It’s the end of an era. Microsoft announced last month that this year’s Consumer Electronics Show keynote will be the company’s last for the foreseeable future. The show definitely won’t be the same without Microsoft’s chief executive officer Steve Ballmer kicking things off with his unique brand of charisma, but all good things must come to an end. According to reports, Microsoft won’t have anything big to announce at this year’s keynote. Instead, Ballmer will recap the strong year Microsoft had in 2011 and discuss the company’s core consumer-facing products moving into 2012 including Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox and more. Mr. Ballmer always puts on a show, however, and we’re sure he’ll toss in a few surprises to keep things interesting. The keynote kicks off at 9:30 p.m. Eastern / 6:30 p.m. Pacific, so hit the break to follow all the action — and Ballmeresque yelling — as it unfolds.

8:54PM:Alright we're all seated and ready for Steve Ballmer to take the stage. Hopefully we hear some interesting news, although Microsoft did say earlier that it could just be a recap of the year. There's country music playing but we're not sure who it is.

8:55PM:Googled it for you, it's Scotty McCreery: Better than that. Not bad if you're a country fan.

8:57PM:We should be getting under way in about 30 minutes or so, enough time for you to order Dominos. Unfortunately we can't leave our seats to find a water fountain.

9:10PM:General admission is still filing in, we're just sitting here listening to the music.

9:14PM:Should be kicking off in about 20 minutes or so.

9:20PM:The music is still blaring but it looks like the people have slowly stopped flooding into the room.

9:27PM:We're being told to take our seats so this should be kicking off shortly.

9:29PM:And the lights are lowering!

9:30PM:"This place about to blow" is blaring over the speakers.

9:31PM:President and CEO of the CEA Gary Shapiro is taking the stage. "Welcome to the 2012 CES."

9:34PM:"In 1995 Bill Gates took to the CES stage for the first time to speak to the CES workshop, a small workshop. Bill walked into the Hilton by himself with his head buried in a book. He made some remarks, and then I fielded written questions from the audience. Bill said this revolution would be social. That was in 1995. In 1998 they launched a new concept, the CES keynote. We invited Bill [and others] to become the first CES keynoters. For 14 years Bill and his successor have taken the stage. As you've heard, Microsoft is taking a break from the keynote stage is 2013. As a company, Microsoft uniquely changed the world and productivity, more, Microsoft keynotes drew press. Microsoft took a risk on us early and we both benefitted. In the technology world we recognize change is the only constant. For CES and Microsoft to be fresh, innovative and enticing we agreed to a pause."

9:35PM:"We have nearly doubled in size since the first CES keynote. I offer gratitude and good will to Microsoft." He's comparing Microsoft to the founding fathers of this nation. "I would be shocked if a Microsoft leader does not return to this stage again in the next few years. Please join me in welcoming the CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer."

9:36PM:Ballmer is on stage now and Shapiro is giving him a photo album highlighting Microsoft and CES together. Aww.

9:37PM:We hope this isn't just a history of CEA and Microsoft together..

9:37PM:There's a weirdo techno mashup of Bill Gates making announcements on stage. The Rock has a few appearances. It's weird.

9:39PM:Ryan Seacrest is taking the stage. "Thank you for that one scream over there." Might have been Corey.

9:40PM:He's thrilled to be here, not sure if the audience feels the same way.

9:40PM:We're going to talk about and hear what's next for Microsoft and the tech industry. Seacrest is promising Microsoft's latest gear so hopefully we hear some new announcements.

9:41PM:Seacrest is asking what we can expect. "Tonight I have a tremendous show, frankly," Ballmer said. "We have a chance in the next year to raise our game and product line to the next level across phones, tablets, TVs and the Xbox. The heart and soul of that will be our feature attraction tonight, the metro user interface.

9:41PM:"when you said Metro you looked at me in a strange way" - Ryan Seacrest.

9:43PM:We're starting with Windows Phone. This is a weird interview format where Seacrest is interviewing Ballmer. "We took a different approach than everyone else and we have a unique experience," Ballmer said. "If you take a look at it, the other phones all make the sea of icons the sea of applications the view of the world. What we've done is Windows Phone is have a better way by taking your people... and we put them right out there in front of you. It puts people first."

9:44PM:"It all gets put together for you right on the screen." Basically we're going over what we already know about Windows Phone as a mobile platform, nothing really new here.

9:45PM:Derek Snyder the Windows Phone product manager is on stage now. He's explaining the variety of features available from various Windows Phone vendors. And he's showing us what Windows Phone software looks like. Not sure why we're going over all of these features again.

