Post by ۞Quaalude™۞ on Jan 6, 2011 18:58:19 GMT -5
The trade show, which officially kicks off Thursday, will be inundated with iPad-like tablet computers, iPhone-like smart phones and Internet-enabled televisions to rival Apple TV. There is even an "iLounge" that will feature companies hawking carrying cases, docking bays, car chargers and other accessories for Apple products.
"Apple is the phantom haunting CES," said Yair Reiner, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. "The show is supposed to be about new and innovative products, but to a large extent what you're going to see is the rest of the electronics world trying to catch up to what Apple is already doing."
Apple stopped participating in industry trade shows altogether in 2009, when it withdrew from the Apple-centric MacWorld conference, where for years Chief Executive Steve Jobs took the stage to show off the company's new products. Now Apple, whose market capitalization recently passed $300 billion to make it the second most valuable U.S. company behind Exxon Mobil Corp., makes product announcements on its own timeline.
It's a mark of the company's influence that the most-anticipated devices to be rolled out at the show are those that Apple either pioneered or has recently become a major player in. The annual gathering of the world's tech industry draws more than 100,000 people.
At CES, one visible skirmish will be among the manufacturers that will release tablet computers to compete with the iPad. Apple released its bestselling tablet in April, sending competitors scrambling to develop their own. Meanwhile, Apple has sold nearly 13 million iPads, which start at $499, analysts estimate.
By next year, the tablet market is expected to reach close to $34 billion — with Apple accounting for more than 60% of the sales, according to projections from JPMorgan Chase & Co QC
articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/05/business/la-fi-ces-apple-20110105
"Apple is the phantom haunting CES," said Yair Reiner, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. "The show is supposed to be about new and innovative products, but to a large extent what you're going to see is the rest of the electronics world trying to catch up to what Apple is already doing."
Apple stopped participating in industry trade shows altogether in 2009, when it withdrew from the Apple-centric MacWorld conference, where for years Chief Executive Steve Jobs took the stage to show off the company's new products. Now Apple, whose market capitalization recently passed $300 billion to make it the second most valuable U.S. company behind Exxon Mobil Corp., makes product announcements on its own timeline.
It's a mark of the company's influence that the most-anticipated devices to be rolled out at the show are those that Apple either pioneered or has recently become a major player in. The annual gathering of the world's tech industry draws more than 100,000 people.
At CES, one visible skirmish will be among the manufacturers that will release tablet computers to compete with the iPad. Apple released its bestselling tablet in April, sending competitors scrambling to develop their own. Meanwhile, Apple has sold nearly 13 million iPads, which start at $499, analysts estimate.
By next year, the tablet market is expected to reach close to $34 billion — with Apple accounting for more than 60% of the sales, according to projections from JPMorgan Chase & Co QC
articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/05/business/la-fi-ces-apple-20110105