The Last Macworld Expo: What Next?

On December 16, 2008, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced that the 2009 Mac Expo is going to be its last. In addition, Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple Inc. is not going to read the keynote paper this year. The later has spread speculations about Jobs’ ill health. In 2009, Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President, Apple Inc. will deliver the keynote paper. Till now, no news have been found out about Steve Jobs’ health.

For the last twenty five years, Apple has been helding MacWorld Expo to introduce new products to the consumers. The Expo was attended by all kinds of people ranging from harware enthusiasts to serious techies. Apple believes that it has reached a stage where it does not require to held shows to get people’s attention.

What is not clear is when Apple decided Jobs would skip the keynote. The source indicated that Apple had strung IDG along for weeks, implying that it was business-as-usual concerning Jobs' pending appearance up until the moment that it wasn't. One big question is how this will go down with the Mac faithful who have flocked to this annual event through good times and bad. To be sure, there will be official Apple events in the future, like the Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple announced that Steve Jobs gave his last keynote address at MacWorld in San Fancisco in January 2008. The news came as a big shock to International Data Group (IDG). IDG World Expo division, a subsidiary of IDG mainly handles the the Macworld event. They were informed only few weeks ago. Over the years, Steve Jobs appearance in the event has become a big event.