LAS VEGAS — In his final year delivering the opening keynote of the International Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer actually delivered three keynotes.

Sort of.

Ballmer was all over the stages Monday, appearing at news conferences held by AT&T and Nokia before giving the actual keynote Monday night, which came in the form of a sit-down interview with TV and radio personality Ryan Seacrest before a packed ballroom.

In fact, the triumvirate of Ballmer, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop and AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega made several appearances together, touting the Nokia Lumia 900 — the first U.S. Nokia phone that has the Windows Phone operating system and uses the high-speed 4G LTE (long-term evolution) wireless network. AT&T is expected to release the phone in the first half of the year.

Ballmer's appearance at Nokia's event was a testament to how important the two companies' partnership is to rejuvenating their ability to compete in the mobile business against market-leading Apple and Google Android devices.

"The Lumia 900 represents another incredibly important milestone," Ballmer said. "4G LTE is critical at this stage in the U.S."

The Lumia 900 will have many of the advanced features found in smartphones, including a 1.4 GHz processor, 4.3-inch AMOLED clear black display, rear-facing camera with Carl Zeiss optics and wide aperture, and a front-facing camera. The phone will come in black and cyan.

HTC Chief Executive Peter Chou joined the other three executives earlier Monday at the AT&T Developer Summit, where it was announced that another 4G LTE Windows Phone — the HTC Titan II — also would be coming soon to AT&T.

Specifics on pricing and timing of release were not announced.

Microsoft faces huge challenges with its Windows Phone — a distant player in the smartphone market, with slightly more than 5 percent of the U.S. market. Sales of Android devices and iPhones dwarf those of Windows Phones.

"We've got a lot of room to go for selling Windows Phone," Ballmer acknowledged during the Nokia event. But he said "this third ecosystem" would be good for developers and operators as well as for Nokia and Microsoft.

Bringing the message to CES meant Ballmer was addressing one of the world's biggest technology shows, with more than 140,000 people expected this week. Many are buyers for large retail chains such as Best Buy, and they're looking for products and trends that will guide their sales in the coming year.

Though there was Microsoft news to be had at the show — which officially begins Tuesday — nearly all of it seemed to come from Microsoft's partners.

In fact, Ballmer announced no major news during his keynote presentation with Seacrest, host of the popular "American Idol."

Instead, in a loose and diffuse presentation, the CEO and other Microsoft presenters looked back at the company's 2011 accomplishments and talked about things already known about the next version of its upcoming operating system, Windows 8.

Ballmer and the others focused on several themes, including:

• How Microsoft consumer products, such as its phone and Windows operating system, constitute a product family offering familiar experiences across devices, especially with its Metro tile design on Windows Phone and coming to Windows 8.

• Microsoft's success with Xbox and Xbox's new partnerships — including with Fox News and The Wall Street Journal. There are more than 66 million Xbox users and more than 40 million Xbox Live subscribers, Ballmer said.

He also talked about the success of Kinect, Microsoft's voice and motion sensor. Microsoft has shipped 18 million Kinect sensors in the past year, Ballmer said. And Kinect for Windows is coming Feb. 1, he said.

• Products Microsoft partners are delivering that feature Windows Phone or Windows 7.

Ballmer's keynote also had a demonstration of Windows 8 that featured the user interface, which has been featured at other company events.

It also included descriptions of the operating system — Windows 8 is "fast and fluid" and a "re-imagining" of Microsoft's flagship operating system — that Microsofties use frequently.

Microsoft already had said a beta test version of Windows 8, which is designed from the beginning to work on both tablets and PCs, is expected in late February.

As for Seacrest's last question, on what's coming next from Microsoft, Ballmer had this to say: "In 2012, what's next? Metro! Metro! Metro! And of course: Windows! Windows! Windows!"

Microsoft has said this year is the last time it will have its huge booth at the show, and the last time it will deliver the opening keynote.

In introducing Ballmer, Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, reminisced about Microsoft's involvement with CES over the years. Chairman and former CEO Bill Gates gave his first speech when the show was still small, he recalled.

Subsequently, for 14 years, Gates and then Ballmer have delivered the opening keynote — something that came to an end Monday.

"Microsoft took a risk on us early, and we both benefited," Shapiro said.

Shapiro gave Ballmer a photo collage of Microsoft's years at CES, and a video of Gates and Ballmer delivering CES keynotes was shown.

Microsoft said the January date for CES does not align with its product timelines. CES organizers, meanwhile, have said the decision for Ballmer to no longer deliver the keynote was mutual and they are looking for other companies to fill the role.

Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272

or jtu@seattletimes.com

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