My sister and I went to San Francisco to check out the MacWorld exhibit hall. The iPod has definitely started a resurgence of interest in Apple products -- unlike last year, every square inch that could possibly be used as exhibitor space was utilized, and it was actually pretty hard to take good product photos at the show. While the introduction of the MacBooks and the new revised iMacs with Intel was pretty major, it wasn't quite as cool as the iPod shuffle being introduced.
Like last year we managed to get there a little bit before the exhibit halls opened and take some photos of crowds assembling outside Moscone and some of the San Francisco advertising billboards. And just like last year, the billboards changed after the keynote was over. This year, about half of the billboards were advertisng MacWorld, which were replaced by what seemed to be Apple's theme for the show: "What's an Intel chip doing in a Mac? A whole lot more than it's done in a PC."
I'm not really quite certain that MacWorld should be called MacWorld anymore. The emphasis now seems to largely (from the number of vendor products at the show) seem to be largely targeted at the iPod.
iPod car integration still seemed to be very popular.
Flickr Photoset: MacWorld SF 2006
For a full summary, read on.
Laptop Bags
Not as many as last year, but the ones that were being displayed tended to be a little bit more thought out in terms of usability and ergonomics. Props go out to Brenthaven, who showed some real insight in placing pockets and compartments to hold items. They have a pocket designed to hold an iPod and a headphone port. They also come in powder blue and brown, which was different from many of the vendors there.
iPod cases
Stop with the iPod cases already! in addition to the multitude of containers to hold your regular iPod, they had cases for the nano, mini and shuffle on display. At least a quarter of the convention floor must have been iPod cases. I saw a variety of styles, but nothing that stood out.
Software
There were a couple of notable pieces of software that I thought was interesting at the show:
- Plasq's Comic Life, a software program that creates comics out of photographs. It comes with a set of filters to give photos the appropriate comic-book effect.
- OmniOutliner, a really useful organization tool.
- Delicious Monster's Delicious Library, a program that scans barcodes of the items you own and creates a virtual library.
Hardware
Razer Pro had a number of peripherals on display, including the Protouch Keyboard with iPod dock and ProTone headphones.
Cameras
I really liked the Canon SD30, a 5.0 megapixel subcompact point and shoot camera. It includes a 3x zoom (the most requested feature that the previous model lacked) and is available in 4 different colors. It lacks a viewfinder.
Printers
Epson had a display of large format printers, and canon had their entire line of printers available, showcasing their double sided photo printing.
iPod accessories
harman kardon was showing off their drive/play interface. They had wired it into a 2006 BMW 325i. Seeing how the 2006 BMW 3-series uses fiber optics for their sound system, i was curious to hear exactly what they had done.
Free & useful stuff:
- iKlear - free samples of screen cleaner
- Ricoh is giving out a keychain/screen duster as well as sharpie markers.
- Peachpit Press (I think) has a Cody-s Books coupon for 10% off
- Speck Products is giving out Postcards of San Francisco (although they do have the electronics/speck products logo on it)
- elektex is giving out gadget stands
- quark is giving out mints as well as electronic yo-yos
- debra weiss of rebe has a business card that doubles as a magnet
- creatorsofsoftware.com are giving out a cd opener and a cd cleaner.
Free and useless stuff (another man's trash is another man's treasure, right?)
- OWC is giving away an aeroprop spinner toy
- company is giving out plastic livestrong imitation bracelets in a variety of colors.
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