The Biggest Surprise in Qualcomm's CES Keynote

After more than a decade holding court during the opening keynote of the annual Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft was supposed to step aside and let Qualcomm's Dr. Paul Jacobs enjoy the limelight.

So much for promises. Just 10 minutes into Jacobs' presentation, Ballmer took the stage to a big enough round of applause that it made the crowd's meek reception of band Maroon 5, which closed Jacobs' talk, appear mild by comparison. Geeks love Windows more than pop music.

For Ballmer, the appearance was a homecoming of sorts.

"It's great to be back at CES," Ballmer said. "This year, I'm here to actually have a chance to show you some of the phenomenal new Windows devices on [Qualcomm] Snapdragon and on the market today."

The next several minutes saw Jacobs and Ballmer show off Windows 8 devices using Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipset, including their own personal Windows Phone handsets. "Microsoft reimagined Windows and introduced completely new forms of mobile devices into the world," Jacobs said.

Really? Completely new? High praise, to be sure, though I'm not so certain it's deserved. Mr. Softy's primary hardware partner, Nokia has had a rough go selling Windows Phone handsets so far. Supply issues rather than design appear to be the cause, but still: Jacobs probably took the hyperbole a bit too far.

Where's the robot?
And there's risk in that. Google is a big Qualcomm partner. Snapdragon processors inhabit a large number of Android-powered handsets. Jacobs acknowledged as much with a full-screen backdrop of the Android logo at one point in his presentation, though details of what to expect in terms of new Snapdragon-powered Android handsets were notably absent.

Frankly, there may not be much to say at this point. Qualcomm used CES to give consumers a taste of what's to come, rebranding its line as it promised new performance breakthroughs.

Gone is the "S" preamble that used to identify Qualcomm chips, replaced by an even-numbered series identifier that conjures up visions of horsepower. The new 800 series, due this summer, offers four cores operating at speeds of up to 2.3 GHz per core with an integrated graphics chip for rendering even complex video with clarity.

To prove it, Jacobs invited director Guillermo Del Toro to the stage to show a clip of this summer's giant-monster-versus-giant-robot throwdown, Pacific Rim. An 800-series smartphone rendered the clip to the big screen in HD with high-quality sound.

But he wasn't done. Del Toro also showed a remastered Ultra HD clip from 2002's Blade II, in which bloodthirsty vampires feed. For me, it was quite possibly the most awesome part of the presentation. An audience of geeks cowering at Del Toro's in-your-face horror -- he introduced by the clip by calling it "jolting" -- as Jacobs stood to the side.

Call it a not-so-subtle reminder that technology is helping to enhance the cinematic experience in impressive ways. Pacific Rim should build on the theme.

Giant robots drawing battle lines
Qualcomm hasn't been much of a player in this area until now. But with more streaming occurring on mobile devices now, there's a battle under way to be the brains behind big-screen theatrics brought to phones and tablets.

In bringing Del Toro to the stage, Jacobs has fired a shot across NVIDIA's bow. The rival chip maker has already responded with the release of Tegra 4, also a quad core processor with integrated graphics likely to find it way into many Android devices. Qualcomm is hoping to position itself to get more of that business even as it bear-hugs Microsoft.

Ultimately, that may be the genius of Jacobs' presentation. Invite Ballmer to fire up the Windows crowd, position Qualcomm as the top dog in mobile computing, give a nod to Android, and remind the world that smartphones are today what PCs were 20 years ago.

What's Inside Supernova?
If you're an investor looking to profit from big ideas, you're in good company. Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner has unearthed dozens of multibagger winners by recommending and investing in revolutionary stocks before Wall Street catches on to their disruptive potential. If you're interested in how he discovers his winners, click here to get instant access to a personal tour behind David's Supernova service.

The article The Biggest Surprise in Qualcomm's CES Keynote originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Google at the time of publication. Check out Tim's web home and portfolio holdings or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool owns shares of Qualcomm and Google. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of NVIDIA and Google. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended creating a synthetic covered call position in Microsoft. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended writing puts on NVIDIA. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.