No Microsoft CES Keynotes After 2012

Following the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month, Microsoft will no longer keynote at the January event, the company has announced in an official statement.

Apparently, the fact that CES takes place in the beginning of the year does not fall in line with Microsoft’s latest product roadmap. Thus, the Redmond-based giant has decided to no longer keynote at the show, though it will still be present on the floor.

The software giant explains that this decision is based on the analysis of a series of factors, such as when is the right time for making announcements, or whether new products are brought in line with the needs of consumers.

“After thinking about questions like these, we have decided that this coming January will be our last keynote presentation and booth at CES,” Frank X. Shaw, corporate vice president, Corporate Communications, Microsoft, notes.

“We’ll continue to participate in CES as a great place to connect with partners and customers across the PC, phone and entertainment industries, but we won’t have a keynote or booth after this year because our product news milestones generally don’t align with the show’s January timing.”

Many of the software giant’s new products have been released at dates that were not connected to CES, including the new Windows Phone platform or the Windows 7 OS.

Taking into consideration all these factors, Microsoft decided it was high time to make a change to the way things were. Starting with 2013, there will be no Microsoft keynote at CES.

“Microsoft has enjoyed a close to 20-year working relationship with the Consumer Electronics Association – and we look forward to working with CEA for many years to come,” Frank X. Shaw continues.

“In the meantime, I’m looking forward to seeing many of you on Monday night, January 9th, to kick the year off at CES 2012.”