“After 11 consecutive keynotes at the annual Macworld Conference & Expo, Apple Chief Steve Jobs has learned that the only way to win the expectations game he created around his appearances is not to play. Breaking with tradition, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller–not Jobs–will deliver the conference’s keynote address on Tuesday. This will also be Apple’s final appearance at the event,” Brian Caulfield reports for Forbes.
“Apple is hinting its move is all about taking control of the timing of its new product introductions–and the surges of hype–that accompany them,” Caulfield reports.
“Pulling out of Macworld is, at least in part, all about opting out of a cycle of that had Apple scrambling to complete new products in time for Jobs’ keynote. [Plus] Apple may simply lack a showstopper to unveil next week, so it makes sense for the company to downplay next week’s event,” Caulfield reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If Michael Dell canceled a keynote speech, nobody would even notice, much less write 157,000 articles about it.
Actually, I like a set time of the year for major Apple product announcements. I will miss Macworld and Jobs’ keynote there. It was like a state of the union address for tech in general.
Let MacWorld disappear. Then let Apple start AppleWorld. It can take place at a more convenient time which does not ruin the holidays for those involved in preparing for the event. And it will run better. More people can hear Jobs without waiting for 6 hours. It might even extend through the weekend to allow more people to come. It makes sense to have an event that generates a lot of interest, PR, money etc.
This makes sense and is logical… Apple has been tied to Macworld and WWDC for product announcements and I feel like the product quality has suffered… It would be better to keep WWDC (as a DEVELOPERS conference – not a consumer product release party) and use their invite-only on-site events for product announcements – on their schedule.
Quote from David: “This makes sense and is logical… Apple has been tied to Macworld and WWDC for product announcements and I feel like the product quality has suffered… It would be better to keep WWDC (as a DEVELOPERS conference – not a consumer product release party) and use their invite-only on-site events for product announcements – on their schedule.”
WWDC is better for Apple right now because most software developers will gather around to seek new announcements from the company and it is best to not know until after their event. I think this WWDC is a driven force to their sales and the business plan. Looking forward to the very last Macworld announcement and WWDC 2009 anyways.
“WWDC is better for Apple right now because most software developers will gather around to seek new announcements from the company and it is best to not know until after their event.”
It depends on the announcement.
One reason to go to WWDC is to see what’s new from Apple and to figure out how it will fit into your company’s products and development plans.
Several years ago, Apple announced all sorts of neat iPod stuff at WWDC–including the Airport Express which allowed you to stream audio. Of course, the only app that could use it was iTunes, the stream was encrypted and Apple would not give out the keys to third-party developers, and there was no way for anyone else to use the device except Apple.
So it was basically a waste of time for third-party developers to even attend the keynote. There was no information that was in any way useful for developers.
So, no, I don’t want to spend $1500 to learn about Apple’s new products unless they somehow relate to a potential third-party developer’s business. New Macs, new iPhones, new software? Great. New agreements with car-makers or movie producers for the iTunes Store? Don’t waste my time or money.
Apple has shown a penchant, lately, for announcing products and being late on delivery. Maybe they need the prodding of a deadline to deliver products as promised, especially if they hope to stock retail stores.
I think Apple will regret leaving Macworld – an expo for all the ancillary products that make up 50+% of the Mac experience. If that seems like an exaggerated figure, think if all the missing revenue from Mac gaming. You won’t have many switchers if the number of Mac compatible devices declines again.
On a sour note, I think Macworld should move the event back to New York. No sense having it in your old girlfriend’s home town.
I’ve been traveling to SF for Macworld every other year for the past eight years, last time in 2007. We almost were going to pass on going this year and we got last minute flights with miles. Good thing I didn’t pay for the keynote – this would have been the first year I was going to do that.
I am saddened because this is my last Macworld Expo (and probably everyone else’s). Very curious to see how the events unfold next week.
So, instead of “Developers, Developers, Developers!” Steve seems to be saying, “Consumers, Consumers, Consumers!”
Good for Phil. We’ll know something is wrong with Steve if he doesn’t give any speeches in 2009.
Apple lacks a “show-stopper”? I guess that falls under the question of “what constitutes a show-stopper?”. They have to talk about Snow Leopard. They could well have announcements available for iWork’09, iLife’09, Bento 3, the quad iMac, the new (quad?) Mac mini, the latest in the iPod line, and why they will NOT be announcing a “net book” (but may announce an iPhone maxi).
None of those would “stop” the show, I guess. But all would get applause. LOTS of applause. Show SLOWERS?
It may be that Apple, Inc (as opposed to Apple Computer Inc.) intends to reveal “just one thing more” at CES. Which, in view of the directions Apple seems to be making these days, may be a lot more appropriate for a Jobs keynote than MacWorld.
“MacDailyNews Take: If Michael Dell canceled a keynote speech, nobody would even notice, much less write 157,000 articles about it.” Who knew Michael Dell did any keynote speeches? Why would anybody want to hear him anyway? He has not made a prediction that
came anywhere close to happening. His company has had few products that could be called cutting edge. His hardware designs are BORING at best.
It’s all about releasing products on their own cycles.
Read this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jan/02/apple-macworld-lookback
Also, the “Start of a new era” banners are from IDC, too.
It obviously refers to the fact that Apple is pulling out, but IDC plans on continuing with the event.
This is a smart move on apple’s part. Why rush development on some products. Another thing that got annoying was when they announced products and then they weren’t available for 3+ months.
However, I don’t think this means apple doesn’t have any new announcements. Infact, this could be the best keynote ever. There’s the Mac mini and iMac which are defiantly getting updates. The time capsule and appleTV may be updated as well.
Then there’s plenty of potential products. Cloud applications, iPod Home (the 7-9 inch tablet), Macbook Nano, iPhone Nano, Macbook 17 inch unibody.
tuesday will defiantly be exciting and defiantly disappointing, given that its the last one. But I fully expect Steve Jobs to walk out on that stage and deliver a brilliant 1 more thing… and shock the world with his health.
What ever! MacWorld was never about Apple, but more of a meeting place and support area for Macintosh users. This was way back when Apple would have gone out of business if it weren’t for their user base and Macs were sold by word-of-mouth. It was the red-eyed Mac-head fanatics that were selling the Macintosh.
Apple’s participation was to help encourage the user base with further excitement in future Apple purchases. It was also where you could find some cool 3rd party hardware and software that worked great with your Macintosh.
Since then, Apple has advertisements, brick and mortar Apple Stores, on-line App Stores, iTunes Stores, as well as an impressive support section on the web. We’re even seeing Macs, iPods, iPhones and other Apple products sold at other stores across the country.
As far as the keynote rushing products to market. I disagree with that. The products were always later than announced release dates. It’s the Macintosh competitors who were the ones who rushed to get their copy-cat products out.