9:50PM:Sorry internet trouble real fast there

9:54PM:The Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 will also launch in Canada on Telus and Rogers

9:56PM:Ballmer and Seacrest are going over the Lumia 900, which we'll bring you a hands-on of shortly. Nokia just announced it an hour or so ago so be sure to check out our live coverage of that on the BGR.com homepage.

9:56PM:Ryan Seacrest seems to like the phone.

9:57PM:Seacrest is playing with the HTC Titan II also and sounds somewhat excited about it. Now we're going to discuss Windows PCS.

9:58PM:Ballmer said there are now 1.3 billion Windows-powered machines in use today.

9:59PM:Windows is the most popular smart device around, Ballmer said.

10:01PM:There's a short clip of the latest Windows 7 powered devices playing.

10:01PM:Ballmer said change is the essence of this industry. Two things are constant. 1: Things change. 2: People don't want to compromise on what they have today. They want the best of what they have and the best of what they want.

10:01PM:We see a couple of the new ultrabooks rolling through the video.

10:03PM:Chief marketing officer for Windows Tami Reller is discussing the benefits of Windows 7. This is really just a recap of everything Microsoft has done this year, we suppose. Hoping something more exciting comes later in the keynote.

10:06PM:We're seeing a demo of how metro UI can be used on larger devices such as touchscreen monitors and laptops or tablets. There's a lot of swiping, natural touch-based gestures similar to what users do with their Windows Phones. It looks solid.

10:06PM:An NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip is powering the demo device.

10:08PM:We're seeing a demo of the Windows Store and cut the rope. Neat, but it's hard to be impressed after seeing so many stores lately.

10:11PM:We saw a quick look at the Windows 8 app store but it's hard to be impressed after we've seen so many new ones proliferate the market.

10:13PM:We saw a quick look at the Windows 8 app store but it's hard to be impressed after we've seen so many new ones proliferate the market.

10:14PM:The live tiles remind us a lot of Windows Phone 7.5 tiles but there's a cool zoomed-out feature that lets you see all of your tiles in one place.

10:16PM:Sorry for the multiple entries we're running into internet problems here with multiple devices.

10:16PM:We're looking at some new thin and light notebooks that will surely hit the market this year.

10:18PM:Samsung Series 9. Spectre from HP with the glass lid. A few devices that were unveiled today during CES that should be in consumer's hands soon.

10:18PM:Ballmer said that, by the time this keynote is over, more than 25,000 users will have adopted Windows 7.

10:19PM:A choir is taking the stage singing gospel-style music.

10:20PM:We're being told to watch the LSU game I think.

10:20PM:Oh it's a Tweet Choir. We get it.

10:21PM:Kind of wish we were talking about an Xbox 720 or something instead.

10:22PM:That was entertaining.

10:23PM:Now Seacrest is talking about the Xbox. "Did you expect to go from ground 0 to a household name a decade ago?" Ballmer says he was bullish and patient and that it represents the best of its NDA and Microsoft is really proud of the gaming console.

10:24PM:Ten years later we're the world sales leader. We have over 66 billion Xbox users. perhaps the most amazing things is we have over more than 40 million xbox live subscribers tuning in on a regular basis. Some for games, increasingly it's really an entertainment hub."

10:24PM:"Did I expect it 10 years ago? No. But I bet on it 10 years ago."

10:24PM:Now we're going to see an overview of the new Xbox software. This is all just a big recap..

10:25PM:But Ballmer does promise something "even more different" so maybe we'll get lucky.

10:25PM:18 million Kinect Sensors shipped over the past year.

10:26PM:Greg Davison from Microsoft's Xbox team is taking the stage to show us what's new from Xbox (the software update that landed in December).

10:26PM:We're going to see Kinect's voice controls. These are all features that are already available to all Kinect and Xbox owners.

10:27PM:We just saw a demo for searching for Harry Potter using Kinect. It works well.

10:30PM:Now we're seeing how a Lumia 900 with the Windows Xbox Companion can be used to control the Xbox. We've tried this at home with a different device and it actually works quite well.

10:31PM:Comcast Xfinity on Demand's library will soon be launching on Xbox. There's also a new News Corp partnership that will bring The WSJ, Fox content, and IGN to the Xbox video library.

10:32PM:Fox will add Family Guy, The Simpsons, House and more. The new content should be available in 2012.

10:32PM:"We're working with some of the best known creative artists and production companies to create..

10:33PM:Sesame Street Kinect TV just took the stage to demo two-way TV. Are there any kids in the audience?

10:34PM:Microsoft took the current episodes from Sesame Street to turn them into fully interactive experiences. You can use your voice to interact with the show.

10:35PM:They are "watching and playing" Sesame Street. Elmo introduced a move of the day "throw" anda number "4". Now when elmo spills his coconuts children can act and pretend to throw coconuts at Elmo to help him collect them again. You have to see it to understand it better, but the concept is cool.

