Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer could drop some big news when he delivers the opening keynote at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) tonight in Las Vegas. According to a New York Times report, the software giant could unveil a tablet/slate PC tonight, weeks ahead of an expected announcement from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
The slate will be made by HP (NYSE: HPQ) and possibly available by mid-year, according to the NYT report, which described the device as “a multimedia whiz with e-reader and multi-touch functions.”
Other possible topics for Ballmer tonight include: the Bing search engine; the Zune HD media player; the Windows Phone operating system; the company’s pending Natal motion capture game controller for the Xbox; and at least one new deal for Microsoft’s Windows Auto software.
