CES 2010 makes more room for Apple

The organisers of the Consumer Electronics Show, the high-tech mecca held every January in Las Vegas, have dramatically boosted the size of their Mac expo space from an initial 370 square metres (4,000 square feet) to 2,300 square metres (25,000 square feet) – around half as large as a single hall at the Sydney Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour.

This will be the first year the CES has set aside space for the Mac and follows Apple’s decision in late 2008 to cease its involvement with the MacWorld Expo shows. MacWorld Expo 2009 was already wounded by Steve Jobs pulling out of the show amid concerns over his health, with the keynote instead being delivered by senior veep Philip Schiller.

Sales reps from the CES were quick to hit the floor at MacWorld Expo 2008 and sign up the exhibitors for 2010 in Las Vegas, and there’s even been speculation that Apple and indeed His Jobsness could make a return to centre stage and keynote glory at a future CES.

The extra space allocated to the 2010 CES isn’t for Apple, however. The iLounge Pavilion will be dedicated to iPod and iPhone accessories and has been cooked up as a joint operation between the Consumer Electronics Association, which runs the CES expo, and the people behind the iLounge Web site.

It’s certain to pull the rug out from under the MacWorld Expo, even though the San Francisco show has widely been pushed back to February 11-13 to avoid clashing with the CES’s early January dates, which has often been the case in previous years.