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Live from Microsoft's CES 2012 keynote with Steve Ballmer!
Are you ready for the end of an era? Microsoft has said this will be its last keynote at CES and you know what that means: Steve Ballmer will be pulling out all the stops to really knock our socks off. Or maybe not. Still, it's sure to feature plenty of Windows 8 love and maybe, if we ask real nice, Steve will give us one last battlecry of "developers!" Join us for a heartwarming liveblog you won't want to miss.
Ballmer announces LTE Windows Phones coming to AT&T
Well, it's been a long time coming, but Windows Phone has finally been granted LTE compatibility -- officially. AT&T trotted out Steve Ballmer who talked up the "blindingly fast" 4G service that'll be coming to Mango. Hopefully there will be more information coming at the live blog tonight.
Microsoft's CES 2012 keynote won't deliver 'significant news,' more of 'a wrap-up'
After learning of Microsoft's plans to stop holding CES keynotes following the 2012 edition, the immediate attention turned to this: would it use its last opportunity on the main stage to make a lasting impact? Evidently, that answer is "no." We've confirmed with the company that Steve Ballmer will be "focusing quite a bit on Windows Phone and the its Xbox / entertainment story," while also sharing "momentum from across the company for Windows, Office, Bing, etc." Ultimately, we're told that there "won't be significant news, but more of a wrap up of the strong year the company has had in consumer." We've got a call out for further clarifications (as well as questions on whether or not another BUILD, MIX or some other spinoff event will take the theoretical place of CES), and we'll be sure to update as we learn more. Update: While Microsoft can't confirm specifics, we're getting the impression that the company's partners will be the ones leading and driving announcements in the CES events to come. And while it wouldn't comment specifically on the future of MIX or BUILD, we're told that "it will continue to invest in those kinds of owned venues going forward." Update 2: The CEA, also known as the entity that puts CES together, has officially responded to the news. It also affirmed that Microsoft will not reserve the massive Central Hall exhibit space that it has used in past years, but it seems pretty unconcerned about the whole ordeal. The full statement is after the break.
Microsoft replaces Andy Lees as Windows Phone head (updated)
AllThingsD is reporting that Microsoft is replacing Andy Lees as head of its Windows Phone division... sort of. It looks like Terry Myerson, who has headed up engineering efforts for the group, will take over many of Lees' responsibilities, though, he won't be inheriting his title. At least not just yet. In a memo seen by AllThingsD, Ballmer announced that Lees would be taking on a new position with the company, though it's not entirely clear what that might be -- describing it only as "time-critical" and "focused on driving maximum impact in 2012 with Windows Phone and Windows 8." (So, it's safe to assume he's not becoming a janitor.) The shakeup isn't terribly surprising, especially considering the CEO's own admission that Windows Phone 7 was not performing as well as expected in the market. The division's interim leader, Myerson, has been with Microsoft since 1997 and previously headed up the team in charge of Exchange. For now he will continue to report to Lees, who will remain the president of the Windows Phone group, even if that is in name only. Update: Microsoft has released the full text of the memo announcing the leadership transition and we've added it after the break. The company also told us that first assuming the responsibilities before the title is standard practice. Andy Lees himself spent a significant period of time as a corporate VP while heading up the Windows Phone division before assuming the title of president.
Microsoft: Ballmer didn't say Windows 8 is coming to phones
Oh, what a difference punctuation makes. Speaking at the company's shareholders' meeting earlier today, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made a remark that set more than a few geek hearts aflutter. According to various reports, he said "We've got broad Windows initiatives driving Windows down to the phone with Windows 8." Turns out, that's not how he said it. A Microsoft rep confirmed to us that if transcribed correctly, Ballmer's remarks (documented in the recording below) should read, "We've got broad Windows initiatives driving Windows down to the phone. With Windows 8, you'll..." By "Windows," then, he meant the overarching family of software bearing the Windows name, and not Windows 8 specifically. Says Redmond's PR team: "He was making a statement along the lines of what we've already publicly stated around providing a consistent experience across various devices but all carrying the Windows name." Makes sense to us, seeing as how Windows 8 already makes good use of WP7's Metro UI. Still, we'll be curious to see how Windows 8 influences Windows Phone once Win 8 gets the final seal of approval, likely sometime next year.
