Macworld '09: a show of no-shows

With Phil doing the honors, nobody really thought Apple was planning on revolutionizing anything this morning -- sure, there were plenty of rumors, like always, but most people weren't expecting the moon. What we were expecting, however, was for Apple to come clean on a few things, so bear with us as we file this missing persons report.

Notably absent:

• Push notifications. This was supposed to roll out in September and is sorely needed.
• Snow Leopard. Last June Apple said the OS was due in "about a year," so we would expect to start hearing a bit more about it -- or at least notification of a delay.

Woulda been nice:

• Matte display options for other MacBooks. Pretty please?
• Mac mini refresh. The little box has become woefully underspecced -- especially for the price -- and is also lagging a little in the design department.
• A mid-range tower. This is just wishful thinking, but seriously Apple: the demand is there.
• iPhone 32GB. In pink, of course.

Dodged a bullet (for now):

• iPhone nano. Our hands aren't getting any smaller, and this SimCity isn't gonna get plumbing all on its own.
• iTablet. Sure, it's been every Newton-head's dream since forever, but that doesn't mean the market for a UMPC-ish iPod touch-like device is there just yet.

Yeah, Apple doesn't have to do anything -- in fact, that yearly grind of expectation is probably one of the reasons the company is bowing out of Macworld altogether -- but would it really be too much trouble to at least drop some verbiage on some of this stuff? Just wondering, is all. Oh, and in case you're more of a visual type, Apple's video of the keynote is now online, hit up the read link for all the non-action.

[Dorian @ Jan 6th 2009 6:33PM]

I think it is pretty clear Jobs didn't do the final Keynote because there was nothing of much interest to announce! He would have been going out on a whimper.

[Paul Chapel @ Jan 6th 2009 6:42PM]

If Apple had included all that stuff that Engadget suggests, the Keynote would of been eight hours long. Spec updates don't make that much of a splash, because you can't demo them (unless you do a complete overhaul like the 17" Macbook Pro). More than likely there will be a return of the Special Tuesdays or whatever Apple calls them, over the next month.

And the iPhone Nano probably won't be released until July, if there is one.

[Mark Anderson @ Jan 6th 2009 6:48PM]

And they could have used the time to premiere things that people actually give a shit about.

Go figure.

[Archr5 @ Jan 6th 2009 6:49PM]

Totally agree. The hardware is what the majority of folks geek out about, we want to be mac fans we want to fill gaps in our lineups with more product, but those of us with a laptop and an ipod/iphone haven't seen anything worth the price of an upgrade in a while now.

They either need to drop pricing on the mac mini or refresh it at this point, it's a nice little box still and it's still relevant in the market because of its form factor, but it's now painfully expensive for what you get.

[Quix @ Jan 6th 2009 7:09PM]

Alas, this keynote may have been the lamest I can remember. I was itching to click a "Buy Now" button on a new iMac. Oh well, more money in my pocket.

And where is Snow Leopard? And where are the iPhone software enhancements? Seriously, a year and a half with no cut and paste...it's just getting embarrassing, Apple.

[skeptical @ Jan 6th 2009 7:13PM]

I think Jobs is jealous that Blu-Ray will undoubtedly outlive him...I wouldn't show my face either.

[Scott @ Jan 6th 2009 7:28PM]

Paul Chapel: "And the iPhone Nano probably won't be released until July, if there is one."

You don't think there will be a July this year?

[nohone @ Jan 6th 2009 7:44PM]

@Paul

I would not put much into your "predictions". After all, you said that there would not be a fixed battery in the new MBP, and the only reason for that is to make it thinner. Not only did they make the battery non-removable, but they also made it thicker.

