Just a few days before CES 2012 was held in January, Microsoft announced that it would no longer exhibit at the trade show starting with CES 2013. It also would not hold a keynote speech the day before the exhibit doors open at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Today, the show's organizers, the Consumer Electronics Association, announced that Panasonic will take over the keynote presentation spot for CES 2013 in Las Vegas.
The keynote address will be led by the company's new president Kazuhiro Tsuga, who was officially approved for the position by Panasonic's shareholders earlier today. In yet another change for the trade show, the keynote speech will be held on the morning of the first day of the event on January 8, 2013, rather than the evening before the CES exhibit floors open to its attendees.
The keynote speech will be proceeded by a "State of the CE Industry" address by Gary Shapiro, the president and CEO of the CEA. Putting in Panasonic, which is known mostly for its televisions, is an interesting choice and perhaps not as flashy of an exhibitor as, say, Intel or NVIDIA.
While Microsoft may not be officially at CES in January, Shapiro has already predicted that the company will return to the trade show at some point.
Source: CES website
8 Comments - Add comment