Ballmer meets developers, Korean firms to discuss partnerships


Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer was eager to sell the firm’s upcoming Windows 8 software during his two days in Korea.

Calling this year the “launch year of Windows 8,” he spent most of his keynote speech discussing the competitiveness of its new and upgraded software designed for wireless gadgets and computers at the Seoul Digital Forum on Tuesday.

“This year, 350 million Windows devices will be shipped in the world,” he said at the forum organized by broadcaster SBS. “Imagination has gone into Windows 8.”

Ballmer, who paid his last visit to Seoul two years ago, also said that the roll-out of Windows 8 meant the “rebirth of Microsoft Windows” ― referring to the new Windows Phone, new Windows Office, new Bing, new Zune, new Skype and new cloud infrastructure.

During a Windows 8 software demonstration, the company implicitly displayed its partnership with Samsung Electronics by showcasing it on a Samsung-manufactured tablet PC.

Emphasizing that search and share has become easy on all Windows 8 devices, the U.S.-based software giant called Windows 8 a “no-compromise operating system.”

“There’s never been a better time to be in this industry,” said Ballmer. “There’s a lot of activity in Korea with over 600 start-up companies working with Microsoft here.”

He also said that 400-500 million users are expected to increase in the next year.

However, Ballmer declined to comment when asked how the world’s biggest software firm plans to strengthen its partnership with Korean hardware manufacturers following the keynote session.

Instead of responding to the question, he headed to a hotel in southern Seoul to seal a deal with LG CNS on working together for the development of motion recognition.

The two firms agreed to jointly dive into the overseas market with the motion recognition technology as well as smart solutions rooted in cloud computing technologies, according to LG CNS officials.

Ballmer was also scheduled to meet with Microsoft software developers at an event dubbed “Windows mini concert” later in the day as well as representatives of the Korea IT Service Industry Association.

What is receiving most attention, however, is whether the U.S. software giant had private meetings with the top executives of Korean IT behemoths Samsung and LG Electronics.

A high-ranking industry source said a meeting with Samsung officials seemed unlikely to take place, considering that its chief officers such as vice chairman Choi Gee-sung and mobile head Shin Jong-kyun were currently in the U.S. for patent talks with Apple Inc.

Although it was yet to be confirmed, the source said a meeting with LG Electronics remained a high possibility as Microsoft looks almost “desperate” to find a breakthrough for its Windows Phone and Windows 8 tablet PCs.

Samsung has already announced its intentions to launch gadgets running on the new Windows software, while LG said it will “continue research and development efforts” for Windows Phones.

“If the talks are arranged between LG and Microsoft as expected, they will most likely focus on the new Windows Phones,” said another industry source who wished to remain anonymous.

Ballmer left the country on an evening flight to China on Tuesday.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)