MacWorld Expo 2010 Report Day 0・マックワールドエキスポ 2010 レポート 0日目 今年最後?

Yes, there really is a Mac­world this year… sort of. Every year at Mac­world, atten­dees are teased as they drive into San Fran­cisco and see Apple bill­boards along the sides of the high­way. The bill­boards don’t adver­tise the Mac­world show itself but they do let you know that this is Apple’s turf. You always won­der how these bill­board ads will change after Apple announces shiny new prod­ucts on the first day of the Mac­world show.

This year there are no bill­boards and Apple already announced their shiny new prod­uct, the iPad. They did it on their own terms. They did it when and where they wanted to do it. Walking towards the Moscone Cen­ter, one usu­ally expects to see the out­side of the South Hall dec­o­rated with Apple prod­uct ban­ners. Some ban­ners are exposed and some are still hid­den behind black sheets. That always adds to the excite­ment and antic­i­pa­tion lead­ing up to the first day of Macworld. This year the South Hall is being pre­pared for a Gift Show. One has to look across the street to the smaller North Hall to find signs of Mac­world. The South Hall has a few Mac­world signs but no Apple ban­ners, and of course no black banners.

With­out money from Apple and big name ven­dors, it’s obvi­ous that the IDG bud­get is lim­ited. The Mac­world Expo guide book is not a book this year. It’s a fold out map with the floor plan and ven­dor booth num­bers listed on one side, and a map of San Fran­cisco on the other. The absence of Apple’s pres­ence here is deaf­en­ing. Let’s hope that the exhibitors who are attend­ing this year can gen­er­ate some Mac­world excite­ment with some new prod­uct announce­ments tomorrow.