En un comunicado por medio de su portavoz Steve Dowling Apple anunció  que el Macworld del siguiente año será su última aparición en este tipo de shows. Excusa diciendo que Apple, como otras compañías, ha decidido dejar este tipo de shows ya que tiene otras y mejores formas de comunicar y llegar a los consumidores.

Otra noticia importante es que en este Macworld Philip Schiller Vicepresidente Senior de mercadotecnia de productos a nivel mundial dará la conferencia principal y no Steve Jobs. Ya en la última presentación de las nuevas MacBooks se vio menor participación de Steve Jobs y mayores intervenciones de los integrantes de equipo directivo de Apple. Se especula si esto es para un posible retiro de Steve Jobs de Apple. Sea voluntario o por los rumores, hasta el momento desmentidos por Apple, de que la salud de su CEO no se encuentra bien.

Sin duda se extrañará el maestro de la distorsión de la realidad, como se le conoce a Steve Jobs, en este Macworld.

A continuación cito el comunicado en inglés:

Apple Announces Its Last Year at Macworld

CUPERTINO, California—December 16, 2008—Apple® today announced that this year is the last year the company will exhibit at Macworld Expo. Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the opening keynote for this year’s Macworld Conference & Expo, and it will be Apple’s last keynote at the show. The keynote address will be held at Moscone West on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Macworld will be held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center January 5-9, 2009.

Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.

Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.