[applefan2008 @ Jan 7th 2009 8:20PM]

your actually pretty right. I mean i was waiting and waiting and waiting, because i was almost certain that a new mac mini was coming seeing that it was probably one of the most talked about announcements(that never happenned). The iphone nano was big talk but a very large majority of us did not see that possible. I dont even think it is real. I really expected a new mini, and the rumor about the new macbook pro 17 incher came in only a few days ago, longggggggg after rumors of a new mini. i didnt even think the new mbp was even real, i thought it was another rumor. I actually got caught by suprise.... I was actually sort of dissapointed today

[CJ @ Jan 6th 2009 11:24PM]

Out with a wimper... instead of a (wait for it)... BOOM?

[/incrediblylazypun]

[OneLove @ Jan 7th 2009 11:27AM]

Looks like the Apple train is losing steam.

[xValentine @ Jan 6th 2009 6:35PM]

Notably Absent: Steve Jobs

[Jonathan @ Jan 6th 2009 6:53PM]

Seriously though. I get it Steve. You're sick. I don't care how sick you are - you should have been there. Let your buddy talk, but you should have said hello and waved.

[Jean-Michel Decombe @ Jan 6th 2009 7:12PM]

The bad: Steve Jobs notably absent
The good: John Mayer notably absent

[dandaman @ Jan 6th 2009 8:01PM]

@jean:
agreed. +a couple dozen.

[Testies, Testies, 1, 2... 3? @ Jan 6th 2009 8:05PM]

The Bad: This is the last Keynote at Macworld
The Bad: Really really lame product releases.


Who else is excited to get that powerful $800 2.0GHz Mac Mini?!

[lucas @ Jan 7th 2009 1:59PM]

i love it. griping about a guy that is suffering from a massive nutritional problem not being at some geek love tech fest that his company doesn't even run.

and then griping about stuff Apple hasn't made one comment about. All that talk of a new imac, mini, etc has all been rumor sites. folks "I wish" turning into "I heard" like those sleepover games of gossip.

yes it was a light presentation. but Apple probably couldn't get their money back and was committed to being there so why not present something. And as the first time someone other than Steve ran the show, it makes sense they wouldn't do anything to flashy cause if they announced all new hardware for the iMacs, the minis etc folks would be starting up the talk that it should have been Steve and he's lying and he's dying and that's why he wasn't there and Apple needs to be honest, they owe it to us and the shareholders and isn't it illegal to not tell that Steve is going to "epic fail" within days, since he is the only actual brain at the company and everyone else just does what he tells them to.

[Mark Anderson @ Jan 6th 2009 6:35PM]

A total yawnfest and a huge waste of live coverage for you guys.

Still unlike Gizmodo (LOL) you've at least had the sense to quietly let the stories die by drifting off the front page. No wonder your readership is on the up and they're pretty much screwed.

[Itsuru @ Jan 6th 2009 6:37PM]

Don't let fanboyism plague Tech blogs, they're both good sites.

[Mark Anderson @ Jan 6th 2009 6:40PM]

@Itsuru

Gizmodo was a good site, past tense. Engadget still is.

[sr @ Jan 6th 2009 6:58PM]

Whatever, that Jesus guy over there is a moron who single handedly reduces the quality of what would otherwise be a nice site to pure crap. TFSU? Where the heck does that idiot come up with crap like that? He keeps repeating it in his posts too.

He is such a blatant Apple fanboy, that he'll make the most stupid arguments in defense of Apple and it's stupid decisions like non-user replaceable batteries and what not. Go there right now, and while he himself only has a few posts, the site as a whole has something like FOURTEEN Apple related posts on the first page. And that is from a Macworld that had basically: NO NEWS.

[Surur @ Jan 6th 2009 8:28PM]

A recent Engadget survey showed more than 50% if engadget readers preferred Apple computers. This does not mean 50% of Windows users prefer macs, it means engadget drove away 50% of their readership with their incessant Apple coverage.

For every reader who complains here that he will leave if he sees another iPhone story, probably 10 have already left, probably to smaller blogs which actually cover the hardware and software they use.

Engadget has recently made attempts to change (you can see it in their more neutral coverage of WM phones, without their usual sarcastic mention of the iphone) - who knows if those readers will come back however.

