In a ground-breaking move for the Mac community, IDG World Expo announced Monday that Macworld Expo 2010 will be moved to a February time slot, away from the (annoying) traditional early January time frame that has housed the show for more than a decade.

While the Conference portion of the show will begin on Tuesday, February 9th, the Expo show floor is being pushed back to later in the week, with a new Thursday, February 11th through Saturday, February 13th schedule.

Power to the People

"For 25 years, Macworld has been the pre-eminent event focused solely on the Apple products ecosystem, and with the recent evolution of the show we have been able to fully engage the Macworld community for input on the 2010 event," Mary Dolaher, CEO of IDG World Expo, said in a statement.

The move also means that Macworld will no longer compete with CES, which also takes place in early January, though show organizers told The Mac Observer that this was incidental to their decision to move the event.

"It's a good way for us to show that we're listening to our customers," Paul Kent, vice president and general manager, Macworld Conference & Expo.

Be that as it may, a move to February makes it easier for companies to exhibit at both shows.

Timing is Everything

In our extensive coverage of Macworld Expo over the years, about the only consistent complaint from attendees, vendors, and press alike has been the timing of the event. Coming in either the first or second week of January has meant busy post-Christmas schedules for vendors, and travel time that often had people working through the New Year holiday, as well.

The timing of the event has also often made product announcement plans for Mac (and now iPod and iPhone) developers more difficult, as pre-holiday announcement value had to be weighed against the value (and risk) or announcing at Macworld where it might get more attention, but misses the holiday buying season.

Accordingly, a move to February should help to boost attendance at the show in a post-Apple era, though the Mac community should probably prepare for January suddenly becoming an incredibly slow news month.

[Update: The article has been updated with additional information, and we've clarified the days and dates of the new scheduled, as noted by Michael in the comments below. - Editor]