Analysts: Macworld "underwhelming", "evolutionary"

[AppleInsider]

Apple watchers on Wall Street are weighing in on Tuesday's Phil Schiller-led keynote address at Macworld, which they found disappointing but somewhat reassuring when it comes to the continued role of Steve Jobs as the company's primary spokesperson.

Kaufman Brothers' Shaw Wu and PiperJaffray's Gene Munster both termed the event "underwhelming" in their reports, although they still maintain Buy ratings on the Cupertino-based company.

"Even though expectations weren't that high (especially with Steve Jobs not giving the keynote), we still found the announcements somewhat underwhelming," Wu wrote.* "This was arguably among the weakest product introductions we can remember over the last 10 [Macworlds].

Wu praised iPhoto as the most impressive announcement, writing "[Apple] continues to innovate on software, further differentiating its hardware."

Over at Barclays Capital, Ben Reitzes titled his report "Macworld: Evolutionary Not Revolutionary" and wrote that while Macworld "was not very eventful, we believe Apple continues to be the leading innovator in its space...building a loyal community across a range of devices."

Reitzes sees new iPhones appearing in mid-2009, stressing the importance of an improved camera with video capability.

As for Macs, Wu cited supply chain checks and asserted that "new Macs are at a late stage of development and ready for production, so we are somewhat surprised they were not announced."

But, according to Munster, that is proof Steve Jobs remains the spokesman and "active leader" of the company.

"We believe that Steve Jobs relinquished the Macworld keynote to Phil Schiller primarily because there were no significant announcements.* If Phil Schiller had made a significant announcement, we would have seen that as a sign of a changing-of-the-guard, but that was not the case," Munster wrote.

"Steve Jobs remains the primary spokesperson for the company and we expect him to continue to appear at special events for all major product announcements."

All three maintain their estimates.* Reitzes lists $113 as his price target while Wu is slightly more bullish at $120.* Munster's 12-month target is $235.

[Foo2]

If channel inventory is high and contractual commitments to OEM partners have not been met for existing products, why would Apple announce new computer models?

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Foo2

If channel inventory is high and contractual commitments to OEM partners have not been met for existing products, why would Apple announce new computer models?

why would Apple announce new computer models?

You can't announce what doesn't exist.

Unless you mean why should they ? And that answer would be because they're old and stale models-Mac mini and iMAc.

[aplnub]

Well, one thing is for sure. The vacuum of news that exists the day after. Talk about silence that speaks volumes.

[teckstud]

If Phil Schiller had made a significant announcement, we would have seen that as a sign of a changing-of-the-guard, but that was not the case," Munster wrote.

Munster is whack- Schiller introduced the G5 iMac at Apple Expo Paris 2004. NO changing of the guard then- there just was no new product ready. SJ even said he was recuperating so why this speculation?

[fellaintga]

Originally Posted by teckstud

You can't announce what doesn't exist.

Unless you mean why should they ? And that answer would be because they're old and stale models-Mac mini and iMAc.

Yeah that iMac what a pile of old junk barely has the power to run text edit.

Mac mini sure but if you bought one today the average user would hardly notice an iMac refresh.

[CILG]

I agree with Gene Munster on this one. Having Shiller as the spokesman was a way perhaps to fulfill any remaining obligations with IDG while not stealing any thunder from future Apple announcements.

[sequitur]

Macworld Coverage: Hits and Misses
Tuesday January 6, 2009
During a keynote address that Apple says will be its last from a Macworld Conference and Expo, Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing, handled himself with grace, delivering an excellent performance in a robust voice.

Unfortunately, the script Phil had to work with was anything but memorable. The crowd waited patiently for the (pre-2009) dependably gee-whiz product announcements. Phil started with marketing department reports about Apple’s market share, growth, and other typical items designed to whet the appetites of the Mac faithful. Then came the first product announcement: iLife ’09. Not exactly a heart-stopper, but Apple always saves the best for last, and the crowd is usually content to go along for the ride. The crowd expressed its appreciation for the elegance of iLife ’09’s new features, with a few ooohs and ahhhs for iPhoto’s new features.