[The Dude @ Jan 6th 2009 8:30PM]

@sr:

The guy also wrote a piece not too long ago gushing with fangirlism about Steve Jobs. It was around the time were rumors about his poor health were at their height. He dropped the banhammer on commenters who called him out on being a rim-jobber. They didn't even go so far as to say it, some of them. Some just questioned how objective his perception was and *BAM*. It was really awfully written, his fangirlism aside. So many awful stylistic conventions...EUGH. That site has become a shit-hole.

[Hamidxa @ Jan 6th 2009 9:54PM]

Surr,

Nice post.
Gizmodo shows the same trend:
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/gizmodo.com

Fact of the matter is that sites such as Endadget and Gizmodo have manifested a rather ostensible bias towards Apple, and as you noted, their incessant posting about every single minutia that comes out of Apple or Steve Jobs' ass has turned a lot of viewers off.

I seldomly visit Engadget these days, and Gizmodo at all (they are even worse than Engadget), but truth of the matter is that if these sites keep up this bias (catering to that nominal 8% Apple crowd) then their sites popularity well reflect their partisanship.

[Neha @ Jan 6th 2009 10:24PM]

You must be new but it used to way worse. I give Josh credit because Engadget has been remarkably balanced in this past year and this Macworlds coverage is testament to it. It used to be multiple inane vapid posts per every keynote slide or silly feature. Now I think they're getting the vibe that people are getting tired of iCrap and iHype.

Not hearing Ryan Blocks 'thoughts' on every thing that is percolated about Jobs and Apple is also been welcome.

The tarts over on Gizmodo have picked up the slack though....they're turning into a bunch of Militant iBoi's enforcing the evaporating RDF on their few readers.

Keep up the great work and coverage at CES! I wish I was there.

[Mark Anderson @ Jan 7th 2009 3:35AM]

Apple are a major player in the gadget world and should have a lot of coverage. That's beyond dispute. However, it is good to see that Engadget have taken a more balanced approach to coverage - it wasn't so much the volume, more the sly and tired digs at some non-Apple products, particularly if those products emanated from Redmond. Fair play, as they say in Wales.

Gizmodo is just a lost cause and will remain so whilst Lam and Diaz are allowed to indulge in their excesses.

[Hamidxa @ Jan 7th 2009 4:30AM]

Mark,

I disagree.
Apple are no more a significant player in this industry than say Sony, or IBM, or Microsoft, and yet they receive a totally disproportional amount of extra coverage over the aforementioned players both on here and Gizmodo.

Microsoft is 2x larger than Apple and have a product line that dwarfs Apple's offerings if you think about it.
Similarly, IBM is a larger company than Apple and there are a plethora of innovations which stem from their offices on a daily basis.
How about Google? They too possess a larger market cap than Apple, and they too have literally hundreds of innovations that they are working on at any given moment, and yet Endadget's coverage of said endeavors is sparse compared to Apple's seemingly trivial notices and updates.

Face it, Apple is no more in the right to get coverage than MS, Google, Sony, IBM, heck NASA for that matter, and yet they do.
This is all a manifestation of an ostensible bias which need not be defended by anyone, and I say once more, if Engadget insists on remaining as pervasive in their coverage of Apple as they have been in the past, then they stand to lose an even larger percentage of their readers than they already have.

[Hamidxa @ Jan 7th 2009 4:38AM]

Oh, and just to be clear Mark,

Engadgets readership is NOT up.
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/engadget.com

The last quarter shows a nearly 40% decline in readership.

If you take a look at the last year, its greater than a 200% loss in readership.

Engadget is, as noted by others such as surur, driving away / turning off a large percentage of its once base by catering to the nominal Apple crowd in glaringly obvious ways.

Like I said, I and a few other friends who once used to frequent this site find ourselves turning more and more to places such as Wired or /. for our tech news these days.

Gizmodo has been crossed off my list, Engadget is close, and if they say "dont let the door hit you on your way out" ...well they should give pause and reflect on the 200% others who did, and the many more who yet may if they don't wisen up.

