“The week after next, waves of people will descend on Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. Nearly every major computer and consumer-electronics company in the world will be there,” Lee Gomes reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“Except Apple Computer. That company will be having its own MacWorld [Expo] show that same Tuesday back on the Coast. But such is Mr. Jobs’s sway in the industry that the 150,000 people at CES will spend all day Monday in Las Vegas wondering what Apple is going to be doing the next day in San Francisco,” Gomes reports.
Gomes reports, “Apple is rumored to be preparing its iTV product, a living-room style device that will do for television what the iPod did for music: integrate it with the growing amount of video appearing on PCs. The counter-rumor is that Apple will use MacWorld to introduce its equally long-awaited iPhone. In either case, the Apple device will get the sort of attention that only something from Apple can muster.”
Gomes reports, “In the case of iTV, chances are excellent that it can be the sort of transformative product that the iPod was. The iPod wasn’t the first music player, but by dint of good design and a tsunami of marketing, it has become a global brand. (Even my mother has one.)”
Gomes reports, “The new iTV will bring video to the living room. Any number of companies make any number of products that purport to solve the media “convergence” problem: finally linking the couch-potato TV experience with the computer. As holy grails go, it’s one of the holiest for the computer industry, and much of that industry is punting the problem over to Apple. After so long, to still be the vessel for the hopes of so many is quite a deed.”
Full article here.
Related articles:
Steve Jobs to deliver keynote address at Macworld Expo San Francisco 2007 on January 9th – October 03, 2006
CNET: Macworld Expo and CES double booked in January 2007 – January 13, 2006
It will be interesting to watch future writings from Lee Gomes. At the bottom of Apple’s fortunes in the mid-90s, Gomes wrote article after article tearing the company apart. At the time, I wrote Guy Kawasaki, who was then publishing the now famous EvangeList, and asked if all the incredibly bad articles were orchestrated in part by a concerted PR attack from another, nameless company. His response was interesting, something like this: I can’t discuss it, but there’s more going on behind the scenes in the PR wars than you will ever know.
Why do I mention this? In the light of the stock options backdating issue, it will be interesting to see if Mr. Gomes, or someone likes him, really starts to force the issue, and call the integrity of Steve Jobs, not to mention Apple, to question. I did read that many smart people on Wall Street think that in the end, it will be a non-issue. But there are certain competitors of Apple well adept at the art of FUD, especially applying it to influencing certain journalists and analysts.
I can’t be sure, and I won’t single out anyone. But dear friends, keep an eye peeled for future PR wars. If it comes to pass, don’t be surprised. It’s an ugly world out there behind the printed page and the talking heads on video.
i’d B disappointed in just an iTV. i’m taking a hit on my AAPL shares. i jus want something that’ll make up 4 the stock opyions debacle.
“I did read that many smart people on Wall Street think that in the end, it will be a non-issue.”
Well, having a less than reputable image certainly
didn’t hurt MS.
In the end, all investors care about it making money. If Apple continues to show it’s a vehicle of growth, they’ll come back. If not, it’s time to move on.
I think they’re still growing and that the stock “scandal” will be drummed up in the media for lack of anything else to say, but that it will ultimately only raise concern about a couple of people (not Steve).
Guy Kawasaki. Man, he sure worked hard for Apple when the times were tough. I wonder how he’d do in today’s environment, where Apple is not down and out. I bet he could really evangelize!
Anyone know the over/under on how many minutes/seconds it will be before Steve says – “and, boom… it just works!”
Will it be before or after he introduces iPhone?
iTV has no sex appeal and will not WOW the audience – only the long-awaited mobile device will do it and only then IF it is something that none of the hundreds of fakes we have seen prove to be absolutely wrong!
Speaking of Guy Kawasaki, please…
My memories and impressions of Guy K. were of a guy with great enthusiasm but who came off as very naive. He was ineffectual. He compared riding in an F-16 fighter with using a Mac with a Moto 68040 chip in it. Totally naive. The guy had no clue. He was window dressing for geeks.
I found his boustrous presence distracting, annoying and childish. It’s exactly the kind of image that business didn’t want to associate with, and why M$ was able to position itself as the serious business friendly alternative. Compared to the silly face of Apple with Guy K. Windoze looked “professional.”
Please let’s don’t go back to Guy K. and that kind of superficial image.
You know you are at the top of the pile when they say:
“Apple’s fate is in question because of this stock option thing, oh yes, and hunderds of other companies too. “
All the talk AFTER the keynote will be about how Steve was “off his game”, how he looked, sounded, and acted like a man under seige by the FBI and assorted other baddies out to get our hero.
Anything new, exciting, and/or otherwise Keynote worthy, will be lost in the speculation about his future.
Too bad.
The iTV could be a lot more than what he showed us in the preview. There is a lot that was added and/or not told to us. I’m sure it will wow us if it gets any amount of time at MacWorld. But it’ll probably be one of the first things talked about, then he’ll move on to better and bigger things.
The stock will take a hit with the accounting scandal, but the health of the company is good so this is not like Enron.
I bet Apple will announce their sales at MWSF as they did last time. Too tempting for Jobs not to ram home how well the Macs and Pods are doing. 2M / 20M sold. iTunes over 2B songs sold.
iTV will either be described further or launched. With movies being available I see no reason to hold up release if it is ready.
iPhone won’t be released.
Hopefully a true video iPod.
New monitors, spiced up mini, airport ultra to coincide with the iTV.
The big thing will be Leopard preview. Ship date won’t be announced till late Fed / early March.
I want an updated MacPro machine, even if it’s just a price revision and a speed bumped model.
Of course, an eight core machine would be awesome but I’m not holding my breath.
I want a MacPro that can give a good handjob instead of the second CD tray drive.
“I want a MacPro that can give a good handjob instead of the second CD tray drive.”
If you search the internet, there’s probably a hack out there to case mod a MacPro involving a Fleshlight, some foam filler and a script to repeat the eject function from slow and steady to a crescendo. And don’t forget the script to command Princess or Victoria (or Bruce) to moan for you.
P.S. Don’t forget to turn off and unplug your Dremel before testing.
Screw the Vegas expo. That’s for big bores like MS.
I’ll be split between MacWorld and the Detroit Auto Show.
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Steve needs to introduce the iPhone by dialing up Gates or Ballmer, live on stage, and telling them all about it.
Wouldn’t it be sweet…
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I thought about posting a commentary about Guy Kawasaki, but I realized that his work speaks for itself.
Volumes, in fact, and far better than anything I could say.
While some people can speak volumes, but end up saying nothing.
dialup: Steve needs to introduce the iPhone by dialing up Gates or Ballmer, live on stage, and telling them all about it.
ROFL!!! Good one, dude!
ACK! The MDN Magic Word was “social,” as in “welcome to the…”
Oh, the horror!
BTW, one of my favorite things to do at Circuit City and other stores is ask them if there’s a waiting list for the Zune. Hehe…
Then I ask if people are camping out for them like the Wii.
The “waiting list” question always gets a laugh out of the clerks.
I’d listen to Steven even if had to trade his black turtleneck for an orange jumpsuit.
The iTV better be something more than an upgraded Airport Express if Apple wants it to be a big hit. If I want to listen to my music on a hi-fi it is easier to connect an iPod to it; same with photos, although admittedly that would mean a lower resolution. Streaming music videos, television shows from the iTunes Store does not sound worth a lot of money.