Next came iWork ’09, with its satisfying, if not earthshaking, new features. The new web-based document sharing system was an obvious crowd pleaser.

The crowd was still waiting patiently when Phil started describing the first new hardware item: the new 17” MacBook Pro. The crowd appreciated the design of the new MacBook Pro, with its unibody construction and choice of a glossy or matte screen. (The crowd leaned heavily toward the matte option.)

Then suddenly, the hardware portion of the show was already over. Phil moved on to iTunes and its new pricing structure and DRM-free library of music. DRM-free is certainly a crowd pleaser, and the new pricing structure went over well as well.

And then the keynote was over. There was no ‘just one more thing.’ No stunning revelations. No new Mac Mini. No bump in the iMac’s performance. No iPhone nano. (If you’re keeping track, that means I went 0 for 3 in my top three picks, the things I most expected to see.) There wasn’t even a sneak peek at Snow Leopard, the next version of OS X.

In the end, I believe Steve stayed away not because of poor health, but because he knew this lackluster keynote would make him ill.

[minderbinder]

"This was arguably among the weakest product introductions we can remember over the last 10"

Probably the most common comment yesterday - despite the excuse of high expectations, the stuff announced yesterday pales in comparison to other keynotes (and some of those weren't even that strong).

[mjtomlin]

This is exactly why Steve Jobs didn't give the keynote and Apple pulled out of MacWorld; expectations are always set way too high for this keynote. Regardless what Apple has ready to ship, the media, analysts and rabid fans, expect something amazing and earth shattering to be announced. The only reason Apple went ahead and intro'ed the iPhone in 2007 was because the product had to be submitted to the FCC six months before release and would've been publicly disclosed. And funny thing is, even with that announcement there was a ton of negative reaction and speculation.

Personally, I liked the keynote. I thought Phil did a good job and all the announcements they made were excellent! But then again I watched without preconceived notions.

All the negativity is rather pathetic and just shows how self-centered people have become.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by sequitur

Macworld Coverage: Hits and Misses
snip

How about you don't use the size tag like that? It's ugly, makes it less readable and totally unnecessary. Just use bold if you have to emphasize something. Besides, the tacky hyperbole that you use doesn't help either.

I think it's unfortunate that people expect Apple to pull a rabbit out of a hat every presentation. True revolutions are rare, don't expect to see two revolutionary new products every year (MWSF & WWDC). If you do expect to see revolutionary products on every presentation, then you're just plain being unrealistic. These are solid improvements and it's unfortunate that Apple gets blamed when everybody works themselves up to unrealistic expectations.

[rnp1]

APPLE,
Hire a Vegas Magician next time. Even Penn & Teller or Steve Wyrick. Phil is dumpy and unenthusiastic. The crowd should have been cheering but they weren't worked. Apple wasn't demoing a new color of socks! The guy who showed of the great new version of iMovie way out shown Phil! Reading a script is an art and requires more than being a nice guy who is productive within a company and enjoys high cholesterol food. Just because MicroSoft has a portly bozo Balmer and a unsocial frumpy Gates as spokesmen, doesn't mean Apple can put on a show with someone who looks like they never owned or used a SoloFlex or a Breville Juicer!
This is real marketing-to the world, not a bunch of overweight college boys who drink beer and watch football and eventually flunk out! Maybe Apple was just trying to make Al Gore feel better, by having the Keynote read by someone less enthusiastic and more overweight than him!
Keep the stock price high! If you hire Tony Bennett, you can get an entertainer when Steve is gone to dazzle the crowd to rush to the Apple store and improve their lives with a newer Apple device or software!

[hmurchison]

Originally Posted by mjtomlin

All the negativity is rather pathetic and just shows how self-centered people have become.

I've noticed the trend. Since the return of Steve the more cultish fans have become addicticted to the pomp and circumstance of a Job's lovefest aka Macworld Keynote.

Frankly Apple's problem is sticking with a product or idea long enough to flesh it out but hell when you have fans that expect earth shattering changes every keynote that becomes a bit difficult.

In fact most Apple groundbreaking tech is so misunderstood at first it takes a while to sink in to the rank and file

[SpamSandwich]

It does reinforce Steve's dominance as Apple's spokesman/cult leader. They still need to do more to shift Steve's role to that of company cheerleader and evangelist. Would Steve go for it? Probably not...