[Mark Anderson @ Jan 7th 2009 5:49AM]

@Hamidxa

I think you misunderstand me - by 'a lot' I do not mean 'every time Steve Jobs farts'. The fact does, however, remain that Engadget is fairly US centric, aimed at consumers rather than corporations and Apple are a major player in the computer industry (10-15% US domestic usage), the mobile phone world (the iPhone's market penetration is as good or beter than the N95's was) and the PMP world (where Apple really do utterly dominate). To suggest that they shouldn't be granted a proportionate amount of coverage just doesn't make sense.

As for your stats on hits, you'll note that alexa only covers a year and that traffic across all tech sites - Wired and slashdot included - has decreased over the year with peaks in the midyear. Although it may not seem palatable, the iPhone and other gadgets do drive interest and it may be the case that a lot of that mid year traffic is driven by Apple - or rather reporting on Apple which engages people in discussion. To suggest that particular sites are dropping off purely because of an overfocus on one company may not be entirely sensible although I have no doubt that the likes of Gizmodo are losing traffic, or at least commenters, because of this.

[michael smith @ Jan 6th 2009 6:36PM]

I saw a poster somewhere that said "The start of a new era." I think this has to do with Apple being fine without Steve as such a figurehead celebrity. They didn't blow anyone away with exciting new products, but honestly they haven't done that since they released the iPhone. I think they are proving that all the Steve hype doesn't REALLY effect what they do that much...

[Mike @ Jan 6th 2009 6:39PM]

So what does this mean for the mac Mini? my mom has been waiting forever to buy one on the hopes of an upgraded model?

[Patriks7 @ Jan 6th 2009 6:43PM]

"The start of a new era" is an IDG poster meaning that the new era is the time without Apple actually being at Macworld, but the Macworld still being there..

[nikster @ Jan 6th 2009 6:54PM]

The start of a new era poster is referring to next year's Apple-less MacWorld. Watch the new era last about 5 minutes. I'd be surprised if it happened at all next year despite the posturing. We have seen how long Boston lasted without Apple presence.

[CraigJ @ Jan 6th 2009 6:57PM]

@Mike

Probably nothing.

[michael smith @ Jan 6th 2009 7:18PM]

(freakin comment system - I wrote this once and lost it!)

You guys are right. That is where I saw that poster. Sorry.

Nonetheless, my point can also be made about Apple having Tony Bennett sing "The Best Is Yet To Come". I think they're subtly saying that they're better off not at Macworld and not having Steve do all the presenting. Don't you think that Apple is better off not having Steve be the sole front man? That's the point I made in my own blog yesterday (link above). I wish SJ well and pray that he will recover, but I think Apple (and SJ) took proper advantage of this decision. As an lover of *most* apple gear, I hope that with or without Steve, they have lots of innovative technologies still coming.

I also believe it's better for them to not be locked into this yearly event as when they release new products. Now they can keep better secrets (because bloggers look for leaks more before these events), and they can innovate and release products as they're ready. I think it's better for everyone in the long run.

[Jean-Michel Decombe @ Jan 6th 2009 7:21PM]

Doesn't matter what happens to the MacMini. What matters is that your Mom seriously craved one, which tells us that you've been luckily endowed with seriously awesome genes.

[JInx @ Jan 6th 2009 6:40PM]

It wouldn't be right to most people to introduce new products without Steve. There will most likely be a transition keynote for when Steve Jobs retire which will be soon I might add (sad to say he was cool but not godlike)

[lucas @ Jan 7th 2009 1:59PM]

that's where the trouble is. for too many people Apple is Steve Jobs. Not the products. Pulling Steve out of doing every announcement, especially by himself, is clearly an attempt to show folks that there are more cooks in the kitchen and they are all just as smart as Steve and to say to the stock folks that they need to get off of Steve and focus on the products. A stock price drop because no need iMacs is one thing. A drop because Steve farted is ridiculous and yet it has been happening and unfortunately likely still will. It's so bad that Apple could announce the machine to out wow all machines. The ultimate computer, all at a price even your granny on social security could afford. and yet all the analysts will focus on is that Steve looks a bit gaunt today.