10:37PM:Now Elmo is taking the stage. Same sort of interactive demo going on.

10:38PM:In this demo the young girl is part of the Sesame Street show and she's interacting with the virtual objects around her.

10:39PM:"The number of things you can do with interactive entertainment, video interactivity together..it's going to be amazing." - Ballmer

10:39PM:"Just as Kinect revolutionized entertainment, we'll see it revolutionize other industries. Education, healthcare and many many more."

10:40PM:Kinect is coming to Windows on February 1st. Pretty big news there folks.

10:40PM:Microsoft is working with more than 200 companies including United Health Group, Toyota, Mattel, American Express, Boeing and many more.

10:41PM:Microsoft Office 2010 is the fastest selling Office version in the history of Office.

10:42PM:We're just going over a few of Microsoft's other projects. Skype users have used more than 300 billion minutes in the last year.

10:42PM:Bing has a 30% market share in combination with Yahoo in the U.S.

10:42PM:The final question: What's next? "Windows 8 is what's next!"

10:43PM:There's nothing more important at Microsoft than Windows.

10:44PM:Metro will be huge for Microsoft across all of its platforms. In 2012 what's next? "Metro Metro Metro!"

10:44PM:"And of course, Windows! Windows! Windows"

10:44PM:That's all folks thanks for joining us!

Microsoft has moved Andy Lees, the head of its Windows Phone division, to a new position within the firm. AllThingsD broke the news but did not name Lees’s successor. Instead, several of Lees’s responsibilities, including marketing and business development, will be handled by Microsoft corporate vice president Terry Myerson. Lees will remain a president within Microsoft and will still report directly to CEO Steve Ballmer. “I have asked Andy Lees to move to a new role working for me on a time-critical opportunity focused on driving maximum impact in 2012 with Windows Phone and Windows 8,” Ballmer said in a purported internal memo that was obtained by AllThingsD. “We have tremendous potential with Windows Phone and Windows 8, and this move sets us up to really deliver against that potential. In the three years Andy has been leading the phone group, we’ve come a long way,” he added. “We reset our strategy, built a strong team that delivered [Windows Phone 7] and [Windows Phone 7.5 Mango] and created critical new partnerships and ecosystem around Windows Phone. That is a ton of progress in a brief period of time, and I’m excited for Terry and team to keep driving forward and for Andy to dig into a new challenge.”

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has never been one to mince words, and the executive shared a few choice thoughts on Google’s Android platform while speaking at the Web 2.0 conference on Tuesday. “You don’t need to be a computer scientist to use a Windows Phone, but I think you do to use an Android phone,” Ballmer told Federated Media founder John Battelle during an interview on stage. He continued, “It is very hard to be excited, for me, about the Android phones.” Despite the platform’s innovative user experience and its slick UI, sales of Windows Phone handsets have not been impressive thus far. Microsoft has been hesitant to share hard numbers and partners have followed suit, but recent estimates suggest Microsoft’s share of the smartphone market may have hit a new low in the second quarter of 2011. Nokia is expected by many to be the catalyst that helps establish Windows Phone as a major player, however, and Ballmer confirmed that Nokia is set to unveil “a bunch” of new Windows Phones at Nokia World next week.

As Microsoft works overtime this week to get developers and consumers behind its next-generation Windows operating system, focus shifted back to the company’s emerging mobile platform briefly on Wednesday, AllThingsD reports. Speaking at an analyst meeting, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer addressed sales of devices bearing the Windows Phone operating system, acknowledging that the company isn’t where it hoped to be nearly one year after launching the platform. “We haven’t sold quite as many as I would have liked in the first year,” Ballmer said, noting that the company is making progress and that exciting new features are in the pipeline. “I’m not saying I love where we are but I am very optimistic on where we can be. We’ve just got to kick this thing to the next level.” Ballmer continued, stressing that Microsoft’s partnership with Nokia will help carry the platform forward. “With Nokia we have a dedicated hardware partner that is all-in on Windows Phones,” Ballmer told analysts. “They are not doing something on Android or [any other operating system].”

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer surprised developers during Micorosft’s BUILD conference in California on Wednesday when he took the stage to talk up Microsoft’s new operating system, currently named Windows 8. Ballmer noted that there have already been 500,000 downloads of the operating system since it went live last night. “We still have a long way to go with Windows 8,” Ballmer said. “We’re retooling all of what we do.” Ballmer believes that the changes will compel developers to begin to favor Microsoft’s operating system, which he expects will ship on 350 million PCs this year alone. “There is no phone, there is nothing on the tablet, there is no operating system on the planet that will ship 350 million units of anything other than Windows,” Ballmer boasted, noting that Windows 8 supports both Intel and ARM chipsets. Before wrapping up, Ballmer, in typical fashion, called on “developers, developers, developers” to rally around Windows 8.

