Apple's influence reigns over CES

Tech show gives nod to products with ‘iLounge Pavilion’

	The Vestalife Mantis, a speaker dock for Apple iPods, is displayed at CES in Las Vegas. While Apple is not represented at the trade fair, its influence is evident.
Ethan Miller / Getty Images

By Suzanne Choney

updated 8:13 p.m. ET Jan. 5, 2010

LAS VEGAS - While Apple isn't participating — and never has — in the annual Consumer Electronics Show, the company's presence has long loomed over it. That's no different this year, with non-stop buzz about an Apple tablet possibly being announced later this month. What is different is that Apple-related products are being given their own showcase at CES, a first for the world's largest trade show for consumer technology.

Considering Apple's influence in the world of personal technology, it may seem like a "no duh" and years overdue. But historically, Apple took part in the annual Macworld conference, generally held around the same time as CES, often stealing its thunder with new product announcements, from the iPhone to iPods.

This year, Apple is not participating in Macworld, but the Consumer Electronics Association, sponsor of CES, is providing an "iLounge Pavilion," where more than 100 exhibitors will be showing iPhone, iPod and Mac-related wares

Also, one of the events at the Las Vegas show is a "Mobile Apps Showdown," a competition that whether intentionally or not, acknowledges Apple's role in the cell phone "app," or application, market. The company's online "App Store" for the iPhone, started 18 months ago, now has more than 100,000 programs available to consumers.

Apps: 'Man of the year'?
With its App Store, Apple has not only set the standard for mobile phone programs — Research In Motion followed suit with an App World for BlackBerrys, Google began the Android Market, and Palm launched an App Catalog — but the concept is starting to gravitate to other areas, including automobiles. Some of those new apps are being shared at CES as well.

"Certainly the 'man of the year' for 2009 could easily be the app," said Shawn DuBravac, director of research for the Consumer Electronics Association. "It was a big theme in 2009 and it will continue into this year."

The iLounge Pavilion, co-sponsored by iLounge.com, started out last spring as a 4,000-square-foot exhibit space, but quickly expanded to 25,000 square feet to accommodate manufacturers and retailers.

"There’s always been Apple-related items on the show floor; this is the first time we gave it its own dedicated show floor space, and it has been phenomenally successful," DuBravac said.

"Even though Apple doesn’t play with CES, CES companies continue to build and showcase things that work with Apple products," said technology consultant Rob Enderle.

"In the end, I think it really showcases that the iPhone and iPod are big enough to warrant a show-within-a-show approach to showcasing accessories. When it comes to personal media players, Apple is the market at the moment."

'Reaching out'
Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for The NPD Group research firm, said the iLounge Pavilion is not only a first for CES, but "the first time CES is reaching out specifically to companies making Mac and iPhone products.

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"This is less of a nod to Apple’s role in consumer electronics per se, and more of an opportunistic attempt to capitalize on Apple’s decision not to exhibit at Macworld Expo this year or in the future, which will certainly hurt the appeal of that trade show that has traditionally occurred around the time of CES," Rubin said.

This year, Macworld will be Feb. 9-13 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Apple's decision to pull out of the show surprised many who looked forward to the new product announcements made by CEO Steve Jobs, the traditional keynote speaker for the event. Last year, Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller assumed that role.

The company said in a press release last year that "trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers," and that Apple "has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years," including other Macworld events in New York and Tokyo.

AT and T for the iPad? Yup, it handles Kindle, too

Network strain may not be as heavy with tablet as it is with the iPhone

The Apple iPad tablet is examined after its unveiling Jan. 27 in San Francisco. Versions of the device will be available with Wi-Fi only, as well as with a 3G chip for use on AT&T's wireless network.

By Suzanne Choney

updated 9:15 a.m. ET Jan. 29, 2010

You could almost hear groans of disappointment around the country when Apple CEO Steve Jobs said there will be versions of the new iPad tablet that will run on AT&T's wireless network. Message boards and blogs bemoaned the news. "AT&T again? Haven't they learned anything?" was one comment on Newsvine (owned by msnbc.com) that typified the responses.

AT&T is the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the United States, and iPhone customers have complained about lack of service in areas like San Francisco and New York City, as well as poor connectivity in various parts of the country.

