The Consumer Electronics Association, which organizes the massive Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas every January, plans to more than quintuple the size of its iPhone and iPod exhibit space at the 2010 trade show. The group announced Thursday that its iLounge Pavilion would occupy 25,000 square feet at the 2010 International CES, which starts January 7, 2010.
Originally announced in January, the CES iPod and iPhone pavilion was billed as a showcase area for accessory makers. On Thursday, however, organizers indicated that the exhibit space was being expanded from its original 4,000-square-foot size to allow app makers to show off their wares. The App Store has seen explosive growth since Apple first opened the marketplace for iPhone and iPod touch software a little more than a year ago.
The Consumer Electronic Association’s move to bolster the presence of iPod and iPhone paraphernalia at CES comes as the Macworld Conference and Expo reinvents itself in the wake of Apple’s decision to no longer participate in the annual Mac exhibition. IDG World Expo, which is owned by the same company that owns Macworld, announced in March that it would hold the next year’s edition of the Mac trade event in February 2010 instead of its traditional January setting.
Macworld Expo’s move to February means it will no longer compete with CES for attention and exhibitors. In the past, the two trade events often overlapped or, in some years, shared the same dates. Now Macworld Expo kicks off on February 9 in San Francisco, nearly a month after CES closes its doors.
The increased presence of iPod and iPhone accessory makers and app developers at CES is likely to rekindle rumors that flamed up earlier this year, speculating that Apple would spurn Expo in favor of CES in 2010. However, when announcing its decision to skip future Expos this past December, the company said that trade shows played a decreasing art in its marketing efforts.
“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 at the time.