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Microsoft is prepping to release a Windows 8 preview build during its Worldwide Partner Conference on July 11th, according WinRumors. Reportedly, the Redmond-based firm will “detail Windows 8 substantially,” during the conference, and it could present a second preview “building Windows 8″ video, which we hope will show off several of the OS’s new features. Microsoft first took the wraps off of its Windows 8 demo during the D9 conference in June, when Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky discussed the Metro UI and other features that will apply to both PCs and tablets. So far we know that Windows 8 will include Internet Explorer 10, and will be able to run both desktop applications as well as HTML 5 and Java apps that are designed for tablet-sized devices. Microsoft’s current demo devices run on Intel processors, but there are reports the company is running tests on ARM chips as well. The Consumer Electronics Association also announced on Thursday that Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer will give the opening keynote during the annual Consumer Electronics Show in January 2012 — and we suspect we’ll hear a lot more about the new OS at that time.

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During a press event in Japan recently, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that Windows 8 would would launch sometime next year. His firm says otherwise. “It appears there was a misstatement,” a Microsoft spokesperson recently said in a statement. “We are eagerly awaiting the next generation of Windows 7 hardware that will be available in the coming fiscal year. To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows.” Despite Microsoft’s statement, we could still hear more about Windows 8 much sooner — even if it doesn’t actually launch in the coming fiscal year. “As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8,” Ballmer said in his speech. “Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.’ According to ZDNet, we could see an early build of the operating system as soon as the D9 conference, which begins on June 31st.

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We’re here live from Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7  event in New York City where the company is set to detail the next major OS upgrade to the Windows Phone platform. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer hinted we could see over 500 new features, let’s hope we get some big enhancements in addition to the practically confirmed multitasking, Twitter integration, remote email search stuff. Live coverage is after the break!

10:06AM:Microsoft is on stage discussing Windows Phone Mango. Customers want three main things from their smartphone: to connect and share with family, friends, and colleagues. The second area is rich applications. Thirdly, users want to harness the power of the internet. Derek Snyder, senior product manager for WIndows Phone division is on stage to give us a demo of a pre-release version of Mango. Microsoft has improved the homescreen experience inside of Mango. Notifications are pushed into smarter live tiles. With Mango, Microsoft has added Twitter and LinkedIn support to the live tiles as well.

10:06AM:Mango will also add visual voicemail support.

10:07AM:"A new groups feature hopes you mirror your groups on your phone." Live tiles light up with new communication to help you cut through the clutter to see what;s going on. This will allow you to cut through "Farmville Facebook noise."

10:08AM:"We integrate the two largest social networking services - Windows Live Messenger and Facebook Chat - right out of the box."

10:09AM:The keyboard has been updated to predict words as you type. For example, typing "Happy" is most often followed by "Birthday."

10:10AM:"We want to bring together all of the services people are using with a new feature called "Threads." Thrads brings a conversation, from Facebook for example, to your phone. If a friend signs offline from Facebook, you can switch to texting. This reminds us of Palm's "Synergy."

10:11AM:With Mango, users will be able to view "conversation view" which allows users to expand and contract messages. Microsoft says it thinks it has the best conversation view technology.

10:11AM:Microsoft argues that, with new rich information tools, it will offer a more robust email platform than on any other phone platform.

10:12AM:Microsoft has expanded Facebook events into the calendar on Windows Phone Mango. This will allow you to view all of the details, sign into and write on the event wall, and more.

10:13AM:Another new feature: (Microsoft is moving fast here) - Users can have text messages read back to them, and they can respond using voice commands, while driving and listening to music, for example.

10:14AM:"People are at the center, not Applications," in Windows Phone Mango.

10:15AM:People-centric pictures will allow users to recognize and tag people in photos automatically.

10:16AM:Now we're getting in to discussing applications in Mango. Microsoft will enable new types of applications and games. However, it's taking this "one step further" to avoid phones that show a grid of icons, and a sea of applications. "That doesn't integrate into a 'total phone experience."

10:17AM:"With Windows Phone Mango, applications are alive as part of the total phone experience."

10:17AM:Derek is back out to show us how applications are being taken to the next level.

10:19AM:We're going to see demos of 'Pictures,' 'Office,' and 'Xbox.' With Pictures, there's new automatic face detection for sharing to social networks. In the Office Hub, Mango will allow users to share docs with Sky Drive and other online destinations. When you tap on a tile, it will bring down the latest version of any document from the server. There's the ability to view, edit, and save changes to documents. You can also highlight cells in Excel and do auto-sums, etc.