[JDW]

Originally Posted by mjtomlin

expectations are always set way too high for this keynote. All the negativity is rather pathetic and just shows how self-centered people have become.

Please cut us a break. Apple itself is the one who has set the standard for what is to be expected at MacWorld. "MacWorld" centers on the Mac, which is an Apple product. It does not center on "us" technically, hence "self-centered" is largely irrelevant here. Everyone knows the Mac should always be paramount at any show bearing its name. And with this being their last appearance at MACworld, Apple should have exited with a bang. But now they will be know in the Apple history books as the company who existed MacWorld with one of the weakest showings anyone can remember.

Expectations are high because Apple made them that way over time. It's no different from telling your child on Christmas Eve, "Son, don't expect much from Santa tomorrow morning despite how generous he may have been to you in the past." Expectations are a natural result of what has taken place in the past, and has little to do with being "self-centered." If the child throws a temper tantrum after being disappointed at Christmas and starts to destroy the house as a result, he is dead wrong and requires a thrashing. But if he merely expresses calm and intelligent disappointment over what took place, regardless of how deep that disappointment may be, he should by no means be punished and tongue-lashed for it.

And even if you wish to argue against this line of thought, the fact remains that the poor Mac Mini has not been updated since 2007 and hence developed a lot of excitement and yes expectation surrounding a possible update at the show. I for one was anticipating the release so I could place an order for two of them right after the announcement. I can therefore only hope it will be released before March.

So please stop bashing your fellow Mac lovers who had hopes for something great (other than a notebook and other that software) at the show. We are all Mac users and lovers, and we should stand united because of that fact.

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by rnp1

APPLE,
Hire a Vegas Magician next time. Even Penn & Teller or Steve Wyrick. Phil is dumpy and unenthusiastic.

Jesus could not have saved the keynote, and Jobs certainly couldn't have. End of the day they had nothing "EXCITING" to show off. I though Shiller did a grand job, but they had shit all to enthuse me with product-wise.

They had no new products besides the 17" MacBook Pro, which interests me as much as a grain of sand. The fact that the keynote was crap was because they had no new mini, no new Apple TV, no new Tele, or no new Mac touch. I was half expecting to see something wonderful, I didn't. I genuinely couldn't give a shit that Jobs wasn't there.

[iVlad]

I am sure there's gonna be a special event pretty soon. Right after Stevo gets better. Perhaps April?

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by iVlad

I am sure there's gonna be a special event pretty soon. Right after Stevo gets better. Perhaps April?

You may be right, but I'd say it'll be before April. iWant new iProduct too

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Ireland

Jesus could not have saved the keynote, and Jobs certainly couldn't have. End of the day they had nothing "EXCITING" to show off. I though Shiller did a grand job, but they had shit all to enthuse me with product-wise.

You mean you weren't gaga for the super-sized MAcBook Pro?
I thought Schiller did great too.

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by teckstud

You mean you weren't gaga for the super-sized MAcBook Pro?
I think Schiller did great too.

Not gaga, not goo-goo.

[ascii]

Phil was ok I thought. The problem is not Steve or Phil but Ive, they are tapping a dry well with that guy. The software people continue to innovate (e.g. facial recognition in iPhoto) but at nothing like the pace of a few years ago.

To get their mojo back Apple should get Ive a room full of new assistants, or something else to inspire him, and the software team should have the whip cracked to get their pace back up to what it used to be.

[dreyfus2]

Originally Posted by rnp1

Just because MicroSoft has a portly bozo Balmer and a unsocial frumpy Gates as spokesmen, doesn't mean Apple can put on a show with someone who looks like they never owned or used a SoloFlex or a Breville Juicer!
This is real marketing-to the world, not a bunch of overweight college boys who drink beer and watch football and eventually flunk out!

Gee, the one guy is too thin, the other too fat... it is really difficult to make anybody happy it seems.