Microsoft signs Compal deal, now takes money from half of all Android ODMs
Despite Steve Ballmer's apparent disdain for the Googly OS, he must love it really. He's now making money from ten separate Android and Chrome licensing deals, having just inked yet another agreement with Compal -- a large Taiwanese original design manufacturer (ODM) that builds tablets and smartphones for brands like Lenovo. From this point on, a "reasonable and fair" chunk of Compal's $28 billion annual income will be diverted to the coffers at Redmond. Overall, this means that Microsoft's tentacles have spread across 55 percent of the Android ODM industry and -- more importantly -- are poked firmly into two different mobile OS pies. As cut-throat as this approach might seem, however, it's surely better than freezing the market with cold and ceaseless waves of litigation. PR after the break. [Thanks, Majed]
CE-Oh no he didn't: Steve Ballmer lays into Android
"You don't have to be a computer scientist to use a Windows Phone," said Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, "but you do to use an Android phone." He was addressing the Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco, where we guess his audience must have included a large but silent population of Android-loving non-scientists. In any case, the Redmond CEO also revealed that he just can't get "excited" about Android phones, which proves that anything can be boring if you're rich enough -- including raking in up to $15 per Android handset in cross-licensing deals. On a serious note, though, HTC's latest Titan handset shows off the Mango experience at its best and it is simpler than Google's OS. If Windows Phone sales eventually pick up despite the buzz over Android 4.0, then the point beneath Ballmer's bluster might not seem so unreasonable.
Microsoft doles out the dough to Nokia and Samsung, plans Mango marketing bonanza for year's end
Know who loves it when other OEMs call him big poppa? Ballmer, that's who. So much so that he's opened up the company's coffers to Nokia and Samsung for a holiday blitz of Mango marketing. Hold onto your hats though, it's no carte blanche access to Redmond's Gringotts. According to a report on Mobile Magazine, inside sources claim MS has set aside ₤28 million (about $44 million) for the endeavor, with about ₤20 million of that reserved for Nokia's first Windows Phone 7.5 handset. This joint marketing effort is reportedly a broader extension of the cooperative agreements all parties agreed to, ensuring future WP devices get the media saturation they deserve. So, keep your eyes peeled this upcoming winter. We have a feeling you won't be able to escape the commercial onslaught, anyway.
Microsoft finalizes acquisition of Skype, Tony Bates shares his thoughts (video)
Well, it's finally happened -- Microsoft's acquisition of Skype has just been finalized, a little more than five months after it was first announced. Under the $8.5 billion deal, Skype CEO Tony Bates will be named president of the new Skype Division of Microsoft, and will have to report directly to Steve Ballmer. Many Skype employees, meanwhile, will stay onboard at offices around the globe, including at outposts in Estonia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden, the UK, Luxembourg, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and the US. In a post on the Official Microsoft Blog today, Bates seemed unsurprisingly enthusiastic about the acquisition, describing it as a marriage of two "disruptive, innovative, software-oriented companies." The exec was less specific about the role his company would play within Redmond's new architecture, but assured that Skype would be at the forefront of future communications initiatives across a variety of platforms. "Microsoft is committed to the ubiquity of the Skype experience – communication across every device and every platform will remain a primary focus," Bates wrote. "And we've only scratched the surface." Head past the break for Microsoft's full PR, as well as the video address from Bates.
