The idea of running game content on a second screen, one that can interact with the world and environment on your console, is a holy grail of sort in the video game world. Conceptually, the idea has been around for well over a decade, but we've never seen it truly implemented; and it's the implementation -- not the theoretical concept -- that matters. SmartGlass could make that a reality, though when it was introduced at E3 a couple of weeks ago, the company didn't have any actual gameplay enhancement examples to show off. Maybe it needs an Xbox Windows tablet.

Any and all of these are possible fruitful directions for Microsoft, and any could be in play right now.

Nvidia has made a lot of noise recently with its for sub-$200 tablets. The bottom line about Kai is that Nvidia has taken the time to qualify different components, and to put together a reference design that's a blueprint for third-party manufacturers who want to easily build an inexpensive tablet with components that meet specific optimization criteria.

Reference designs generally originate from hardware manufacturers, such as chipmakers Nvidia or Intel. But imagine, for a moment, if Microsoft were to put its enormous resources into helping its OEM customers take a few shortcuts to the optimal Windows tablet -- which effectively is what Nvidia does for Android tablets with its Kai platform. Microsoft could help jump-start the Windows tablet market by guiding direct manufacturers to a blueprint reference design, so tablet makers won't have to research every last detail for themselves.