Macworld 2010: Apple Expo Without Apple

by Jordan Yerman | February 9, 2010 at 10:31 am

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Macworld Conference and Expo 2010 is underway in San Francisco, and Moscone Center will attract Apple third-party vendors and fanboys/girls, but Apple itself will not be showing up. (Macworld 2010 info)

The lack of Apple at Macworld has led to a definite slackening in the media's fervor for this event, though, for the end user, it's a great chance to come face to face with the folks that make all those peripherals and Mac-friendly gadgets, plus meet fellow enthusiasts.

Apple's pullout from Macworld definitely symbolizes its move to the mainstream: when you have hundreds of retail stores around the world, your customers have no problem finding you, so you don't need trade shows in quite the same way. This also means that vendors are less likely to show up at Apple-less Apple trade shows: only 250 vendors signed up for Macworld 2010.

“The really important thing with Macworld is that it’s popular, and it’s one of the last bastions where just a regular old user can come, go shopping and go to conference sessions,” said Paul Kent, International Data Group’s general manager of Macworld Expo 2010. “Macworld in the absence of Apple becomes a fan fest.”