Ballmer: Windows Phones aren't selling very well, but we're not worried
Microsoft's Steve Ballmer was his usual frank self when he met financial analysts yesterday, admitting that the world isn't yet as keen on Windows Phone as he'd hoped. To be precise, AllThingsD reported him as saying: "We haven't sold quite as many as I would have liked in the first year." His cunning plan? Well, that's easy: make it all Nokia's problem. Or, as he put it: "With Nokia we have a dedicated hardware partner that is all-in on Windows Phones." Indeed, the Finnish manufacturer has now staked far more than Microsoft on the success of this "third ecosystem" and, if its imminent Mango handsets fail to turn things around, we may eventually see Stephen Elop standing behind that silent cash register.
Steve Ballmer touts 500,000 Windows 8 downloads in less than 12 hours
We've already heard that quite a few of you have downloaded Windows 8 since the developer preview became available last night, and it looks like plenty of other folks have as well --- about 500,000 in the first 12 hours, to be specific. That's according to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer himself, who took to the stage at Build earlier today to dish that particular bit of news and recap the past two day's events. Hit the source link below for a video of the full keynote if you missed it (Ballmer's appearance is around the 2:32 mark).
Ballmer: Microsoft will launch Xbox Music this fall (update: not true)
Steve Ballmer revealed a new service yesterday that should be, ahem, music to your ears when it starts spinning this fall. During Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles, the Windows chief mentioned Xbox Music -- a MS-branded music streaming service, with over 11 million songs and Kinect compatibility. That last feature will let you shout your music selections across the room, and could result in some pretty gnarly sibling battles whenever music tastes don't match. Unlike the console's current last.fm offering, we can only hope that Music will support multitasking, allowing you to settle those musical differences in the virtual boxing ring as the beat goes on, rather than on the living room floor. Update: The Business Insider editor who reported the quote tweeted a correction and updated the article, explaining "No new Xbox Music service coming this fall. Just voice command to existing service. 'Xbox. Music.' Correction posted."
Microsoft's Steve Ballmer says '400 million Windows 7 licenses sold'
So much for not keeping pace, huh? We heard back in June of last year that Microsoft had blown through 150 million Windows 7 licenses, and just a few months later, it had surpassed 240 million. At this year's Worldwide Partner Conference, head honcho Steve Ballmer took great pleasure in announcing that said figure has now swollen to beyond 400 million in under two years. Not surprisingly, that makes Win7 the fastest-selling operating system in history, and Tami Reller -- corporate vice president and chief financial officer of Windows and Windows Live -- made clear that it's "the path to Windows 8." The outfit also announced that 100 million copies of Office 2010 have flown off the shelves since launch, and while no one really came out and said it, we're counting on seeing a Windows 8 build at the BUILD event this fall. Head on past the break for a whole heaping of (deserved) self-congratulations.
Steve Ballmer to deliver CES keynote, Windows 8 will be the real star
It's hard to believe, but with the show still six months away, we're already getting bombarded with CES-related e-mail. We do have one piece of intriguing news to report at this early stage of the game: Steve Ballmer is set to kick off the festivities with the preshow keynote on January 9th and it's a safe bet the presentation will be loaded with Windows 8 goodness. Now, what exactly we'll see when the reliably excitable Microsoft CEO takes the stage is still a mystery, but WinRumors' little birdies have been whispering about a public beta of the upcoming OS and demos of both Intel- and ARM-based tablets -- predictable, but still exciting prospects. Check out the PR after the break.
