All Articles Tagged ces

UPDATE: Ryan Block returns to Engadget to smash this rumor.

At no point did Gary even remotely imply that Apple would be present at a future CES — let alone state flatly that Apple “will be there” in 2010.

Oh, WSJ…

ORIGINAL. The Wall Street Journal is reporting, almost off-handedly, that Apple is planning to attend CES 2010, a trade show it has avoided up until now, and arguably eclipsed in 2007 when it announced the original iPhone at the then similarly timed Macworld Expo.

Apple pulled out of future Macworlds, causing the expo to change focus and time slots for 2010, but the idea of Apple actually showing up at CES instead? To quoth Dieter: Cats and dogs — living together!

The meat of the WSJ’s story is actually that Steve Jobs has been invited to Keynote at CES but isn’t returning their phone calls. While Jobs owned the spotlight at Macworld before handing the final show over to Phil Schiller in 2009, Jobs would be one of several Keynotes at CES, including lovable competitor Steve Ballmer of Microsoft.

Would Jobs settle for “one of”? Would Apple, after leaving Macworld and saying they prefer to set their own schedule for special events, and that they reach more people via the Apple Stores every week anyway, really want to return to almost exactly the same formula with CES?

We doubted it, and still don’t believe what our eyes are reading.

With Apple announcing that Macworld 2009 would be its last, rumors began to fly that maybe CES 2010 would get Steve Jobs’ attention instead. TiPb still isn’t buying that — given Apple’s stated reasons, it makes no more sense for them than Macworld.

However, now word comes that iLounge has begun working with the CEA (the organization behind CES) to create an iPhone (and iPod) “iLounge Pavilion” at CES as a rallying and gathering point for exhibitors — perhaps in lieu of Macworld 2010.

iLounge seems to feel this is necessary to help proactively preserve and project forward the iPhone and iPod community given the perhaps uncertain future of Macworld.

Macworld (the magazine, not expo, though they share the same parent company) editor Jason Snell, however, on Twitter expressed concern that iLounge might have crossed a line beyond merely being proactive.

Hearts and souls are likely still hoping for a strong and vibrant Macworld next year, but are pragmatic minds and wallets turning more towards CES? And what lines should — or shouldn’t — be crossed when it comes to media (new or old) covering events, or each other, while having or making alliances with competitive events?

As I’ve said many times before on TiPb, I’m a Palm guy going back to the Palm V, and Treo guy going back to the Treo 600. When Palm essentially abandoned that user-base (see my Palm Treo Pro Round Robin video and review) a few years back, I abandoned them and dove headlong into the iPhone (and now the iPhone 3G).

I still have a very warm spot in my heart for Palm, however, their innovation in the smartphone space, and their focus on zen-like user experience. So, when Palm announced their new WebOS platform and premiered their new Pre handset at CES (see our new baby sibling site PreCentral.net for all the details and a massive hands-on video), I was more than just a little ecstatic. I won’t lie, it’s the first post-iPhone device that’s caught my attention.

Don’t get me wrong, I still fear for Palm — the market is much more crowded than it was when they helped create it, and for all the problems WebOS and the Pre solve, they bring their own set to the table. However, watching the Palm Keynote fro CES I, presented by former Apple iPod father Jon Rubinstein and Palm founder Ed Colligan, two things stood really stood out for me:

• What Palm outright stole from the iPhone and put in the Pre
• And what Apple should immediate steal from Palm and put into the next iPhone OS.

We’ll get into both, after the break.

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No sooner to rumors sprout that Apple may have abandoned Macworld only to show up at CES next year, than the CEA decides to pour some miracle grow on them. Says CNet:

Jason Oxman of the CEA confirmed Saturday that the group “dedicated a special area at the 2010 CES to Apple-related CE manufacturers.” That immediately sets up an alternative for companies thinking about exhibiting at Macworld 2010, which will not have Apple present for the first time in 12 years.

No word on Apple itself actually attending of course (Dieter thinks it will never happen), but with Macworld sending out free early-bird registration offers already, this could be a way to try and lure in Mac- and iPhone-centric third parties very much on the fence about 2010.

Who would still go to Macworld if CES gets its Apple on next year?

Apple Insider is reporting that Apple is packing up the graceful booths and elegant displays, and taking Steve’s winnebago to CES next year:

Sources close to the company have indicated to AppleInsider that the move is a done deal, a remarkable turn of events given that CES has long been dominated by Microsoft’s product announcements issued in keynotes delivered by Bill Gates and now by CEO Steve Ballmer.

TiPb has long felt that Apple has long felt it was too aloof for the tacky lights and hollow glitz of Vegan and CES, but could the times really be a changing that much? And if Apple does go to CES 2010, which Steve will give the Keynote, Ballmer or… Jobs?

Confession: I’m just leaving Macworld and haven’t had a chance to form much of an opinion about the Palm Pre yet (see pics). TreoCentral (and our new baby sibling site, PreCentral.net) absolutely KILLED it on the first impressions, and make sure you check out the live blog (and congrats to Dieter on the trifecta of Schiller, Balmer, and Colligan all in one week! Superstar!).

The Treo 600 was my first smartphone, the 680 my last before the iPhone, so I have great fondness for Palm despite them leaving me “out in the desert” (TM, TreoCentral TreoCast) for years and years. I want them to succeed, I want them to force the entire industry to keep up the innovation and revolution the iPhone started. I want Steve Jobs and Apple to run back to the drawing board and feel compelled to make the iPhone HD 3.0 even better than they intended.

Read the rest of this entry »

TiPb isn’t the only Smartphone Experts site working our tails off this week. Our editor-in-chief, Dieter Bohn is pulling the live-blogging trifecta, going straight from Macworld to cover Steve Ballmer’s CES kickoff tonight at 6pm PST for WMExperts AND for the (very much anticipated) debut of Palm’s next generation NOVA hardware and OS for TreoCentral — not to mention everything AndroidCentral. Never to be out done, CrackBerry Kevin (with a full on CrackBerry Crew!) will push any and all BlackBerry news they get their cracky hands on. Check out all our sites throughout the day for the latest, greatest, most Smartphone-geeky coverage.