Macworld Expo 2010 just wrapped up this past Saturday, and to many analyst’s surprise, it was a huge success. The show floor was thriving, packed with many Mac geeks looking to get their hands on the latest wares from vendors. This time last year, nearly everyone was saying this would be the last Macworld Expo, but it is clear that is not the case. The state of Macworld Expo 2010 is after the break.

When Apple announced that Steve Jobs would not be delivering the 2009 keynote address and it would be their last year exhibiting at the show, it was a double-whammy to the folks at IDG World Expo, who put on Macworld Expo year after year. Many thought that with the lack of Apple exhibiting, the expo would not survive for more than a year. Paul Kent, the general manager of Macworld Expo, now had the task of reinventing the expo and making sure the community would still return.

One of the things they opted to do is have more feature presentations, replacing the annual keynote address by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, or most recently, Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller. These feature presentations, usually an hour long, are given by notables in the community, and this year’s were full of entertainment and insight from David Pogue, Guy Kawasaki, Leo Laporte and John Gruber. They were open to all expo attendees, and were mostly packed to the brim, some of them even spilling into overflow rooms with video screens.

On day one of expo, it was clear that this year’s expo was already a success. The show floor was packed, and it was hard for anyone to see at any given booth around the hall. iPhone app developers had a chance to show off their latest and greatest at the Mobile Applications Showcase, tiny kiosks with four developers per. It was a great opportunity for users to speak to mostly the developers themselves, not some marketing schtick. With Apple’s absence, other exhibitors were in the limelight for once, not overshadowed by whatever Apple had announced the previous morning.

Everything in the past had been spread across two convention halls, the larger Moscone South (where a lot of the big exhibitors had been) and Moscone North (where the smaller developers were exhibiting). This year, everything was crammed into the smaller Moscone North convention hall, including all 250 exhibitors, nearly half of the 500 or more exhibitors Macworld Expo has hosted in the past. I didn’t think it would be easy to cover the show floor in a day, and clearly I was wrong. I missed seeing the smaller Mac software developers who had exhibited at years past like Panic and Bare Bones Software.

I think exhibitors who stood on the sidelines this year waiting to see how the show would pan out should strongly consider exhibiting next year, even if at a smaller booth. Many companies had a much smaller booths than last year, notably Microsoft, and with the release of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 coming shortly before next year’s expo, I think a larger booth is to be expected. Having a presence is better than having no presence at all, and without Apple’s attendance, all the attention is driven to those who got no attention at all in the past. I want to see Adobe, Canon, Nikon and the other big names in the Mac industry return to exhibiting at the show.

Some exhibitors even went as far as exhibiting this past January at the Consumer Electronics Show. There is something wrong with this decision, CES is not open to the general public, only industry professionals and news media. There are ways to cheat this system, but nothing is better than getting attention directly from the consumers. Paul Kent said over six hundred Apple media professionals were in attendance this year, and with that there is great opportunity for every developer gaining attention on the blogs and websites devoted to all things Apple.

Macworld Expo 2011 is set to be held January 25th to 29th in Moscone West, the newer three-story building across the street. The convention center will be home to the conferences and exhibit hall, making it more convenient for attendees instead of having to make the trek across the street. Having everything consolidated into one building will be a positive aspect of next year’s show.

With the strong attendance that the show had this year, I can only think that next year’s show will be another success for IDG World Expo and Paul Kent.

While there was no Apple keynote this year, the folks at IDG World Expo and Macworld 2010 decided to have many feature presentations on all three days of the expo. Today there were three exciting “mini-keynotes” by former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki, podcaster Leo Laporte and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber. The highlights with photos from “Revolution from the Rest of Us” by Guy Kawasaki are after the break.

Guy Kawasaki took his hour keynote to showcase a variety of products that he thought were changing the way we use our Macs, iPods and iPhones.

My favorite guest was Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and founder of Square, a new payment system for small businesses and merchants. Square uses an application and a small 3.5mm headphone jack device to accept payments. It works by converting the magnetic strip into an audio signal and

transmits it to the application from the “microphone”. I can’t wait to try to use the device, which will be free to anyone. Guy asked Jack how he expects to make money off of the device, where he said they expect to take a monetary processing fee out of the full payment. The best thing about it is that anyone can use it, whether they’re selling something on Craigslist or operating a full-time business.

Another notable guest was Bill Atkinson, a Macintosh programmer who worked at Apple when the original Macintosh was being created. He showed off his iPhone application, PhotoCard. It allows you to use 150 of Bill Atkinson’s best nature photos and send a postcard you create on the iPhone through the mail (or e-mail with a voice note). The app costs $4.99 but on Tuesday will be available for free with a free postcard credit. When Bill tried sending Guy a postcard using a picture of him, he failed to find him in his address book. “Try J-O-B-S,” Guy said while the crowd roared. “We should send it to Steve: wish you were here!”