Microsoft turns to crowdsourcing service to swat away patent trolls
We've seen the havoc that patent trolls can wreak on tech companies and Microsoft clearly wants no part of it. That's why Ballmer & Co. have joined forces with Article One Partners -- a New York-based research firm that crowdsources scientific expertise to figure out whether or not patented ideas or inventions are as innovative as they claim, based on prior art. By subscribing to Article One's new Litigation Avoidance service, Redmond hopes "to reduce risk and reduce potential litigation cost" brought by nonpracticing entities (NPEs) -- companies that collect thousands of patents, in the hopes that one may lay a golden egg. No word on how much the service will actually cost, but we're guessing it'll be worth at least a few legal headaches. Full presser after the break. [Image courtesy of Robert MacNeill]
Acer says Microsoft is too 'controlling' of Windows tablets, restrictions 'troublesome'
A web of rumor and suggestion has been spun in recent weeks about a new tablet-oriented version of Windows. But when major players like Acer start moanin' and complainin' about how they're going to make hardware to run the new OS, that's when you know something has to be afoot. According to Bloomberg, Acer CEO J. T. Wang spoke up at Computex to berate Microsoft for being too restrictive in what processors it will permit to carry its new baby, saying it is "really controlling the whole thing, the whole process." And he wasn't just speaking for Acer either, because he added that chip suppliers and PC makers "all feel it's very troublesome." It begs the question, if Steve Ballmer is borrowing Apple's approach and becoming a control freak, why doesn't he just go whole hog and build a Microsoft Tablet from start to finish? [Thanks, Tiago]
Live from Microsoft's Windows Phone VIP preview event!
Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 VIP Preview Event is when you'll finally find what's coming next for Microsoft's biggest little operating system yet. Are you ready? Sure you are. Come, join us at the times below 04:00 - Hawaii 07:00 - Pacific 08:00 - Mountain 09:00 - Central 10:00 - Eastern 15:00 - London 16:00 - Paris 18:00 - Moscow 22:00 - Perth 22:00 - Shenzhen 23:00 - Tokyo 00:00 - Sydney (May 25th)
Microsoft's Windows Phone VIP preview happens tomorrow, liveblog happens here!
Microsoft has some Mango-flavored updates in store for its Windows Phone operating system, and we're going to be there live to see whether they're really ripe. Really juicy. Steve Ballmer has promised over 500 new features in this next major release of the OS and we can't wait to hear him list them all out. One by one. In excruciating detail. Bookmark this page right here and come on back tomorrow at the times below to join in the fun. 04:00 - Hawaii 07:00 - Pacific 08:00 - Mountain 09:00 - Central 10:00 - Eastern 15:00 - London 16:00 - Paris 18:00 - Moscow 22:00 - Perth 22:00 - Shenzhen 23:00 - Tokyo 00:00 - Sydney (May 25th)
Ballmer: 'next generation of Windows systems' coming next year
The name "Windows 8" may have been tossed around a lot as of late, but Steve Ballmer himself has only just now uttered the name for the first time in public at the company's developer forum in Japan. What's more, while he didn't divulge a ton of specifics, he did say that the "next generation of Windows systems" will be coming out next year, and that "there's a whole lot more coming," including "slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors." As ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley notes, the distinction between "slates" and "tablets" as two separate form factors is certainly an interesting one, as is the fact that he curiously didn't use the name Windows 8 in connection with those next generation Windows systems. What does it all mean? Perhaps Microsoft's Windows chief, Steven Sinofsky, will have more to say during his appearance at the D9 conference next week -- Winrumors is reporting that he may even be set to demo the company's Windows 8 Tablet UI. And, yes, you can count on us being there to bring it all to you live.
Steve Ballmer promises 'over 500' new features in Mango, teases new WP handsets (updated)
Just how big of an upgrade will the Mango release of Windows Phone be? Try "500 new features" big. Steve Ballmer revealed that seductively round number in a speech over in Japan today, where he also said that additional information about "who's going to be building Windows Phones" will be forthcoming at tomorrow's preview event as well. Combine that with an otherwise unsubstantiated rumor (more coverage link below) about Microsoft showing nine new Windows Phone handsets tomorrow, and it does seem like there'll be fresh hardware to go with the ripening software. Neither the Mango release nor any devices on show will be coming to market any time soon, mind you, but it's nice to think we'll get to see what the future of Windows Phone will look like in physical as well as digital form. Update: We have confirmation from a reliable source that tomorrow's event will be entirely focused on the software, not the hardware. So, anybody looking for a flotilla of new handsets to be deployed had best get their favorite crying pillow handy.
