Microsoft's withdrawal from CES may not be wise

The exit of CES has become a trend, but at least Microsoft should revisit its decision.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is interviewed at CES2012

This week, Las Vegas will kick off the CES show, Microsoft in 2012 At the CES show in the year, he announced that he was the last time to participate in the exhibition.

Indeed, Microsoft does not need CES to advertise its products, but the company should stick to it for another year. Yes, the CES show is too large, too noisy, and costly, but Microsoft is trying to transform itself into a mainstream computer hardware vendor with its Surface tablet. It just held a Windows 8 conference last October. Both should be the reason for Microsoft's attendance at CES.

Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, a market research firm, said: “It’s widely believed that Windows 8 is not a disaster, but it’s not Like the previous Windows, it caused a sensation in the market. Microsoft should attend the CES show to showcase the greatness of Windows 8. People can use Windows 8 to do great things in the next 6-9 months.

Most companies are reconsidering whether or not to attend the CES show. The show is huge and costly. There are too many products released at the show, and some manufacturers are worried about their voices. Overwhelmed by huge product release information. Hesitant companies are already focusing on smaller independent conferences, dispelling doubts about other news conflicts. A large number of companies have begun to follow Apple's successful model of hype about specific events.

Microsoft has been a long-term key player in the CES show, and has been responsible for keynote speeches and layout booths for nearly 20 years. However, at the end of 2011, Microsoft said it decided to reduce the CES booth, mainly because its product schedule did not match CES exhibition time. Microsoft's recent move is closer to Apple's —— opening retail stores, hosting mysterious press conferences, controlling hardware and software, and making decisions that are similar to Apple's.

But attending the 2013 CES show makes more sense for Microsoft. This year is the first year that Microsoft sells its Surface tablet computer hardware. The company released the Windows RT version of the Surface tablet last October and is expected to release the Windows 8 Surface Pro version at the end of this month. CES should be the best place for Microsoft to disclose more details of Surface Pro and showcase two versions of tablets.

In addition, Windows 8 and Windows RT began selling at the end of October last year. Although Microsoft could not release a major upgrade in a short period of time, the company can fully utilize CES as an operating system. Release new innovative apps that will allow attendees to take advantage of upcoming new features.

Microsoft attends the CES show to help PC partners talk about their products. Some computer manufacturers will release new devices at CES, but most manufacturers will not display a large number of products. Part of the reason is that Windows 8 just released new products after the release, and partly because the tablet is eroding computer sales, the industry is experiencing an unprecedented crisis. If Microsoft wants to stimulate the struggling computer industry, exhibiting CES is the best way.

Indeed, Microsoft has received enough attention through its launch conference. Although the CES keynote provides a huge platform for companies to release new products, even if Microsoft does not attend CES, it will still have a huge impact. Microsoft will still advertise at CES.

A Microsoft spokesperson said that even if Microsoft does not give a keynote speech at CES, there is no official booth, but it will still use the show to support its partners. Microsoft said: "We will continue to view CES as a bridge to the industry and partners. We will definitely support the large number of key hardware and software partners using the show to release news. ”

Microsoft may not revisit its decision to withdraw from CES, but perhaps think twice when making this decision.