Microsoft to back away from CES

U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. said 2012 would mark its last keynote address at Consumer Electronics Association trade show. "We look forward to working with CEA (the Consumer Electronics Association) for many years to come," Microsoft's corporate vice president of communications Frank Shaw wrote in an online posting. However, he said, "We have decided that this coming January will be our last keynote presentation and booth at CES (the Consumer Electronics Show)." Shaw said Microsoft had been evaluating "What's the right time and place to make announcements?" and decided to drop the CES venue as a primary launch site for products, "because our product news milestones generally don't align with the show's January timing." "As we look at all of the new ways we tell our consumer stories -- from product momentum disclosures, to exciting events like our Big Windows Phone, to a range of consumer connection points like Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft.com and our retail stores -- it feels like the right time to make this transition," he wrote.