Apple Special Events make MacWorld not so special - and that's a good thing!
8/8/2007Yesterday’s Apple Event and the introduction of new iMacs, iLife ‘08, iWork ‘08 with Numbers, and the upgraded MacMini used to be the family jewels of the MacWorld Keynote by Steve Jobs. While I suspect that many people have grumbled that MacWorld Keynotes have lost their cache, I think it is a good shift for Apple. In fact, they should abandon the Keynote presentations all together.
It simply does not make sense logistically or marketing-wise for Apple time product launches to the calendar of a tradeshow. The tradeshow exists for the industry vendors and consumers, not for Apple. Everybody is already Apple’s customer. They don’t need anymore time in the limelight.
I hope IDG will accept the obvious and return MacWorld to Boston as an annual event. Boston is a central location between America and Europe, making it easier for European developers and users to attend. Apple will still host the WWDC on the left coast, and Paris will still be holding its Expo. There is no need to go to California for the Boston based IDG. By holding it locally (for them) they can make the logistics easier for themselves, and Boston is less expensive than either New York or San Francisco, which is good for everyone involved. The less expensive the event, the more easily people can attend.
The Northeast has a huge Mac user base, too. If IDG lowered the booth costs, then more vendors and more users would attend. This would be a win-win for everybody, including IDG, making MacWorld an even better event. Apple needs to be free to do their own thing on their own timetable. Of course, Apple should still have a major role at the show, but the event does not need to be built around the Keynote.
What do you say IDG? It’s time to come home.