote, did you catch any other major themes?

My raw tweets (@susiewee) of the keynote are included below. Note that many of the lines are direct quotes from the session.

• Ballmer: We provide new computing experiences on all the screens in our lives.
• 1) The ever-evolving PC and the future of the TV experience.
• 2) Cloud: Combine immersive and intelligent software that runs on devices.
• 3) Intuitive interfaces.
• "We bing. and we bing. and we bing. bing bing bing. all the time. at least in my world" ballmer
• What MS delivered in 2009: Xbox. Plus services like facebook, twitter, last.fm
• In 2009 MS introduced Project Natal, to introduce new inputs for games. $20B spent in retail on games.
• In 2009, Introduced Bing. Added 11 million new users. Understand user intent and anticipate what they are looking for.
• Bing is a decision engine,help people make the decisions they want to make. Satellite maps. Building 3D photo experiences w/ photosynth
• MS and HP team up to provide bing together. MS and Ford team up to put Sync & in-car technology in cars.
• Fiat has release eco:Drive. Customers use it to lower CO2 emissions.
• Kia’s new service: UVO. Uses natural user interface and MS speech recognition technology.
• In entertainment, Zune HD released in 2009. Instant on, 1080p HD video. Expand zune music & video service to other MS products.
• In 2009, MS released Windows mobile 6.5. Will have more to say about phones at mobile world congress.
• In 2009, released Windows 7. 3 goals: 1) Deliver PC experiences that work the way people want them to work. boots quickly, responsive.
• 2) Make it easy for people to accomplish simple tasks.
• 3) Enable a world of new possibilities for software developers, hardware manufacturers.
• For Windows 7, collaboration was key. Windows PC sales jumped almost 50% on release.
• Windows 7 is by far the fastest selling operating system in history.
• 94% satisfaction rate amongst early adopters of Windows 7
• For 2010, gartner is looking at a jump of 12% in PCs. "There is no better time to be a Windows 7 PC" Ballmer
• Broad range of Win7 PCs. "There is truly a PC for everyone."
• Ballmer is talking about Windows 7 *as a platform*! Way go to, Steve!
• Product manager showing all in ones with touch on stage. (sorry- didn’t catch name)
• "Being in Vegas, you gotta look sexy" – product manager. "Huh. I don’t know about that" – Ballmer
• Showing lots of netbooks.
• Showing gaming machines. The HP Envy 15 is on stage!
• The HP Envy 15 has the new DirectX11.
• Showing 3D gaming on a notebook. Relive older games in 3D.
• Wanted to show a TV with the PC built in, but the tube blew out with the power issues they had.
• Spending a lot of time on blio e-reader software. Showing learning and collaboration.
• Office 10 demo. Allows two people to work on different parts of an office document, and merge them together afterwards.
• Showing Bing’s dive down from sky view down to street view. Very cool.
• Watch all my Cable TV through my PC. Integrated guide. set recording. record 4 HD channels at one time. Cable Card.
• Windows 7 has DVR, premium TV, recording, while accessing the whole internet, play games, look at zune marketplace, all at once.
• Launching Windows Media Center. Perfect couch experience. UI enhanced for the 10 foot viewing experience.
• Windows media center. Since it’s a full PC, can see shows and get access to your content and your friends’ content.
• Windows Media Center: Can do everything I can do with my PC while I watch TV. e.g., Messenger, etc.
• Microsoft Media Room. Permits pay TV service on your PC. It is available now through partners. e.g., ATT Uverse, etc.
• AT&T will allow users to access their pay TV service content on their Xbox using Microsoft Media Room. Based on Silverlight.
• Blends best of internet technologies and video entertainment technologies together on platforms like the PC.
• Can take content from Media Room on a PC and xbox, and can also play it on a phone.
• Highlight new form factors in Slate PCs.
• The emerging categories of PCs. Slates! One by Pegatron. Archos. and … HP! There is the HP Slate!
• Drilling down on the HP Slate PC.
• HP Slate PC: Running kindle software for the PC. Experience the book in full color. Buy and download more content from Amazon.
• Running a video on the HP Slate PC.
• Ballmer is done. Robbie Bach is on stage. President of the Entertainment division.
• Robbie Bach loves entertainment. Discover new topics, new worlds, new experiences.
• Xbox will be great in 2010. Blockbuster games and experiences delivered exclusively 1st on Xbox. Mass effect 2. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell.
• New game coming: Alan Wake. with a gun and a flashlight. XBox Live.
• Xbox Live: New Halo coming out this year. "More than a game, Halo is an epic experience."
• Halo: "We love the characters fighting to save mankind." -Bach Whew!
• Showing an awesome "Halo Reach" video.
• People clapping for the Halo Reach video. Very cool.
• Halo 3 owners will be able to access the Halo Reach beta this spring.
• Want to make Xbox live for everyone. 20 million people are Xbox live members.
• People spend 1/3 of their time on Xbox Live doing non-gaming activities. e.g., choosing clothes for avatars.
• MS wants to "make something on Xbox Live for everyone". MS wants to broaden the audience.
• Xbox live. Games designed for social game play. Now showing the Atari. also pulling out other classic retro games.
• 30 original arcade games will be available on Xbox live.Invite friends, share your personal collection, and have the ultimate showdown.
• Game Room. "Relive the classics in their original form." Cool!
• Is Microsoft rebranding to "room"? Media Room, Game Room, … ?
• Make technology as invisible as Oxygen. MS is looking at advancing the natural user interface. the NUI.
• Robbie Bach is discussing the pipeline. 10 Year technology explorations. 3 year user experience creators. 1 year software developers.
• Project Natal removes the last barrier to gaming, the controller. The body itself is the input device.
• Project Natal. Use your whole body to play games. Pretty cool. Machine learning, computer vision. Hardware & software innovations.
• Project Natal will be available for Holiday 2010… at the end of this year.
• This year will be the biggest year for XBox. – Robbie Bach
• That’s all, folks!