Schiller was doing extremely well for the little he had up his sleeve, and he was certainly more than a bit more articulate than most CEOs we have seen doing cameos during Apple shows (I still have not figured out if this AT&T boss was vomiting or talking when the iPhone was introduced). They had almost nothing to show. As this was not their timing, it is useless to blame them. Nobody in the entire western world launches a major new consumer product on the 6th of January...

[crees!]

Analyst: "We like it, but we didn't like it."

[minderbinder]

Originally Posted by mjtomlin

This is exactly why Steve Jobs didn't give the keynote and Apple pulled out of MacWorld; expectations are always set way too high for this keynote. Regardless what Apple has ready to ship, the media, analysts and rabid fans, expect something amazing and earth shattering to be announced.

Couldn't disagree more. Expectations were pretty low for this one, and what was announced was less than any keynote in memory, it disappointed regardless of expectations.

People have a right to judge announcements from apple - sometimes expectations are too high, but this isn't one of those times. Criticizing people for expecting "earth shattering changes" is simply a straw man argument, people were just hoping for basic updates to more than one piece of hardware.

I couldn't care less who does their presentation or how much pizazz he has, it's all about the products.

[ouragan]

I have to second analysts who qualify the last MacWorld keynote presentation as "underwhelming", especially as there were no new iMacs and MacMinis announced.

As I view Apple, there are no business desktop computers and, since Apple switched to Intel and decided to use mobile chips for iMacs as a cost saving measure, there are no consumer desktop computers.

It is important to understand that Apple is competing with other computer makers for consumer and business dollars. Apple computers must be competitive when buyers compare features, CPUs and prices.

Intel has been producing quad-core Penryn desktop processors since November 2007, but Apple stayed with lower powered, mobile, dual-core processors throughout 2008 for its iMacs (despite the fact that iMacs should be considered to be desktop computers).

The Core 2 Quad Q6600 65 nm CPU has been available for $266 since November 2007, and $224 since April 20, 2008. See:

- Intel to cut 65 nm quad-core processor prices for 45 nm @ http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/36136/139/

- Intel drops second quad-core CPU into the mainstream @ http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/37038/135/

- Have quad-core processors arrived in the mainstream? @ http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/36548/135/

- Intel adds cheap dual-core, quad-core @ http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/39135/135/


The Intel Core i7 desktop microprocessor was officially introduced on November 17, 2008. See:

Intel unleashes Core i7, beats itself @ http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/40213/135/

Core i7 PCs launch with prices from $1250 to $13,000 @ http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/40227/135/


The new quad-core Core i7 desktop processor is 20% more powerful than a quad-core Penryn desktop processor. It is already available on Windows desktops which sell for as little as $1250.

My question to Apple: How long will you wait before you build a competitively priced business and consumer desktop computer with a Core i7 processor?


Given Steve Jobs poor health and repeated cancer surgeries in 2004 and 2008 (according to an off the record telephone conversation with a New York reporter), and Steve Jobs' sick leave that could last 9 months, one should worry if Apple will be able to compete with Core i7 quad-core desktop computers running either Vista or the upcoming Windows 7.

ABC will broadcast tonight, Wednesday, January 7, 2009, a Barbara Walters interview with actor Patrick Swayze who is battling a pancreas cancer just like Steve Jobs. Watch the interview if you want to know what Steve Jobs is going through and why Steve was too sick to give the MacWorld keynote.

[minderbinder]

Originally Posted by crees!

Analyst: "We like it, but we didn't like it."

Well, kinda. More like "we like what they did show, but it wasn't much".

[aaarrrgggh]

But nobody is analyzing the 2.3MM Mac figure yet! No updated EPS guesses!

[minderbinder]

Originally Posted by ouragan

ABC will broadcast tonight, Wednesday, January 7, 2009, a Barbara Walters interview with actor Patrick Swayze who is battling a pancreas cancer just like Steve Jobs. Watch the interview if you want to know what Steve Jobs is going through and why Steve was too sick to give the MacWorld keynote.

There are different kinds of pancreatic cancer, and it sounds like the two don't have the same one.

Assuming that you can get an idea of what someone with a disease is going through (much less "why Steve was too sick to give the MacWorld keynote") from a celebrity TV interview is about the most idiotic and insulting thing I can imagine.

