2009 MacWorld Keynote Fails To Meet Reduced Expectations

January 6th, 2009

In the history of MacWorld keynotes, I’ve tried to be conservative when it came to expectations, dialing them back several levels to avoid disappointment.

Well, that strategy didn’t work this time.

I felt my list of predictions set the bar so low even a Dell executive could have walked over them. Still, Apple struggled to clear it:

  1. New Mac Mini: Better processors, graphics card, new form factor. (no)
  2. New iMacs: Better processors, graphics card, yada yada. (no)
  3. 17 inch MacBook Pro: The non-removeable battery rumor makes sense based on other products, most obviously the MacBook Air. Expect a slide with some stats about how little users actually remove their laptop batteries. That said, I still think it’s a bad idea. (yes)
  4. iLife 09: Addition of some online features. (yes)
  5. New Apple TV: Apple’s overdue to do something with this product, with added pressure from Netflix and Boxee. There may be some tweaks to the rental window and the addition of new services - Hulu would be a no-brainer. At most ambitious, I could see combining the Mac Mini and Apple TV into one product, but I’ll put that prediction as unlikely. (no)
  6. Snow Leopard: More details and demos of this OS with a big emphasis on speed. (no)

Items 3 and 4 were fulfilled. I thought 1, 2, and 6 were no brainers, and 5 really should have happened if only to keep ahead of the competition.

I suppose 1 and 2 might be saved for a “silent update” in the weeks to come. But I usually figured such silent updates were done to avoid distraction from something cool at the keynote - and there wasn’t much cool announced. The lack of Snow Leopard could be explained as being saved for WWDC. But if so, Apple missed a good opportunity to keep several steps ahead of Windows 7 buzz. The lack of Apple TV improvements, even just content-related, are notable. Netflix is making big inroads into bringing Internet video to the living room, along with Hulu, Amazon, Blockbuster, Boxee, and others, steadily chipping away at Apple’s once-presumed lead in this space. My interest in renting videos via the Apple TV and iTunes is fading quickly, and soon all our Apple TV will be is a media extender and an OS for Boxee, and that $99 Netflix / Roku box may yet become what the Apple TV should have been.

I was impressed by the face recognition in iPhoto - that will make tagging our family photos a lot easier. Google’s Picasa on the Mac, after only one day, is a fading memory. I also appreciated the removal of DRM from iTunes - that’s a big deal in terms of pulling the music industry into the future, and will make all my future music purchases from Apple worry-free, and pull me from Amazon. Thumbs up to both of those announcements.

Everything else, however, was a huge “meh.” The new MacBooks continue to be a purchase I can’t justify. I have little interest in iWork on the web. Not interested in Sting teaching me how to play guitar. I can’t even justify spending 99 cents to remote control an app I never use (Keynote).

In conclusion, I can’t really spin this keynote as anything but extremely “meh.” It’s so “meh” I’m struggling to write this blog post. Well, I guess that’s a sign I better stop here and quit while ahead.

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  • jcieplinski
    While I agree the announcements were underwhelming (and I was there in the room), I think that was the plan from the get go. Although tons of reporters are STILL saying otherwise, I think there can be no doubt that Steve handed this speech to Phil to help tame expectations, not for health reasons.

    And in many ways, that's really for the best. Let people walk away from the last Macworld thinking that Macworld isn't all that important in the product cycle anymore. If they had put on an incredible show today, people would have been left asking "why end it now"?

    Also, without big Apple announcements, attendance in the expo hall was muted today, and will probably continue to be lower than last year. This will help demonstrate that without Apple, Macworld is doomed to a quick death.

    If Macworld wants to continue in any capacity, they need to completely reconfigure the show into something that no one today would recognize.

    I expect iMacs and Mac minis in the coming weeks or months. First quarter, most likely. (If Apple really wanted to stick it to IDG, they'd release something next Tuesday.) Probably just a quiet press release for the iMac, if it really is just a speed bump. Maybe an event for the mini and the Mac Pro, both of which need to be upgraded to be more environmentally friendly. (Apple is pushing green lately almost as much as it is pushing thin.)

    On a side note, I thought Phil performed just fine, considering he had little material with which to work. He was obviously nervous at the start, but he got into a groove once he started doing demos, which is what he's used to doing. Face it, he's no Jobs, but he's still 1000 times more charismatic than Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer. Jobs and maybe Jeff Hawkins have always been the tech world's only good public speakers.
  • Well Joe you have a way of calming me down, as always. Anyhow, I do expect a
    Mac Mini / iMac update in the next few weeks - that will go a long way of
    easing concern that Apple is slipping.
    It will be interesting to see how MacWorld reinvents itself to stay relevant
    without Apple's presence. I am already assuming this MacWorld will be the
    last one I attend. I guess we'll see.
  • Yeah come on, I expected an iMac update at the LEAST. Now I have to wait even longer so that the price on the current gen drops (and I buy one). Sigh.
  • Yep my not-so-secret desire was to get a new Mac Mini and delegate the
    one I currently use as a desktop machine to the TV. A new iMac or
    Apple TV would have been a probable buy on my part, also. Oh well,
    hopefully Apple has something in store for all these products within
    the next few months.
  • While I agree the announcements were underwhelming (and I was there in the room), I think that was the plan from the get go. Although tons of reporters are STILL saying otherwise, I think there can be no doubt that Steve handed this speech to Phil to help tame expectations, not for health reasons.

    And in many ways, that's really for the best. Let people walk away from the last Macworld thinking that Macworld isn't all that important in the product cycle anymore. If they had put on an incredible show today, people would have been left asking "why end it now"?

    Also, without big Apple announcements, attendance in the expo hall was muted today, and will probably continue to be lower than last year. This will help demonstrate that without Apple, Macworld is doomed to a quick death.

    If Macwor... (comment via Disqus by jcieplinski)
  • While I agree the announcements were underwhelming (and I was there in the room), I think that was the plan from the get go. Although tons of reporters are STILL saying otherwise, I think there can be no doubt that Steve handed this speech to Phil to help tame expectations, not for health reasons.

    And in many ways, that's really for the best. Let people walk away from the last Macworld thinking that Macworld isn't all that important in the product cycle anymore. If they had put on an incredible show today, people would have been left asking "why end it now"?

    Also, without big Apple announcements, attendance in the expo hall was muted today, and will probably continue to be lower than last year. This will help demonstrate that without Apple, Macworld is doomed to a quick death.

    If Macwor... (comment via Disqus by jcieplinski)
  • While I agree the announcements were underwhelming (and I was there in the room), I think that was the plan from the get go. Although tons of reporters are STILL saying otherwise, I think there can be no doubt that Steve handed this speech to Phil to help tame expectations, not for health reasons.

    And in many ways, that's really for the best. Let people walk away from the last Macworld thinking that Macworld isn't all that important in the product cycle anymore. If they had put on an incredible show today, people would have been left asking "why end it now"?

    Also, without big Apple announcements, attendance in the expo hall was muted today, and will probably continue to be lower than last year. This will help demonstrate that without Apple, Macworld is doomed to a quick death.

    If Macwor... (comment via Disqus by jcieplinski)
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