Macworld Expo 2011 Spotlights Sinbad, iOS Accessories

2011 marks the second year that the annual Apple-centric trade show Macworld must go on without Apple.

The conference, which starts Wednesday, is smaller than it once was ? and its biggest celebrity speaker is C-list comedian Sinbad ? but it’s still alive and kicking. For app vendors, makers of iPhone and iPad accessories, and OS X software vendors, it’s still a good way to get in front of a crowd of eager Mac addicts.

After Apple announced that 2009 would be its final Macworld, 2010’s trade show saw major shrinkage. The exhibitor show floor was reduced from two halls into one at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. About 400 vendors exhibited in 2009, and that number dropped to about 250 in 2010. Major stalwarts from previous years, such as Adobe and Canon, will not be found on the show floor this year.

However, this year’s Macworld has seen growth of about 10 percent more exhibitors than last year, and the number of registered attendees is up as well, according to Paul Kent, general manager of Macworld.

“We’re happy we’re able to report growth in exhibitors and total attendees,” Kent said. “Growth is good.”

It was a tradition for several years for Apple to kick off Macworld Expo with a “Stevenote,” where the turtleneck-attired Apple CEO would introduce new products. On the show floor, attendees could try the newest Apple gear or gaze through glass at the latest Ives-designed fetish objects.

But Apple said in late 2008 that it was pulling out of Macworld because of increased traffic at its 250 retail stores worldwide, which made it unnecessary to do trade shows.

“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,” Apple said in a statement that year.

Macworld Expo was first held January 1985 in San Francisco, and was subsequently hosted twice a year on the East and West coasts. Apple pulled out of the East Coast show in 2003, which struggled on for a few more years before it died. Apple cited the same reasons for bowing out then: Growing traffic at retail stores.

2011’s Macworld show largely focuses on Apple’s hottest sellers: the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The majority of exhibitors at the show are showing off mobile accessories or apps.

“Macworld kind of mirrors Apple’s profit mix,” Kent said. “This year the show’s one-third Mac OS products and two-thirds of pad, pod and phone products.”

Macworld is also featuring a handful of keynote speakers, including comedian Sinbad (pictured), tech musician Zoe Keating and gadget-repair expert Kyle Wiens of iFixit.

“Sinbad fits the bill for our feature presenters, because he’s a celebrity who relies on technology to express inspiration,” Kent said. “It’ll be�entertaining and info-taining and thought-provoking.”

Wiens said Apple geeks should attend his talk to take a peek at the insides of Apple gear and competing products such as Samsung’s Galaxy Tab to learn about trends in industrial design.

“Macworld last year went great, so I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be better this year,” Wiens said. “I think last year was the big question mark ? is it still going to be sustainable [without Apple]? And I think it clearly was.”

Wiens noted, however, that large companies, such as Adobe and Canon, weren’t on the exhibitor list this year, even though they’ve shown up at Macworld in years past.

“All those big companies need to come back, he said. “I’m optimistic long-term, and I hope that they do.”

The Macworld conference, where attendees can take Apple-related workshops, kicks off Wednesday. The Macworld Expo show floor, where attendees can check out exhibitors’ gadgets and accessories, opens Thursday.

Disclosure: I previously worked for Macworld magazine, whose parent company owns the Macworld trade show.

Top photo: Laughing Squid/Flickr

Sinbad photo: jcrawford3505/Flickr

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