10:19AM:Microsoft has completely redesigned the Xbox Live Hub for Mango. We're seeing a demo of Rise of Glory, a game that's available now.

10:21AM:"People want to be able to get back into an app quickly. One of the things you want to be able to do is have a fast app resume." Microsoft has added instant app resume without consuming too much power. Similarly, users can switch between multiple applications by holding the back button. Multitasking!

10:22AM:The 3D avatar inside Xbox Live can now have collectibles and add-ons, shirts, etc, is reflected just as it is on the Xbox 360 console or on a PC. There's also a new social experience to compare games with friends, see recent games, compare stats, etc.

10:22AM:All the games participate in this larger social experience in the XBox live hub.

10:23AM:"we also wanted to have a platform that developers can build incredible experiences on top of." We're now seeing a new British Airways application that provides a live tile (live notifications and notifications are new in Mango). If you launch the application it will show upcoming flights, settings, a memebership card, miles, and more. There's even an option to choose your seat.

10:25AM:In the British Airways app, there's a 3D user interface for choosing seats, checking, in, and getting a boarding pass. You can also get information on the flight such as movies, see food menus, and see the captain's name, the plane, and all other information you'd expect. The boarding pass can be presented on a tile directly on the homescreen so that you don't have to print it separately.

10:27AM:"Finally, third party applications have been freed from their silos with live tiles and application shortcuts. We've enhanced the Office Hub, we have a new Xbox Live Hub." "Think of your applications as musical instruments, with Mango they are an orchestra that finally has a conductor."

10:28AM:IE9 is now being discussed. "IE9 on Mango is not just similar to the PC browser, it's exactly the same. It's great for consumers who want to have the same experience for websites, and it's also great for web developers. We want to tailor the internet to the palm of your hand. With Windows Phone Mango we deeply integrate Bing to find, decide, and take action." This can be used with voice, typing, and vision.

10:29AM:Derek is back out to show us the highlights of IE's new changes. We see a BlackBerry Torch, an iPhone 4, and a new DROID Charge from Samsung, as well as a Mango phone. Microsoft is about to run an HTML speed test.

10:30AM:The BlackBerry 5 got a head start in the speed test. It's running at 4fps. iPhone hasn't started. Android is at 10fps. Mango is running along at 20/25 frames per second and it finished before the iPhone started. That '"proves" the hardware acceleration inside the phone.

10:32AM:Bing has been upgraded for Windows Phone Mango. We're seeing a search for "Water for Elephants," and it uses the location and time of day to provide movie times. In Mango this will use a new "Quick Cards" feature that shows more information about the movie, such as genre, showtimes, and more. Using a new feature called "App Connect" you can hand off searches directly to other applications. Using App Shortcuts, Derek just handed off the search to the IMDB application.

10:33AM:Searching for a restaurant now pulls reviews and ratings from Bing, Yelp, etc. Finally, with mango, it will bring together context called "Local Scout." This allows you to "live like a local" and explore a given neighborhood. You can find what to see, do, eat, drink, and more. It will provide nearby shopping, and you can keep track of favorites, too.

10:33AM:Bing now has indoor maps for malls and other public locations.

10:34AM:Indoor maps allows you to search a director of a place, such as a mall, to find stores. It even has maps for multiple levels.

10:35AM:Places, such as Madison Square Garden, have cards as well. It will provide information such as upcoming events. "We're weaving together the webs information, bringing it to you on these cards."

10:36AM:Bing Vision is another new feature in Mango. It allows you to visual search with the phone's camera. It works with QR codes, bar codes, and more. It's just like Google Goggles.

10:36AM:Bing Vision will connect to applications that sell books, too. So if you search for one, you can go straight into the Kindle application and find the book inside the Kindle Store and purchase it and have it delivered to your phone.

10:37AM:"I've gone from taking a picture with Bing Vision, handing it off to an application like Kindle, and then using reading the book."

10:39AM:"So far we have shown you have Mango makes it smarter and easier for you to access the internet and applications." App Connect, Groups, IE 9, Local Scout, Quick Cards, Enhanced Hubs, etc. There are more than 500 new features. We'll be taking these into more depth over the coming weeks including One Note, Music, Apps, and more. "This will be a good release and one worth waiting for. This release will be available in the fall as a free upgrade. All of these capabilities will come down."

10:40AM:"We've had fantastic momentum since launch and with Mango we're expecting a significant acceleration. We started out 7 months ago with 0 applications, today we have over 18,000. Today we're making available Mango tools so developers can start creating their applications for when new phones are available in the fall."

