'Microsoft TV' to be intro'ed during Ballmer's CES keynote: report

Google TV and Apple TV may need to begin looking over their shoulders. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer always gives the CES keynote, and one of the announcements he may aim to give involves what may end up being called "Microsoft TV."

The actual CES show starts Thursday, but Ballmer has the Wednesday night keynote. While we might expect to see the firm to speak more about Windows Phone, Kinect, and tablets, Microsoft has something planned for the living room, too:

Microsoft's going to make a splash in this market with a stripped-down version of Windows tailored for set-top boxes and connected TVs. The software is a version of its embedded device software, overlaid with the Windows Media Center interface, with media streaming and remote-control capabilities. [...]

The boxes are expected to cost around $200 and go on sale later this year. 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.

Microsoft's tried to enter the living room before, but hasn't been successful. Meanwhile, Apple won't be at CES, but its Apple TV has been a success, and Google has told some of its vendors to hold off on Google TV announcements at CES until software modifications have been made (Vizio is one of the exceptions).

Vizio dishes on Android-powered VIA Phone, VIA Tablet; Google TV products; passive 3DTV offerings

As expected, on Monday Vizio gave out more information on its upcoming products, including the Android smartphone and tablet we wrote about earlier.

The new smartphone, dubbed the VIA Phone, has a 4-inch screen, 802.11n wi-fi, GPS, MicroSD slot, dual cameras and HDMI output. The new tablet, dubbed VIA Tablet, sports an 8-inch high resolution capacitive touchscreen with 3 speakers, and a front-facing camera for video chat.

At the same time, Vizio (and Google) announced its become Google's latest Google TV partner. Vizio's VIA Plus HDTVs and Blu-ray players appear to have a skin on them, however. It's the first time we've seen that Google TV will be skinnable, just like regular old Android, and be able to have UI layers like HTC Sense on top of them.

Both Sony and Logitech's Google TV products shipped with its default user interface. VIA Plus will also allow consumers to pause and resume content across multiple devices, including the aforementioned VIA phones and tablets.

Additionally, Vizio is also introducing a line of “Theater 3D” HDTV sets. They will range in size from 22 to 71 inches. Vizio claims they will produce flicker-free 3D, 2x brighter, and won't require powered glasses, but rather passive glasses which you see in most movie theaters. Those are much cheaper than powered ones (the obvious advantage).

What's unmentioned, of course, is pricing, and exact timing. We expect pricing, however, to be affordable, coming from Vizio.  You can read Vizio's press releases here (1, 2, 3).