Did Apple steal the CES spotlight?
Steve Safran January 10th, 2007
We were all wondering where tech news resources were going this week - would they focus on CES, where there are tons of companies rolling out products, or Apple? The live reports were from CES (partly because Apple makes getting news out so damn hard). If I were a company rolling out a product at CES this week, I’d be pretty jealous. IMHO, Apple stole the spotlight. With one product, Apple put the news focus on itself. It took chutzpah to put Macworld 2007 up against CES. And it worked. But that’s IMHO. What do you think?
38 Comments Add your own
1. discreet_chaos | January 10th, 2007 at 11:45 am
Personally, I think a lot of the hype is due to the Mac-centric view from parts of the media and the company’s cult followers. After all, it’s really just a phone with a couple of added features.
I also think that it may allow Jobs to puff out his chest with pride due to his scheduling trick and the resulting hype, but it really didn’t really do the rest of us any good. Heck, he could’ve held his tent meeting last week and then take the products to Vegas, instead of just giving himself something to crow about. IMHO
2. SS | January 10th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I agree discreet… the phone really isn’t revolutionary, it just looks better and combines a bunch of existing tech. What’s new? The camera? Ability to search the web? Playing music? Talking to people far away?
Is it well designed, yeah. Is it a step in the right direction, I think so, but it sure isn’t anything revolutionary.
I’d of much rather had the focus be on CES.
3. TechNomad | January 10th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
CES was this week?
4. Cory Bergman | January 10th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
I don’t think it necessarily stole the spotlight, but I think it IS revolutionary because of the large, high-res touch screen on such a thin device.
That makes video viewing and web browsing much more mainstream on mobile devices, and it’s the biggest step, therefore, in the direction of a converged single device.
And remember, Apple’s strength has always been usability. People love Apple stuff because it’s easy to use, while dripping with cool. In the marketplace, that’s what matters the most.
5. Troy Thomas | January 10th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
What Cory said. I’m a very recent “switcher” and I couldn’t be happier with my new iMac. I don’t want a Blackberry because of all the things Jobs said yesterday about those annoying keyboards and so on … will I get an iPhone? I think I might… but I’ll wait six months beyond summer launch to avoid technical hiccups…like Mr. Safran said earlier this week.
6. Bryan Murley | January 10th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Which is easier, to report on one thing, or 2,000? I think Apple won this PR bonanza simply because it was a single story, a single focal point. What’s the focal point of CES? Not one.
Whether the iPhone is revolutionary or not is not the point. It’s a phone … from Apple. who else was coming out with something totally out of its previous product lines?
Samsung introduces new line of TVs … yawn. MS introduces new server … yawn. TV on mobile … yawn.
7. Steve Safran | January 10th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Give it its due: it’s revolutionary. To call it “evolutionary” just wouldn’t be accurate. Too many advances for that tag.
Bryan - good points, all around.
Troy - I currently have a Verizon Pocket PC which, by comparison to the iPhone, looks as though it were designed in Soviet Russia. But I do like the slide-out keyboard. There’s something to be said for tactile.
And touchscreens worry me just a bit - I have accidentally brushed against the “hang up” button during a call or two. I can’t “feel” my way around the dialpad, I have to look. And I’ve accidentally made a few calls to friends who heard a mysterious silence (or the sound of me walking).
8. thedetroitchannel | January 10th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
hey, what ever happened to the introduction of the i-suppository???
dang.
9. discreet_chaos | January 10th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
I’m not ready to admit that it’s revolutionary, but maybe that’s just me and the fact that it’s tied to a single provider probably doesn’t help.
But to expand on something said and view it through Bryan’s excellent point;
Jobs could’ve insured two weeks worth of press, if MacWorld was last week and then he’d taken the phone o Vegas, where all of the other geeks could see it. Hack, just imagine the possible imagery of nobody in front of the Microsoft booth, while the crowd around Apple is ten people deep.
10. theTVaddict | January 10th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Apple stole the spotlight because it innovates. This year, CES was all about streaming content to your TV….. WOW, welcome to two years ago people (note sarcasm) — Slingbox has been doing it for years.
11. baker | January 10th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
The thing is, we ALL saw this coming and most of us were still blown away by the iPhone. That’s its success already — like we knew it was coming, but we never saw it coming. Whoa, that’s heavy broo.
I’m not a Mac-head, it took me years to buy an iPod, I’m rarely excited by gadgets, but i think Apple nailed it (well, except that Cingular-only thing) and I want one. More importantly, i can guarantee that other people want one. The mobile wars have barely begun and I’m already jonesing for the gadget field to be slimmed down. This one Apple product announcement has dug an early grave for other devices and it hasn’t even been released yet. Like crazy, daddio.
12. David Westin | January 10th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
The spotlight was stolen from CES. Just ask CNBC. WHile watching “Power Lunch” on Monday, anchor Bill Griffith had three (3) live shots interrupted. The signal went out during two of the instances, and the other appeared to go back to the news desk for a Breaking News update. Griffith was interviewing the Samsung CEO during the first meltdown and also during the second one; the third meltdown occurred when he was interviewing Robbie Bach from Microsoft. The interview with some guy from H-P had no issues.
Why doesn’t Apple just allow one of these cable outfits to air live Steve Jobs’ keynote?
MSNBC could scrap the time they use for “THe Most” show during CES to go live from CES. Who is going to watch “The Most,” a show which tries to report on what is big on the internet.
13. Vinny | January 10th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
You absolutely cannot call the iPhone anything but revolutionary. If you do, you obviously haven’t seen the keynote presentation and I highly recommend you do so.
14. Vinny | January 10th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
And as for CES, I haven’t seen any MSM coverage coming out of it whatsoever, yet those same outlets are all over the iPhone. Speaks volumes for how boring the CES has become (just ask all the tech journalists who either went grudgingly or stayed home altogether and read Engadget).
15. David Westin | January 10th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
The TVaddict is wrong. Sorry. Slingbox stream tv to the PC. THis year’s theme is streaming content on the PC to the TV. The exact opposite.
16. blackcloud | January 10th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
I think it’s significant the Jobs demonstration relied mainly on Wi-Fi to demonstrate the phone. It would be great if the Cingular GSM network were that fast, but buyers will be due for a SLOW surprise unless the cell network starts handling data much faster.
The device as a whole is an amazing feat of miniaturization and UI design, but the phone portion seems to provide no more than any other GSM phone.
17. flotsam | January 11th, 2007 at 10:51 am
who is the guy blogging as “david westin?” can he be THAT david westin or is he aliasing with someone else’s name?
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