Nobody cares about CES 2013 because Apple’s not there

“There is a palpable sense of what can only be described as “Meh” coming out of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show,” David Gewirtz writes for ZDNet.

“Here’s the thing, and I hate to even bring it up. Think about this for a second,” Gewirtz writes. “Who’s the world’s most successful consumer electronics company? Yeah, if you mentioned Apple, you’d be pretty much right (there’s some executive at Samsung right now with a fist in the air, yelling ‘Damn you, Apple!’). Okay, let’s try a related question: what consumer electronics company generates enormous buzz when its new products come out? Sigh. Apple, of course.”

Gewirtz writes, “Ready for the third question? Here it is. What well-known consumer electronics behemoth didn’t bother to show at the Consumer Electronics Show? Yep, that’d be Apple… We have too much crap. We’re in a dull, dismal economy. Most of us already have one of this and two of that and four of that other thing. New introductions already seem like also-rans after just a day. And there’s no buzz. Worse, even Apple is starting to seem boring. They’ve already shot their wad and we’re all just wondering what new thrill they can offer us.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: David is right about CES, it’s been that way for many years now, but he couldn’t be more wrong about Apple. This is the calm before the storm.

“I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it.” – Steve Jobs, August 24, 2011

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Edward W.” for the heads up.]

21 Comments

    1. As NPR pointed out this morning……How about HZO whose protective coating lets them through an iPhone into a fish tank then place a call to it???

      Oh yeah. NPR also pointed out that Apple and MS are there. And they fly in consultants to help them pick out what technologies shown there are of significance. In fact the “C” in CES is becoming less important.

  1. Everyone is wrong on this piece of propaganda. I am here on site and the place is hopping! Love Apple but Apple does not have the monopoly of great talent and this is in clear evidence here.

    Lot’s of great innovations and that is just fine even if you sleep in Apple Inc. pyjama’s. 🙂

    1. its hopping every year, mostly because the porn convention used to be next door

      how many products on display will die by the end of the year? like the ridiculous nvidia shield thing

  2. @ Thundervolt

    Exactly. The author is trying to be hip but comes across as dull, clichéd, crass, juvenile….and obsessed with ejaculation….sounds like a tipsy conversation in a bar or a text. Must be slim pickings if zdnet has to resort to publishing a casual text type thing posing as intelligent thought.

  3. Actually, the presence of Apple IS felt at CES in spite of its absence. A large part of what’s on display is either Apple-inspired, or designed to work with Apple tech. Note how many accessories, apps, and products are iOS compatible (usually before Android compatibility), and now Lightning and Thunderbolt solutions are showing up in greater numbers in response to Apple’s stewardship. Apple may not BE there, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t any relevance there.

  4. Its a matter of time for Apple to beg for going back at Ces! Have you seen xperia z? Keep your boring Iphone…nothing coming to brainstorm you from Apple in the near future! THERMONUCLEAR MY A..

    1. Surely the whole point of a show like CES is to advertise your latest gizmo to the world. Apple just gets on with what Apple does best and really doesn’t need to jump up and down to prove how good they are – we already know it anyway. Just look at the sales figures – the iPhone is worth more to Apple on its own than ALL of Microsoft, just that one product. Subject closed I think.

  5. I love all my Apple products and believe me I own all of them. But there are other technologies that Apple is not in. I love to see all of them. Apple usually takes a new technology and makes it better. So to see what’s new and coming interests me. I am huge Apple fan, but take your blinders off and embrace new technology. It is only when Apple grasps it that you Apple only fans, as myself jump on it. Lets face it Apple has copied a lot of new technologies and made them better. So don’t hate on new technologies, just know that soon Apple will copy it and make it better.

  6. There are some posters here who seem to be a bit defensive on the issue of CES.

    I don’t think anyone here (and certainly not MDN) is arguing (or even just implying) that there is nobody out there worthwhile except Apple. CES is a show where companies that produce consumer electronics come and show their newest products. There is plenty more in consumer electronics than iMac, iPod, iPad and iPhone.

    The point of the argument is, compared to the years past, CES is becoming less and less interesting, and in many ways, it is because Apple continues to ignore it. Now, this may seem a bit illogical, since Apple never participated in CES (they used to do MacWorld Expo around the same time of the year). The point is, as Apple becomes increasingly more significant player in consumer electronics, a trade show without Apple becomes increasingly less and less relevant.

    MacJoy seems to be enjoying this year’s convention, and I’m sure it is “hopping” alright. Compared to previous years, though, it has certainly lost a major part of its significance, and as Apple’s role in consumer electronics continues to grow, the CES’s relevance will continue to erode.

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