Steve Ballmer gave the inaugural speech at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), addressing several important aspects of the industry.

He talked about the global PC revolution, which even though has been good, it has been far from sufficient. He continued with the explanation for such an affirmation, saying that there are billions of people who haven’t heard of a PC or Windows.

Mr. Ballmer expressed his firm belief that Windows "will remain at the center of people's technological solar system," and that the wide variety of available or upcoming computing devices will be united by the company’s system. The lesson learnt with Vista is considered extremely valuable and the preparations for the release of Windows 7 will cover all possible issues.

He also confirmed the partnership with Verizon, through which Microsoft will provide its customers with a mobile search tool. The deal has been signed for a period of five years and will go into effect later this quarter. The new offer will provide users with voice commands, location-based searches, and several other useful details for people on the go, featuring gas prices, movie times and even data on local businesses. In addition to all these aspects, Microsoft will also manage Verizon Wireless' Mobile Web service.

This represents a great business move for Microsoft, as Verizon is just days away from becoming the biggest cellular service provider in the United States – which will happen once it complete the acquisition of Alltel. Surely this represent a win-win situation, with Verizon looking to provide the best possible services to its clients.