Microsoft is expected to make a significant announcement during CES 2011 that will see the company unveil its new Windows-based set top box that will take on Apple and Google in the web-based set top box space. The product could be named Windows TV and will basically be a stripped-down version of the Windows OS that is customized for a television.
Microsoft should have a significant advantage over the rest considering that they are already the largest desktop OS and should be able to offer users a platform with a very familiar look and feel. Writing about this new foray, Brier Dudley from the Seattle Times writes,
“They’ll pose a serious challenge to the new Apple and Google TV devices, largely because the Windows boxes have a polished and familiar TV-program guide that makes it easy to blend and navigate both online and broadcast content”
It will be interesting to see how Microsoft integrates its computer based media platforms like Windows Media Center with a TV set top box. We will wait for an official unveiling from Microsoft at CES.