[tscurtis]

I'm sure the underwhelming nature of the MacWorld Expo was intentional.

Apple wants to break out of the cycle it's created where expectation of new product announcements in January causes a slump in December/holiday sales. There's also a clear negative stock price impact pre- and post- expo.

So, they announce that they are discontinuing expo attendance, throw in Phil Schiller instead of Steve, and purposely fail to announce any significant products. Perfect.

Apple has doubtless got lots of exciting products in the pipeline that will make consumers' and analysts' mouths water. Watch for them in the coming months.

[dreyfus2]

Originally Posted by ouragan

I have to second analysts who qualify the last MacWorld keynote presentation as "underwhelming", especially as there were no new iMacs and MacMinis announced.

As I view Apple, there are no business desktop computers and, since Apple switched to Intel and decided to use mobile chips for iMacs as a cost saving measure, there are no consumer desktop computers.

It is important to understand that Apple is competing with other computer makers for consumer and business dollars. Apple computers must be competitive when buyers compare features, CPUs and prices.

Apple computers have never been competitive from this point of view. And if Apple would target that, they would be facing severe problems... if they would build comparable machines they would have to match prices and businesses needing Windows would still not buy. All they would have is lower margins not being fully compensated for by additional sales. A recipe for disaster.

Businesses that do not need Windows (mine for example) do buy Macs. For most business tasks the Mini is more than powerful enough and the iMac is already having more power than needed. When buying these machines in numbers, project prices are not at all bad and the support and maintenance cost of Macs is highly favorable. Bottom line the premium is rather small.

Why should they upgrade the iMac just for the sake of upgrading it? There are no relevant new CPUs or chipsets available and Nehalem may not be here before July. Putting desktop CPUs into an AIO would likely only make them noisier... not needed. The Mini is already too noisy with a laptop CPU.

[minderbinder]

Originally Posted by tscurtis

Apple wants to break out of the cycle it's created where expectation of new product announcements in January causes a slump in December/holiday sales. There's also a clear negative stock price impact pre- and post- expo.

Interesting point. But apple will always face cycles and slumps when they only update a product once or twice a year. Even if this event didn't exist, sales of minis and mac pros would still be slumping over the holidays since the machines hadn't been updated in so long. The only way apple will ever avoid those slumps is if it updates on a regular basis, preferably as often as faster chips and components become available.

Along those same lines, machines on the high end will be somewhat cyclical no matter what apple does since consumers aware of Intel's release schedule will put off purchases when they know the next generation of chips is imminent.

[dapple]

Steve's trademark brilliance is all over the details that Apple announced at MacWorld 2009, IMO.

Apple manufactures hardware and software that the marketplace can match-up to consumers.

[Flounder]

Originally Posted by minderbinder

There are different kinds of pancreatic cancer, and it sounds like the two don't have the same one.

Assuming that you can get an idea of what someone with a disease is going through (much less "why Steve was too sick to give the MacWorld keynote") from a celebrity TV interview is about the most idiotic and insulting thing I can imagine.

You are correct. Jobs' Cancer is a rare, and fortunately highly treatable form of pancreatic cancer. Treatable because symptoms show up early. Five-year survival rates are extremely high.

Typical pancreatic cancer, like Swayze has, is usually not discovered until it's quite advanced and is normally a death sentence. The five year survival rate is under 10%. Frankly, it's fairly surprising that Swayze is still alive.

[xwiredtva]

Phil's pretty good at these public scenes. He did good. Seemed like he might have been under the weather a bit then if not recently as he seemed to build energy as the event moved on and sounded bit stuffed up in the beginning.

I was WOW'd by the iLife and iWork presentations. Not sure why it's always gotta be hardware. Like the first gen MacBook runs most of the apps any slower than the new one, heck a PowerBook G4 1.67 runs most of the apps just as fast as my MBP 2.6 C2D.
They really put another leap ahead of, well there really isn't any competition is there, everything out there. I think the developers did a great job. I'm seriously impressed. What's next!

There still missing the business segment... But maybe they'll get a department in the future to handle that with outside reps... Oh wait...

