ces 2010
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Steve Jobs asked to keynote CES 2010?
Update: More debunking of the Apple-to-exhibit report, from Peter Cohen and Chris Nuttall of MacUser and the Financial Times, respectively. According to the Wall Street Journal, Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Electronics Association, asked Apple CEO Steve Jobs to keynote the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. Given Apple's departure from Macworld, and the likely void that will be left at the event, it's no surprise that the CEA plans to capitalize on this and expand the Apple-related footprint at CES. 25,000 square feet of floor space will be dedicated to Apple-centric vendors at CES 2010, compared to the 4,000 square feet at this past year's event. Not surprisingly, Jobs, who has just returned from medical leave following a liver transplant, has yet to respond to Shapiro's requests -- and neither have Apple representatives. Speculation also persists that Apple will be making an official appearance at CES this upcoming year -- while the WSJ's Digits blog says Apple will have an official presence, our veteran former colleague Ryan Block & Engadget say "no way." If Macworld's January date (now February) proved an unnatural fit for the Apple product cycle, then surely CES is no major improvement. It, too, is held in January. Even if Apple tries to downplay its CES appearance (assuming it attends the show) by saying that it won't have any new products to introduce, or that it doesn't talk about unreleased products -- as it usually does -- will anyone really believe it? And if CES fails to bring anything new or surprising from Apple, the event will merely serve as a showcase of the company's current lineup. Said product offering, while far ahead of its competition in both form and function, is within an earshot distance of a drive for viewing at your local Apple store. What separates Apple events from those of its competitors is that, with a few notable exceptions (such as the iPhone and Apple TV), the company doesn't announce products -- it ships them. Which makes you eagerly await, speculate, and save that hard earned cash in anticipation for what will likely be hitting Apple retail shelves in a short moment's time. It's the promise of tomorrow's innovations that will likely be available tomorrow: instant gratification at its finest. Contrast this with CES, where many manufacturers showcase tomorrow's products and innovations that won't be available for several months, if not longer. Who knows, I may be wrong. Perhaps CES is the event where Apple unveils that much rumored 10-inch touchscreen tablet. In any case, it certainly would be an interesting sight to see Apple amongst the CES crowd, if indeed it chooses to make an appearance there. But, just as the first couple of seasons of interleague baseball took some time to get accustomed to, so too will seeing Apple participating at CES. Readers, what do you think? Should Apple and Steve Jobs participate at CES 2010?
iPod / iPhone CES pavilion sells out in record time, quadruples to include Mac products -- goodbye, Macworld?
Damn, it hasn't even been a month since Apple's final Macworld Expo appearance, and it already looks like the show's in trouble -- the CEA just announced that its iPod / iPhone-centric iLounge Pavilion sold out just a week after being announced, and that it's quadrupling in size to include Mac-specific products and retailers as well. That means there's going to be 18,000 square feet of CES solely dedicated to the Apple ecosystem, and without the draw of an Apple product announcement to bring the press to Macworld, it's going to be pretty tough for it to attract the top-tier companies and product launches it needs to survive in the face of the CES juggernaut. We'll see how this plays out -- we've got a feeling next year's Macworld is going to be dramatically different.P.S.- Regardless of what happens, we still think it's really unlikely that Apple itself comes to CES -- why would it ever want to share the spotlight?
CES 2010 to feature iPod / iPhone-centric iLounge Pavilion
Although IDG is still planning on holding a Apple-less Macworld Expo next year, it's going to have to start fighting some pretty big competition for exhibitors -- the CEA and iLounge.com just announced that CES 2010 will feature an iPod and iPhone-oriented iLounge Pavilion, dedicated to accessories for Apple's handheld devices. That matches up nicely with rumors that the CEA is making a push for more Apple-focused products at next year's show, and while we wouldn't ever expect Apple itself to show up at CES, we can definitely see Macworld fading into irrelevance as companies jump ship for a show guaranteed to attract a ton of attention with or without a Stevie J. / Philly Shills keynote. We'll see how it plays out over the next year -- for right now we're stoked to know that all the iPod docks at CES will be in one, focused location, allowing us to more or less ignore it just like we do the CES North Hall.
