How Microsoft went out of CES with a bang

Microsoft has made it clear 2012 will be their final appearance at CES, and even if their keynote came off as more like an infomercial, they certainly didn't leave with a whimper.

This year's CES saw multiple reasons to get excited about Microsoft again, from the upcoming Windows phones to the big announcement of Microsoft's keynote, Kinect for Windows. As PC World said in a recent post, Microsoft may have been the sleeper hit of this year's Consumer Electronics Show. Here are the two big reasons why:

Kinect for Windows

As the focus of Microsoft's keynote speech, the company is clearly placing a big bet on the Kinect, and none bigger than the Kinect for Windows. Coming February 1, the peripheral is designed to incorporate the motion and voice control experience of the original with a new 'near mode,' allowing for someone to sit directly in front of it. It's designed to work with the upcoming Windows 8 operating system and incorporates the original Kinect's same face-recognition software, which lends itself to an easily customizable PC experience. There's a lot of promise in terms of different ways the device can be used, but we'll have to wait and see what developers do with it before we can get really excited.

Nokia Lumia 900 and Titan II

According to PC World, these are the two most talked about smartphones at this year's CES. With big screens, quality cameras and internal elements and substantial storage, these phones have the opportunity to give the iPhone a run for its money. Time even declared the Lumia 900 the winner of CES before the show started, boasting the mobile device as the U.S.'s first top-end Windows Phone. Reviewers seem to have almost all good things to say about the Lumia 900 and the Titan II, giving the once largely ignored Windows mobile operating system a fighting chance against the industry leaders.

Coupled with the upcoming release of Windows 8, 2012 looks like it's going to be a good year for Microsoft.