Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showed off a new touch-screen, tablet-style computer from Hewlett-Packard Co., the first of several such devices expected to be unveiled this month.
The tablet–also known as a slate, a one-piece portable computer without a physical keyboard–was one of several new PCs Ballmer demonstrated Wednesday as he delivered Microsoft Corp.’s customary keynote presentation on the eve of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
During the talk, which was shown live over the web, Ballmer said the HP tablet will be available later this year. He also gave a glimpse of two similar devices from Archos and Pegatron Corp.
Tablet-style computers that run Windows have been available for a decade, but HP’s new machine is bound to draw extra attention thanks to expectations that Apple Inc. will launch a similar device later this month.
Apple, notoriously secretive about upcoming products, has not commented on the matter. But given the iPhone’s success, which propelled competitors to come out with copycat touch-screen phones and centralized app stores to sell add-on software, all eyes are on Apple to define what a slate or tablet-style computer should look like and how it will be used.
Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, also announced that Natal, new technology that lets videogame players control the action by moving their whole bodies instead of using a joystick, will go on sale for the Xbox console in time for this year’s holiday shopping season.
Bach said that devices built for touch, gestures and other so-called natural user interfaces will become much more mainstream in the next few years. While Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has for years said the same thing, Bach said computer science and hardware technology are now sophisticated enough to support Gates’ and other visionaries’ big ideas.
Bach also called out some of the big-name Xbox 360 videogames that will launch in 2010, including the next installment of the popular "Halo" franchise, and unveiled Game Room, which will let Xbox users play favourite early video games from the Atari and arcade era. More than 39 million people now own Xbox 360 consoles.
Microsoft also said it forged a new search distribution deal with HP that will make the company’s Bing search site and MSN.com content portal the default search engine and web homepage on new HP computers sold in 42 countries.