The jaw dropping moment however was the total mac sales for the year. A flat 4th year qtr for 08 it's gonna be, and I mean FLAT. Lack of Mini/iMac updates could just mean they haven't polished them up enough yet. Takes a bit to get the CNC machining just right ya know (and I do). Talking the product up only to say we'll offer it available in two months or weeks just isn't the same. They'll probably do their first iSeminar in Feb. to mark the release of these two systems and the update to AppleTV with Netflix integration.

Another jaw dropper is the MacBook Air Gen1 in the Apple Store refurb section for $999! However that's not event related. I can't be the only one who ordered 2....

All in all I went away pleased.

[Abster2core]

Originally Posted by ouragan

ABC will broadcast tonight, Wednesday, January 7, 2009, a Barbara Walters interview with actor Patrick Swayze who is battling a pancreas cancer just like Steve Jobs. Watch the interview if you want to know what Steve Jobs is going through and why Steve was too sick to give the MacWorld keynote.

It is too bad that I respect my fellow man to say that you are a frigg'n asshole.

[charlituna]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

"We believe that Steve Jobs relinquished the Macworld keynote to Phil Schiller primarily because there were no significant announcements.* If Phil Schiller had made a significant announcement, we would have seen that as a sign of a changing-of-the-guard, but that was not the case," Munster wrote.

"Steve Jobs remains the primary spokesperson for the company and we expect him to continue to appear at special events for all major product announcements."

i'm going to laugh if in like four weeks there is an on campus event to announce new iMacs etc and Phil is the one that takes the stage as the primary speaker.

Originally Posted by hmurchison

I've noticed the trend. Since the return of Steve the more cultish fans have become addicticted to the pomp and circumstance of a Job's lovefest aka Macworld Keynote.

Frankly Apple's problem is sticking with a product or idea long enough to flesh it out but hell when you have fans that expect earth shattering changes every keynote that becomes a bit difficult.

In fact most Apple groundbreaking tech is so misunderstood at first it takes a while to sink in to the rank and file

have to agree there. especially about the cultish fans. They, especially the stock folks, have put too much focus on Steve over the products. At least until now. this time the negative comments were at least about the lack of new hardware and not that Steve coughed twice and farted in the middle of his speech so he's probably only got like a day left to live at best.

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

It does reinforce Steve's dominance as Apple's spokesman/cult leader. They still need to do more to shift Steve's role to that of company cheerleader and evangelist. Would Steve go for it? Probably not...

given how much folks are digging into his private business I think that is basically what he is trying to do. take the focus off Steve and only the company as a team and the products

Originally Posted by ouragan

I have to second analysts who qualify the last MacWorld keynote presentation as "underwhelming", especially as there were no new iMacs and MacMinis announced.

but they never said there would be. in fact there weren't even that many solid rumors there would be. which is a shock because usually there are secret reports and photos like crazy before a big announcement. which makes them all a tad underwhelming because we saw it coming for weeks.

ABC will broadcast tonight, Wednesday, January 7, 2009, a Barbara Walters interview with actor Patrick Swayze who is battling a pancreas cancer just like Steve Jobs. Watch the interview if you want to know what Steve Jobs is going through and why Steve was too sick to give the MacWorld keynote.

I"m sorry. i didn't realize that you are one of Steve's doctors. you must be if you know exactly what he's gone through and how sick he is. and you must be treating Swayze as well to know that the two have the exact same kind of pancretic cancer.

[Bergermeister]

Some people (especially the "pros" on Wall street; recall the current money crisis) will be disappointed no matter what Apple chooses to release, and it is pretty funny reading what they have to say. Most likely most of them are dissatisfied with their own lives so they seem to have a need to transfer such to Apple.

The upgrades to iLife and iWork are pretty nice and we need to remember that it is the software experience that brings and keeps customers. Got a friend to switch last year by showing her how she could manage her family photos and movies, make a family homepage easily, make music (she's a musician), and what-not. She didn't really care about the box it came in (bought a MacBook); she was sold on the software, which just got even better. She called last night to say she is getting a Mac for her mother-in-law (who has 7 grandchildren; Faces, anyone?) and recommending one to her sister (who will travel to Europe and Africa later this year; Places, anyone?), based on the new apps alone.

