The folks behind CES have announced who will give the keynote address during 2013’s show, and it may surprise you to find out that it’s Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs. Okay, it might not be that surprising considering that Jacobs also gave the keynote address at the 2012 and 2010 shows, but with Microsoft giving up its keynote spot, many thought that the CES people would choose a more well-known company. That’s not to say that Qualcomm isn’t well-known among technophiles like all of us, but for the mainstream crowd, Qualcomm isn’t the first name that comes to mind when the word “technology” is mentioned.
Still, as CNET points out, the fact that Qualcomm will be giving the keynote seems appropriate. That’s especially true when you consider that PC sales are on the decline while smartphones and tablets seem to be getting more popular by the minute. Qualcomm, as many of you already know, is one of the smartphone and tablet industries’ biggest players – and indeed is a force to be reckoned with in the realm of Android – so the fact that Jacobs will get up on stage to deliver the keynote for CES 2013 is fitting.
You’d think that Microsoft would want to rethink its decision to skip out on CES with Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and Microsoft Surface all launching soon, but that clearly isn’t in the cards. In any case, the theme for Jacobs’ keynote will be “Born Mobile,” and he’ll naturally be highlighting the role of mobile technology in the world today. Qualcomm has even released a teaser video for the keynote address, which features a 14-month old toddler who is quite adept at using mobile devices. Check it out below.
Obviously, Jacobs’ keynote will kick off the Consumer Electronics Show for 2013, which is scheduled to run from January 8 to January 11. He’ll be taking the stage at 6:30 PM Pacific time on January 7 to get everything started, and we certainly look forward to hearing what he has to say. Only time will tell if Qualcomm will serve as a suitable replacement for Microsoft, but we’re thinking that Jacobs won’t have any problem getting people excited for CES 2013. Stay tuned.
