Mobility technologies take centre stage at CES

LAS VEGAS (AFP) - Qualcomm chief Paul Jacobs was officially crowned the star of the mobile-centric tech industry Monday, offering a glimpse of the power of new devices to transform people's lives.

But as Jacobs delivered the main keynote for the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, he briefly ceded the stage to a familiar face: Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, a longtime keynote speaker himself, who made a surprise cameo appearance.

Microsoft, which had been the core of CES events in the past, made a highly publicised exit from CES last year. But Ballmer returned for a few moments to discuss new Windows mobile devices with Jacobs, who has quietly become a key figure as the tech sector swings toward mobility.

"Mobile is transforming industries and redefining the way we live," Mr Jacobs told a packed crowd in Las Vegas on the eve of the opening of the world's biggest electronics trade show.