|
Since the come back of Steve Jobs, Apple used to launch new products only in the US. For many foreign Apple Enthusiasts, this has been very frustrating. However, things may change at the upcoming Apple Expo in France.
Indeed, one must take into account two facts: On the one hand, Apple only receives 46% of its revenue from sales outside the US. In the computer industry, this figure is low. On the other hand, France is the #2 market for the macintosh and The Apple Expo is a very important event in my country. Last year there were nearly 150,000 visitors to the Apple Expo, as well as more than 200 exhibitors. Also, Steve Jobs came and met, in an unofficial way, the French minister for education and the French minister of economy, both of whom are Apple enthusiasts.
There was one thing that impressed Steve Jobs and that was the attendance at his keynote address: 5,000 persons heard Mr. Jobs speak and they gave him a standing ovation which lasted almost 4 minutes. He was so pleased that he decided to visit The Apple Expo floor.
This year, he will be here again with, as far as rumors are concerned, special plans for this French exhibition. Indeed, the headquarters of Apple invested nearly US$70,000 (this figure is unconfirmed but the fact is true) in order to improve the quality of the Apple Expo. Also, Apple France is planning an official meeting between the French minister of the economy, Dominique Strauss Khan, and perhaps the French prime minister, Lionel Jospin.
This meeting is expected to receive lots of publicity in Europe as well as in the US. Since, Apple France told the French Mac customers that there will be a major announcement at the Apple Expo, (maybe Kihei, the new iMac) and also something called myapple.com. Indeed, all the encryption features in MacOS 9 serve one purpose : Give users the ability to save data by means of an internet web site, as with the service offered by imacfloppy.com. This will be a feature of myapple.com. So Apple seams to consider the Apple Expo to be a substantial event for its future, and maybe even the opportunity for Apple to once again be a worldwide powerhouse. So are you ready to Steve ?
Apple Expo
|
