“Well, it was a strange Macworld Expo this year. Steve Jobs, usually the looming presence over this four-day Mac/iPod/iPhone confab in San Francisco, was completely absent. Apple had a toned-down presence, and everybody knew that next year, the company won’t be here at all, which made everyone wonder how long the event can survive,” David Pogue reports for The New York Times.
MacDailyNews Take: Look at history to determine Apple-less Macworld Expo survival rates. They don’t last long, if at all.
Pogue continues, “So how was Apple’s final keynote presentation, given by marketing executive Phil Schiller? Since everyone’s expectations for hot new announcements were about zero, it’s safe to say that the keynote pretty much fulfilled expectations. There were no new category-busting products, no shockers. But there were some smaller, evolutionary gems.”
Here were three of my favorites:
• iPhoto ’09
• iMovie ’09: “Vastly more usable and complete than was iMovie ’08.”
• DRM-free iTunes Store music
Pogue reports, “I spoke with Phil Schiller after his talk. I asked him if he could be any more specific about why Apple pulled out of the Macworld Expo… He said what the Apple press release said–that Apple stores introduce more people to Apple’s products in a week than 100 Macworld Expos. Trade shows just aren’t worth the effort and the money… He noted that Apple marches to certain annual product cycles [and] January doesn’t fit ANY of them.”
Full article here.
Phil is true in his words. Last year, they introduced the MacBook Air……..and that was basically it. The Laptops got refreshed in Feb as well as the MacPro (or was it end of Jan)……..
Meh.
I seem to recall the Pro was introduced the week preceding Macworld.
I suppose the future introductions will more closely follow Intel’s “Tick, Tock”, save radical new products.
Why doesn’t IDG take the big hint from Schiller’s comments and actually ask Apple if they would participate (mostly like by doing a launch of sime kind) in a MacWorld if it came at a better time of year for Apple?
Seems pretty obvious to me.
I could care less about the expo…I know some people love it.
I care more about the Macworldmagazine…I really hope it survives…yet, how many more times can the title be “10 ways to speed up your Mac”? MacMall has now resorted to bimbo looking girls almost on every page.
I always wondered why Macworld wasn’t in October, right before the holiday season. Maybe holidays are too much of a distraction?
“Apple marches to certain annual product cycles [and] January doesn’t fit ANY of them.”
Bingo! January is always the worst month for retail sales. Everyone is paying off their Xmas expenses and saving for inevitable taxes due in Feb. Aug-Sept (pre-school year) and October (pre-Xmas) are always best for new product announcements.
Apple’s new announcements was the only thing keeping MacWorld SF alive.
“He said what the Apple press release said–that Apple stores introduce more people to Apple’s products in a week than 100 Macworld Expos.”
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This may be true if you count the people actually in attendance. However, the Macworld buzz and Steve’s keynote has traditionally gone far beyond just the people in attendance.
Heck, just about every tech publication and journalist in the world report about the announcements. Not to mention, all the local news stations reports as well as the millions and millions of web viewers who watch the keynote..
So in that sense, Macworld reaches far more people than what Apple stores do in a week..
I’d like to see Apple expand the WWDC to include a show floor for consumers.
-jcr
“MacMall has now resorted to bimbo looking girls almost on every page.”
Two questions:
1) So what?
2) What the hell does that have to do with Macworld?
Amazing that Apple says the trade shows are not worth the effort.
The amount of free Publicity Apple gets is worth 10’s of millions of dollars. The products released at Macworld are usually front page news all over the world.
You’re right Dick. Phil probably doesn’t have any idea of how much publicity MacWorld does for Apple. You should be consulting for him to help him along.
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Trade shows will eventually be a thing of the past. and since technology leads this, the tech trade shows will be the first to go.
The main side benefit of the trade shows was introducing you to new hardware and software by non-Apple vendors. It was a good, all-in-one-location way once a year to learn about them and try them out.
At least Pogue didn’t have to keep his chapstick handy with Steve-O not in attendance.
Apple is basically telling all developers – we don’t need you.
“Apple is basically telling all developers – we don’t need you.”
Really? And what is the World Wide Developers Conference for then?
The MacWorld Expo had pretty much become the “iPhone show”, and Jan is a really stupid time to launch new product.
This move makes sense for Apple (but I’ll miss the Expo).
“‘m not saying I won’t miss the keynotes, but you have to admit they’ve been pretty stale over the past few years.”
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Actually the keynotes over the past few years have been just like every other Macworld keynote over the last decade with the exception of the 2007 keynote where the iPhone was introduced..
That’s the problem, every keynote since has been compared to the iPhone keynote. That’s a lot to live up to…
Heck, last years keynote was the MacBook Air, pretty revolutionary, but still, it was considered a dud compared to the previous year..
Why didn’t IDG ever move MacWorld to a more logical month in the first place, instead of its absurd placement just a few days after Christmas.
Even though, certainly comparatively, Phil is a little personality-challenged, I think people do like Phil. And I also think he comes across as trustworthy. But, he’s always going to be overshadowed by the presence of, or the ghost of SJ. Then again, everyone else probably will be, too.
@ all of you suggesting a different date for the Macworld Conference and Expo
Venues such as San Francisco’s Moscone Center are booked years in advance. Finding a week long period that is regularly vacant at Moscone is probably impossible.
It is more than probable that Apple will always be more at WWD’s events and leave the “anouncements” be a simple marketing task over the www chanel.
“Mac World Expos” can be all going on in a dematerialized mode… costs less and gather far more audiance than inside a single room…
I don’t believe Apple for a second: if MacWorld’s timing is so bad, they why are they rumored to be attending CES which is held AT EXACTLYT THE SAME TIME OF YEAR?
Explain THAT one if you can!