So, while there are some geeks and pros out there who might have wanted a little more (I want a new Cinema Display for my MacPro), Apple makes lots of money off of average users and is trying hard to attract them, and many of them are buying laptops, which were just updated recently. So, the right move for Apple is to improve the user experience for those customers. There are other venues for releases such as ACDs, MacPros, so our time will come. Sure, the iPhone or the MacMini would have been nice, but perhaps they just weren't quite ready, which is part of the reasoning behind dropping out of an artificially created timeline.

So, for all the retractors, keep those posts coming, as is is fun comparing them to the ones from keynotes past (some people post almost verbatim every time).

[Hiro]

Originally Posted by Ireland

Jesus could not have saved the keynote, and Jobs certainly couldn't have. End of the day they had nothing "EXCITING" to show off. I though Shiller did a grand job, but they had shit all to enthuse me with product-wise.

They had no new products besides the 17" MacBook Pro, which interests me as much as a grain of sand. The fact that the keynote was crap was because they had no new mini, no new Apple TV, no new Tele, or no new Mac touch. I was half expecting to see something wonderful, I didn't. I genuinely couldn't give a shit that Jobs wasn't there.

I'm not singling out your post, just using it as a proxy for all the others like yours as well. I just have one question:

Don't you think Apple did the very nice but no mind-blowing Keynote on purpose, just to underscore the fact they want to be on their own release and announce schedule, not MacWorld's?

I think if Apple had not cut the cord there would have been several announcements for hardware shipping as late as early Mar. But now we will get those with "shipping this afternoon" or something like that when they are actually announced at a press event.

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by Hiro

I'm not singling out your post, just using it as a proxy for all the others like yours as well. I just have one question:

Don't you think Apple did the very nice but no mind-blowing Keynote on purpose, just to underscore the fact they want to be on their own release and announce schedule, not MacWorld's?

In a word, NO.

[Abster2core]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Apple watchers on Wall Street are weighing in on Tuesday's Phil Schiller-led keynote address at Macworld, which they found disappointing…

It wasn't long ago that we would anxiously wait for the annual Macworld Conference. And to some, keeping it secret was a sin; to some, not creating rumours of what was coming was a sin; while to others, it wouldn't matter anyway because they were going to dis the party no matter what was introduced.

But if we looked at what was launched, updated or presented in a space of less than one year, i.e., January 15, 2008 to January 6, 2009, only an extremely selfish, thoughtless individual would be disappointed.

Jan 8, 2008 Pre-Conference Teaser

• Mac Pro 8 Core
• Xserve 8 Core

And in less than one year…

January 15, 2008 Macworld 2008

• Time Capsule
• MacBook Air

February 5, 2008

• iPhone 16 Gb
• iPod touch 32 Gb

February 12, 2008

• Aperature 2

February 19, 2008

• Xsan 2
• iPod Shuffle 2 Gb

February 26, 2008

• MacBook
• MacBook Pro Multi-Touch Trackpad

March 6, 2007

• iPhone SDK

March 12, 2007

• AirPort Express 802.11n

March 18, 2007

• Safari 3.1

April 8, 2007

• Aperature 2.1
• Final Cut Server

April 28, 2007

• iMac Update

June 9, 2007

• MobileME
• iPhone 2.0
• The App Store

July 10, 2007

• iPhone 3G

September 9, 2007

• iPod touch
• iTunes 8
• iPod nano

October 14, 2008

• MacBook & MacBook 15" Unibody
• Apple LED 24" Cinema Display

January 5, 2009

• FileMaker 10

January 6, 2009 Macworld 2009

• iLife 09
• iWork 09
• iWork.com
• MacBook Pro 17" Unibody
• iTunes DRM-free

But hold it… Perhaps I am being a little brash. Afterall, these analysts work on the same street and with the same bunch of guys that decided to wager with investors' monies and home owners' monthly payments that has lead us into the worst economic disaster in decades. The same guys that we are now bailing out. The same guys that are still drawing huge bonuses while folks are losing their jobs, their homes and their lives.

As such, I would be a little disappointed too if I had to tell my clients that Apple's new offerings are unbelievable, but that they didn't have any money left in their oil futures to buy any of them.