Perhaps not as widely known as the complaints about AT&T is that the company also started providing wireless service for Amazon.com's latest Kindle e-readers last fall, and is doing the same for Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader and Sony's new Reader Daily Edition. AT&T says it is working rapidly to make improvements to its 3G, or third-generation, network to handle increased data traffic, and re-emphasized that point Thursday in discussing its fourth-quarter results.
"Apple, which had criticized AT&T the year before, wouldn’t have committed to them if they’d felt they were going to have significant problems," said Ken Dulaney of Gartner Research, whose specialties include wireless communications.

"That said, I think all carriers, once they start to get the kinds of exciting devices that AT&T has had, are going to have problems with bandwidth. We are in a bandwidth crunch time."

The iPhone, released in 2007, has been a runaway success; early reactions to the iPad, announced Wednesday, are more mixed, and its success is not guaranteed. In addition, buyers will have a choice of a "non-AT&T" iPad, one that runs on Wi-Fi only, as well as one that runs on both Wi-Fi and AT&T's network.

It also remains to be seen how iPad buyers — or buyers of other tablets that are coming — wind up using the devices. Will they want to stream large audio and video files much of the time? Or will they will be used more like netbooks for e-mail and general Web surfing, tasks that are not as onerous on a network.

"The actual dominant usage patterns for this product are still yet to be determined," said Dulaney.

E-readers like the Kindle and the Nook do not tax network resources in the same way streaming video or audio do, said Jeff Orr, ABI Research senior analyst.

"Is somebody going to have a significantly different user experience because their e-book reader is using 3G instead of 2G (second-generation wireless)? No. if I could download that book in 30 seconds instead of 45 seconds, it’s really no different than what’s being promised, which is perhaps 60 seconds for a book to be downloaded."

Avi Greengart, Current Analysis' research director for mobile devices, said that Verizon Wireless "has been hammering AT&T hard for its 3G coverage map, but AT&T’s 3G coverage isn’t the problem — it’s the fact that in the places where smartphone users congregate," such as Manhattan or San Francisco, "the network is overwhelmed."

Greengart said he has been "using the Nokia Booklet 3G (netbook) with built-in AT&T connectivity for the past few months, and in most places it works fine — and fast. And in a handful of places, it doesn’t work at all."

He points out that "Apple did make a change in the rate plans for the iPad; it is not subsidized (like the iPhone), and rate plans in the U.S. start at just $15/month" for 250 megabytes a month, with an unlimited data plan costing $29.99 a month, and no contracts required in either case.

There will be Wi-Fi-only versions of the iPad, which will cost $130 less than those equipped with both Wi-Fi and 3G. The iPad's starting cost is $499 without 3G, and the first Wi-Fi only tablets are due out in 60 days; iPads with both Wi-Fi and 3G, about a month later.

The Wi-Fi only option may be the right one for those who don't want to deal with AT&T or any carrier, for that matter, and would appeal to consumers who plan to use the iPad mainly at home or in public locations where free Wi-Fi is available.

About 30 percent of U.S. households now have wireless networks at home, said Orr of ABI Research.

AT&T is upgrading its 3G service by going to what is called "High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2." The company says HSPA 7.2 should result in doubling peak data transmission speeds, from 3.6 megabits per second to 7.2 megabits per second.

Is 2010 the year of wireless congestion?

It may happen for some until improvements are made to various networks

	Many of those attending the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. in January 2009 used their cell phone cameras to record the event. They were among the 2 million people who attended and some had problems with cell phone service because of the congestion. View related photos
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file

By Suzanne Choney

For the last few years, wireless carriers and manufacturers have been pushing smartphones as the way to go. But now that a growing number of Americans are using them, the system seems like it's starting to choke.

New York and San Francisco are giant dead zones for many iPhone users. Research In Motion, maker of BlackBerrys, had two outages within a week recently, highly unusual for the reliable devices. Last January, some of the 2 million people attending the presidential inauguration couldn't get phone service because the area around the nation's capital was so congested with cell traffic.

Some say such congestion could be more common this year because of nearly 280 million Americans' increasing reliance on cell phones, continuing consumer demand for data-intensive mobile programs like video and audio, fourth-generation cell networks that are not in place for most of the country and inadequate wireless spectrum to meet customer needs.

AT&T, the exclusive seller of Apple's iPhone in the United States, in particular, did not adequately anticipate the device's huge popularity, critics say, making the company a victim of its success, and its customers frustrated in the process. Users around the country have complained about sometimes-spotty coverage with the phone.