10:42AM:Skype will be designing an application for Skype for the first time.Operators do more than just light up the phone with connectivity. We're enabling operators to add significant value with software and services they'll supply with Mango. We'll have a lot of new operator partners, we're support more languages in more countries, and we'll have lower price phones to increase the addressable market. The Mango addressable market is 4 times larger than the original Windows Phone." Samsung, HTC, and LG will all announce new phones for Windows Mango, including 4G phones. Acer, Fujitsu, and ZTE will also provide Mango phones.

10:43AM:"In February we announced our partnership with Nokia, which goes beyond just handsets. I'm pleased to say that Windows Phone mango will be the released that's used for the first Nokia phones. We already have phones running Windows Phone Mango in our labs today."

10:44AM:"Mango is not just easier and faster, but it knows we're your going. The developer tools are available today. The update and new phones will be available from the fall. The fall will be the best yet for us and our partners. You've seen an awful lot int he past 7 months but you haven't seen anything yet."

10:44AM:Looks like that's it for us folks, Microsoft has just stepped off of the stage.

Speaking at the Japanese Microsoft Developers Forum, Microsoft’s CEO confirmed that the next Windows Phone update, codenamed Mango, will add “over 500 new features” to the mobile operating system. The Redmond based company has an event scheduled for Tuesday, May 24th in New York City, during which it will unveil the new update (again) and discuss its features in greater detail. Earlier this month we heard rumors that the update will deliver Bing Audio, Bing Vision, turn-by-turn navigation in Bing Maps, a new native podcast player, speech recognition, and more. We’ll be reporting live on the update tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Hit the jump for a quick video clip of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discussing Mango.

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Yesterday was so jam-packed full of action, it’s hard to believe this year’s Mobile World Congress convention in Barcelona officially started today. The show runs through Thursday, in fact, and promises to bring us awesome mobile news from start to finish. While day 1 of the show winds down — it’s now 4:00PM local time — Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is just getting ready to deliver his anticipated MWC keynote. Windows Phone 7 is expected to be a focus, given the venue, and we wouldn’t be surprised to hear Ballmer talk about Nokia a fair bit as well. Hit the break for our live coverage of the event, and don’t forget to refresh the page for all the latest updates.

10:06AM:Steve's on stage!

10:06AM:"Last year, we announced Windows Phone 7 at MWC. This year, we have a lot of work to do, but we're ready to drive the platform forward."

10:07AM:"If last Friday's announcement with Nokia is any indication of how 2011 is going to go... we're in for a big year."

10:07AM:"I'm going to give you a glimpse at what's to come later this year in Windows Phone 7."

10:08AM:

10:09AM:"We're thrilled with the progress. 9 out of 10 people who buy a WP recommend them to family and friends. While it is still early in the game, out customers are becoming evangelists for Windows Phone."

10:10AM:"The market has been flooded with similar devices. A sea of icons on home screens with links to applications. With smart design (speaking about hubs) we're trying to rethink that design."

10:12AM:Smart design extends beyond the hubs. It continues to things like the camera button.

10:13AM:Coming to Windows Phone in 2011 as part of smart design: MULTITASKING, Internet Explorer 9 for Windows Phone complete with hardware accelerated graphics...

10:14AM:"As I think should be obvious from my enthusiasm, smart design is a key differentiator of Windows Phone."

10:15AM:"We created six hubs around what our customers way they care about most, contact feeds, social networks, pictures..."

10:16AM:Continuing with new features for 2011: we're adding support for broader, consumer-based, Skydrive connectivity; just like business have now.

10:17AM:(We're getting a high-level overview of the current functionality of the pictures, music and market place at the moment.)

10:18AM:

10:19AM:"To give you a better idea of how hubs provide a better experience, I'm going to invite Joe Fiore on-stage; he'll provide you with a preview of things to come with Windows Phone later this year, in live code."

10:21AM:Joe is currently going over the current features of Windows Phone 7. Getting an overview of the "smart design" of the camera button and live tiles. We should be getting to the new stuff in the next few minutes.

10:23AM:Camera quick-launch to capture pictures of kids, live tiles to give you the information you want at a glance, voice search with Bing, People hub... we're getting to hear it all... again.

10:25AM:"Moving to the demo where we show unfinished code."

10:26AM:Seeing Office Hub first. "We're going to let consumers and small business have this Share Point experience with SkyDrive."

10:27AM:"It's super easy to view, edit, upload, and manage documents needed by a group. A user can share a document with you and it will automatically populate to your Office Hub. There's no need to sign in again. It's smart."

10:28AM:"Now talking about IE 9. There are two very significant things about IE 9 that make it a huge improvement for us. It has great standards support and takes great advantage of powerful graphics hardware."

