Report: Apple Move To CES ‘A Done Deal’
7:18 am, January 12th, 2009, Ed Sutherland
Will Jobs Join Gates at CES 2010? (photo: Domain Barnyard, Flickr)
Apple’s move to CES from Macworld Expo “is a done deal,” AppleInsider reported Monday, confirming last week’s Cult of Mac story breaking the news.
AI cited unnamed “sources close to” Apple.
The move is designed to provide a greater contrast between Apple and its rivals, including Microsoft and Palm. Leaving Macworld also marks Apple’s departure as only a computer company and positioning itself as a larger consumer electronics player involved in cell phones, gaming and software.
While Apple’s Mac OS has always been compared against Microsoft, attending the same tradeshow as the software giant would draw a sharper contrast, according to the Apple-oriented blog.
Although Apple’s involvement would allow the Cupertino, Calif.-based company to go head-to-head with Microsoft, CES would reduce some of the pressure Apple felt to unveil immediately-available headline-making products. By contrast, Microsoft has used the annual tradeshow to introduce products that often are not available for months.
The Consumer Electronics Show over the weekend confirmed its next year’s show would include a section devoted to “Apple-related” products. CES executive Jason Oxman confirmed the new Apple focus to CNET. The report follows talk CES was discussing such a move with Macworld Expo vendors.
Posted by Ed Sutherland in News | Comment on this article
I don’t think Apple is worried about its cult following. Rather, I think it’s the fact that, when you combine the focus on iPods and iPhones with the ever-changing chips Intel offers, they aren’t guaranteed to have new Mac products to show in January, and it’s Mac products that people expect to see at Macworld. Going to CES gives them more flexibility. They can show Mac or consumer products and then hold their own events to show off whatever they didn’t cover at CES.
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Shawn, on January 12th, 2009 at 10:04 am