[jakem @ Jan 6th 2009 6:42PM]

What about a $200 leather case for the iPhone?

[iKurt @ Jan 6th 2009 7:44PM]

Google "Louis Vuitton iPhone case"

[mitchell_pgh @ Jan 6th 2009 6:44PM]

iPhoto 09' was the only item that even made me consider spending money. That's generally not a good thing at a trade show.

While I'm an Apple fanboy, I have this feeling that Apple has reached critical mass with their current offerings. The glaring holes for me are:
- Inexpensive tower
- Netbook contender
- Big screen, low price laptop

I'm comfortable paying the Apple tax, but when I can't find a system that speaks to me, that's a problem.

[BobTurbo @ Jan 6th 2009 7:22PM]

I am just looking at the iPhoto 09 video now.. that app blows anything on Windows out the water. Managing photos is, like many things on Windows, absolutely abysmal. All the apps from google, adobe, and microsoft themselves absolutely suck complete ass.

[Randall Kelley @ Jan 6th 2009 6:44PM]

Yes, I'll feel bad buying the new Sony ultrportable and hacking it to run OS X and then Apple decides that something smaller than 13 inches would be nice.

[lee @ Jan 6th 2009 6:44PM]

I am really disappointed no new mac-mini, I would have bought one, not gonna buy the out of date one.

[go seki @ Jan 6th 2009 6:51PM]

They could have substituted Jobbs with his Simpsons character
.. in fact they could have done the whole show as a Simpsons episode
.. Mapple is far more entertaining than this yawn-fest.

[The Number 1 Cubs Fan @ Jan 6th 2009 6:51PM]

Aren't there multiple days of MacWorld? I mean, any of these could show up in the next few days of MacWorld...

[HiLoFi @ Jan 6th 2009 7:06PM]

Mapworld fnar

[CraigJ @ Jan 6th 2009 6:55PM]

Of course it was. Apple and the investors was getting tired of the rollercoaster ride the stock took every time Mac World didn't meet expectations. I didn't expect anything and I wasn't really disappointed. I think the only reason the MBP 17 was rolled out here and not alongside the 15" was because they needed time to get it right.

I work for a software company and I can tell you first hand how marketing's insistence on new stuff for the trade show screws up the dev cycle, and things go out half-baked and in general the shit storm surrounding the trade show ends up delaying projects in the long run.

I, for one, would rather see Apple (or any other firm for that matter) launch products when they are ready, and not as dictated by a trade show schedule.

[penguinking14 @ Jan 6th 2009 6:56PM]

to be honest, I didint think that there was going to be anything all that spectacular aside from the 17inch MBP (its siblings were released long ago - october) and hopefully a new mighty mouse and cinema displays. All that plus a mac mini refresh. Macworld has long been the time for hardware with WWDC being the time for software, and I understand that Apple wants to host its own trade shows for product announcements, but seriously Phil...WTF! This was possibly the most boring Macworld I've seen yet (I've been keeping tabs on Macworld and WWDC for about 3 or 4 years now) and just as I hoped you guys would leave with a bang, you left while everyone slept at your news instead.

Oh well, with Jobs gone I guess I couldn't say I expected much and my thinking was actually that Phil wouldn't deliver to many new gadgets, but no new gadgets? (17in MBP doesn't count as it's sibling have already been debuted) All the software talk was so not work an hour plus of my time.

/Rant over. Time to go make a youtube video on all this...

[Magnulus @ Jan 6th 2009 6:58PM]

If they said Snow Leopard was going to come out in about a year six months ago... What does that tell you? To start expecting it in January? Is this where a robot adversary in an eighties cartoon would start going "Does-not-compute! Does-not-compute!" and then explode?