10:30AM:"The core browsing engine that ships on IE 9 for the PC is the same engine that will ship on Windows Phone. When web site developers create a site, if it works well on the PC it will work well on the phone."

10:31AM:Seeing speed comparison between IE 9 and Safari on an iPhone 4.

10:34AM:"As Steve said, later on this year, we'll make this available for all Windows Phone users. It will add support for third-party multitasking. When apps run in the background, you risk draining your battery. Our implementation provides a battery-safe solution for third-party multitasking."

10:35AM:"To enable multitasking hit the Start button, do what you need to do, push the Back button, and you're back. That's the first scenario."

10:37AM:"To make it easy to switch to applications you have been running, maybe not the last one, you press and hold the Back button to get a card-like view of what applications you've been running with a screen shot of what the application is doing. It's fast task switching."

10:38AM:"Now a third scenario. What if you want to play say a radio station in the background? If I press and hold the back button, the Slacker application will move into the task view and I can select the program I want. The music keeps playing."

10:39AM:"We've tried to make sure the user interaction stays really intuitive and really simple. It's really consistant with our built-in system and third-party updates."

10:39AM:"Before I leave stage, there's one more thing I want to describe."

10:40AM:"We haven't heard about how we're going to evolve gaming on WP. This isn't everything by the way, there will be more features in the update, this is just a few."

10:41AM:"Windows Phone will work as a companion to Kinect." We're seeing a video. A ballon dodging game, the person trying to dodge is using the Kinect sensor, but the person throwing is using their Windows Phone to control the trajectory and speed of the ballons. It's pretty cool

10:42AM:Joe's done. Steve's back.

10:42AM:"Customers aren't going to be looking to buy a phone in the future, they're going to be looking to buy into an ecosystem."

10:43AM:"Windows Phone will be the best way for carriers, service developers, software developers, and manufacturers to deliver value to their customers."

10:43AM:"Today, just 4 months after Windows Phone first shipped we have over 8,000 applications in the Market Place."

10:43AM:

10:43AM:"30,000 developers have registered for the Market Place and over 100,000 people have downloaded to SDK."

10:45AM:"We're off to a strong start, but we know we have work to do. And we will only thrive with scale and variety. We're going to work to ensure innovation does not lead to fragmentation that 'other manufacturers' are currently experiencing." (I wonder who he's talking about

10:46AM:"We announced a partnership with Nokia. Nokia has incredible capabilities that are well known to everybody in the audience, we're sure from that base Nokia is going to be able to deliver fabulous Nokia Windows Phones. Maps and location based technologies that Nokia has built will be used in Bing services across all the target platforms: PC, phones, TV... wherever Bing goes."

10:47AM:Here comes Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia.

10:48AM:"As you read all the press and analyst commentary there is a common theme: Nokia and Microsoft is a natural partner. We bring incredible industry design to the mobile platform of the future. We have the understanding to take it from where it is today, to where it will be tomorrow the world over."

10:49AM:"A second point of symmetry: our global reach and distribution. We're also looking forward to working with Microsoft on U.S. penetration."

10:50AM:"We're looking forward to building this ecosystem. We're looking to ensure we delivery products that are more competitive. We cam create that third ecosystem that benefits everyone." (Android and iOS are the other two in case you are confused.)

10:51AM:"We think this is good new for developers because we can bring an opportunity to bring Windows Phone 7 to users around the globe with our reach."

10:51AM:"Our focus today shifts to delivering those first devices and changing the industry." Mr. Elop is done.

10:52AM:"Windows Phone will be the most carrier friendly mobile operating system available."

10:54AM:"You're going to have a chance to see our innovation with these next round of carrier devices. Every consumer will experience this. 2011 is going to be a fast-paced, and great, year. For our company, for the industry, and for Windows Phone."

10:54AM:That's it ladies and gentlemen! Let us know what you think in the comments.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s official. In a press release today, Microsoft and Nokia announced “plans to form a broad strategic partnership that would use their complementary strengths and expertise to create a new global mobile ecosystem.” This partnership will see Nokia, the world’s largest phone manufacturer, adopt Windows Phone as its “principle smartphone strategy” and the two companies will collaborate on marketing, search, maps, and development.

“Today, developers, operators and consumers want compelling mobile products, which include not only the device, but the software, services, applications and customer support that make a great experience,” said Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO. “Nokia and Microsoft will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivalled global reach and scale. It’s now a three-horse race.”

This certainly does bolster the global position of Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system. The two companies are hosting a live press conference at 5AM ET. The live video feed and aforementioned press release are waiting for you after the break.

