Microsoft likely to talk games and music at CES

Microsoft will be at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show this week to network and market the company's broad array of consumer products.

Chief Executive Steve Ballmer will give a keynote speech Wednesday evening, the night before CES officially opens. In past years, this keynote has featured videos with Chairman Bill Gates.

Entertainment and Devices division president Robbie Bach, the Microsoft executive who presented a keynote speech at CES last year, will also be at the conference in Las Vegas.

The company declined to give details about what the executives would discuss at the show, but with Bach on the ground, expect to hear about the Entertainment and Devices business, which includes the Xbox video-game console, Xbox Live online service, Zune music player and Windows 7, which includes some features aimed at connecting the PC to the television.

A big question mark is Microsoft's mobile business, which has lost ground to Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry. Google also has said it is working on its own phone to compete with the iPhone. Microsoft said earlier it would announce news about Windows Mobile 7.0 at the company's MIX10 Web conference in March.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com