Steve Jobs Upstages CES ... The Apple Machine

The International Consumer Electronics Show is this week in Las Vegas. There will be many new product announcements, flashy demos, and a lot of buzz.  The week starts with the announcement of the new Google Phone, Nexus and is sure to be followed by many cool product and service announcements.

Who is NOT at CES again this year? Apple and Steve Jobs. Apple does an amazing job of controlling leaks so it is no accident that details regarding the new tablet started appearing in the news a few days ago. The latest reports in the Wall Street Journal speculate on the price and availability of the device. So, Apple does not need a presence at CES to generate buzz. 

Apple does an amazing job of managing their brand, the investment community, and the media. There is a long list of benefits that flow to Apple from this investment, including the ability to command higher margins than many in the category.  A recent Forbes article ask, "How to you compete with that?".  The entire tech industry will be doing that this week. It will be interesting! Apple is a brand machine! 

Note: If you are not able to attend CES, but would like to keep up with major announcements, you may want to follow Cali Lewis of GeekBrief.tv on ustream. She will be broadcasting CES news and announcements.  You can also follow the CES Twitter Feed, or on Facebook.  Clayton Morris of Fox and Friends will also be providing live updates. There are a number of other resources .. to many to list.

Have a great geek-week!

Rick

Photo credit: Wahaha_wu