Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took the keynote stage last night at the CES and reports of his speech are less than inspiring. Sam Diaz thinks it's time to give the CES kickoff keynote to another company, given Microsoft's inability to inspire attendees of the biggest geekfest in the U.S. Mary Jo Foley believes the most important thing about Ballmer's keynote is what he didn't say, and that's not really the purpose of a big company keynote address. Both of my colleagues are correct that Microsoft is no longer inspiring those who follow the company's mobile offerings; the fact is the folks in Redmond have lost their mobile mojo.
The company had plenty of mojo in the mobile space in years past, and desperately needs to recapture it. It's never been known for having the flash (pun intended) or panache of Apple's mobile tech demonstrations, but over the years Microsoft has repeatedly pushed the envelope with mobile technology that captures the imagination of enthusiasts and consumers alike. It needs to get its mobile mojo back, and soon.
Windows Mobile was as good as anything on the market back when Microsoft first released it. The PDAs and later smartphones that ran Windows Mobile were pushing the envelope for mobile devices, which is why WinMo dominated the market for so long. That's the sort of innovation we need to see from Microsoft to help it return to keynote greatness.
The ill-fated Microsoft Courier handheld device had the same mojo, and got a lot of press coverage because it raised the bar in the mobile space. It was a gadget unlike any other in the market or in concept, and most importantly it excited people. So Microsoft killed it off before making it a real project. It killed its own mojo.
The days of me-too products in the mobile space are over, the innovators will be the ones who capture our attention and our dollars. The hardware and software is good enough to make products that capture our imagination as never before, and this is what Microsoft desperately needs to produce. Only this will get its mobile mojo back.