Nokia and Microsoft Announce Plans for a Broad Strategic Partnership to Build a New Global Mobile Ecosystem

Companies plan to combine assets and develop innovative mobile products on an unprecedented scale.

LONDON – Feb. 11, 2011 – Nokia and Microsoft today announced plans to form a broad strategic partnership that would use their complementary strengths and expertise to create a new global mobile ecosystem.

Nokia and Microsoft intend to jointly create market-leading mobile products and services designed to offer consumers, operators and developers unrivalled choice and opportunity. As each company would focus on its core competencies, the partnership would create the opportunity for rapid time to market execution. Additionally, Nokia and Microsoft plan to work together to integrate key assets and create completely new service offerings, while extending established products and services to new markets.

• Nokia would adopt Windows Phone as its principal smartphone strategy, innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader.
• Nokia would help drive the future of Windows Phone. Nokia would contribute its expertise on hardware design, language support, and help bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price points, market segments and geographies.
• Nokia and Microsoft would closely collaborate on joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap to align on the future evolution of mobile products.
• Bing would power Nokia’s search services across Nokia devices and services, giving customers access to Bing’s next generation search capabilities. Microsoft adCenter would provide search advertising services on Nokia’s line of devices and services.
• Nokia Maps would be a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services. For example, Maps would be integrated with Microsoft’s Bing search engine and adCenter advertising platform to form a unique local search and advertising experience
• Nokia’s extensive operator billing agreements would make it easier for consumers to purchase Nokia Windows Phone services in countries where credit-card use is low.
• Microsoft development tools would be used to create applications to run on Nokia Windows Phones, allowing developers to easily leverage the ecosystem’s global reach.
• Nokia’s content and application store would be integrated with Microsoft Marketplace for a more compelling consumer experience.

“Today, developers, operators and consumers want compelling mobile products, which include not only the device, but the software, services, applications and customer support that make a great experience,” Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO, said at a joint news conference in London. “Nokia and Microsoft will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivalled global reach and scale. It’s now a three-horse race.”

“I am excited about this partnership with Nokia,” said Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft CEO. “Ecosystems thrive when fueled by speed, innovation and scale.The partnership announced today provides incredible scale, vast expertise in hardware and software innovation and a proven ability to execute.”

Please visit www.nokia.com/press for press materials.

Microsoft has issued a statement describing Steve Ballmer’s plans to sell up to 75 million shares in order “to gain financial diversification and to assist in tax planning”. A sale this large is bound to ring alarm bells with shareholders, however Ballmer has cleared the air of any brewing conspiracy theories. “Even though this is a personal financial matter, I want to be clear about this to avoid any confusion. I am excited about our new products and the potential for our technology to change people’s lives, and I remain fully committed to Microsoft and its success,” said the Redmond CEO. SEC filings indicate that Steve Ballmer has already sold 49 million shares, making him a cool $1.3 billion. With capital gains tax said to increase to 20 from 15% in January, Steve Ballmer has just saved himself some serious money.

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Earlier today, while speaking to a group of students and journalists at the London School of Economics, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer revealed that there will indeed be iPad-competing slate products running Windows by Christmas. The catch? Steve didn’t clarify whether these products would be shipping, or just announced, nor who would manufacture them. With HP most likely changing course to offer a webOS-based tablet as opposed to a Windows 7 slate, we’ve got to wonder who will end up being first in this category…

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Here’s a crazy rumor to start off the day. According to Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is planning to make a cameo during Apple’s WWDC keynote. No, he’s not going to be there to crash the stage, but rather speak for seven minutes about Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. According to Chowdhry, Visual Studio 2010 will for the first time allow developers to author native iPhone applications from a Windows machine. If this were to actually happen, it would be quite the coup for Apple to say the least. Thoughts?

UPDATE: Microsoft took to Twitter to dispel this rumor: “Steve Ballmer not speaking at Apple Dev Conf. Nor appearing on Dancing with the Stars. Nor riding in the Belmont. Just FYI.” And that’s that.

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On Thursday, when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke at the University of Washington, he made several interesting statements about his company and its future with “the cloud.” When asked about Microsoft’s position on cloud based computing and programs Ballmer said, “we’re all in.” The CEO went on to say that 70% of Microsoft employees are working on projects that revolve around the cloud, a number which he predicts will climb to 90% within a year. We’re “betting our company” on the cloud, said Ballmer, “there’s so much unrealized potential.” When asked by a student whether Microsoft was simply being reactionary Ballmer responded: “All companies have their mix of proactive and reactive muscle; I’m keen on increasing hit rate in terms of early and often.” A few products we’re sure have a date with the cloud are an updated version of Microsoft’s popular office suite and a mobile application store to supports its Windows Phone 7 platform.

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