The other guests included the developer of BoinxTV, Oliver Breidenbach, from Boinx Software (where Guy Kawasaki was dubbed a “Twitter Slut“), and a developer from Microsoft, the creators of the Bing iPhone application.

More from Macworld Expo 2010 including highlights from Macworld Live! with Leo Laporte to come soon.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR MACWORLD 2010 COVERAGE PAGE.

Have you ever wanted to organize and keep track of your movies, books, electronics and practically anything throughout your house? Well now you can with the IntelliScanner mini 250, in a completely new design announced at Macworld this morning. It can store up to 500 scans before you need to connect it to your Mac or PC and has a longer battery life than it’s predecessor.

The IntelliScanner mini 250 will run you $159 to $249 depending on the software bundle you choose and comes with the mini barcode scanner with rechargeable battery, USB cable, neck lanyard and pre-printed asset tags for items without barcodes.

Full press release below.

INTELLISCANNER MINI 250 UNVEILED AT MACWORLD:
Organize everything with the smart barcode scanner for the home – enhanced
for 2010 with double the memory and 70% greater battery life; now starting
at $159

SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ Macworld Expo 2010 (February 12th, 2010) -
IntelliScanner Corporation, creators of personal barcode scanners and
software that organize everything, today introduced IntelliScanner mini
250, the latest scanner for organizing everything at home on PC and Mac.
The smart scanner and software bundle uses barcode technology to
automatically identify, organize, and share household collections and items
like movies, wine, books, and comics.

“Keeping track of your books, wine, groceries, comics, electronics, and
more is what IntelliScanner is all about,” said Travis J. Hicks, Chief
Operating Officer, IntelliScanner Corp. “Now starting at just $159,
IntelliScanner includes everything you need to scan, organize, and share
your collections and home inventory, automatically. With our latest scanner
for 2010, you can scan everything with enhanced battery life and double the
memory.”

DOUBLE THE MEMORY. 70% GREATER BATTERY LIFE.

IntelliScanner mini 250 now offers double the memory (now up to 500 scans
before needing to sync) and 70% greater battery life (now up to 600 scans
per charge) of previous models, giving users ultimate flexibility in
scanning their home collections. IntelliScanner syncs and charges via USB
with any PC or Mac. IntelliScanner mini also comes in a metal cube for easy
storage.

MANAGE MEDIA, WINE, COMICS AND MORE WITH TINY BARCODE SCANNER

IntelliScanner mini includes a smart, ultra-portable barcode scanner and
innovative software for organizing, searching and sharing collections. By
scanning the barcode with IntelliScanner mini, the software will
automatically track home assets and valuables, with special features to
instantly identify books, wine, comics, DVDs, groceries, and more. Users
simply plug the scanner in to sync — just like a digital camera — and the
software will download details like the book title, CD track, or wine
vineyard into a database.

Pricing & Availability
IntelliScanner mini 250 is now shipping worldwide for $159 to $249,
depending on the included software bundle. Purchase IntelliScanner mini for
books only for $159, media software only (books, CDs, DVDs, and games) for
$179 or organize everything with the complete home organization software
bundle (for media, wine, comics, groceries, and other assets) for $249.

The metal cube package includes the mini barcode scanner with rechargeable
battery, USB cable, neck lanyard and pre-printed asset tags for items
without barcodes. Now shipping. Order online at www.intelliscanner.com.
Requires Mac OS X or Windows XP/Vista/7 and a free USB port. For more
information, visit:

http://www.intelliscanner.com/products/mini/

See the new IntelliScanner mini 250 at Macworld Expo, this week at the
Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. IntelliScanner mini is
presented at Apparent Corporation’s booth.

About IntelliScanner Corporation
IntelliScanner organizes everything with smart barcode scanners and
software for home, business and education. The company’s award-winning
tools for PC and Mac organize book collections, wine, groceries, DVDs,
comics, CDs, home assets, business inventory, and more. (800) 550-5470;
www.intelliscanner.com.

###

HyperMac is announcing a new line of portable battery packs at Macworld Expo 2010, from the compact HyperMac Nano to the larger HyperMac Mini. All three models are wrapped in aluminum enclosures and available in the nine iPod nano colors plus black. Full rundown of the new models after the break.

The Nano has a 1800mAh capacity battery, capable of charging an iPhone 1 1/2 times using a built-in charging cable. HyperMac says that a cable works better instead of a dongle so you don’t risk breaking it off while toting it in your pocket or bag.

The Micro has a larger 3600mAh has enough power inside to charge an iPhone up to three times, and can charge any device with a USB connection. The battery can also be recharged using an AC adapter or USB cable. The biggest model, the Mini, has a 7200mAh capacity battery that can charge an iPhone up to six times.

More stats with the full press release below. We’ll hopefully have a hands-on with the new battery packs on the show floor tomorrow.

02.11.2010 – MACWORLD 2010 SAN FRANCISCO, California – Sanho Corporation (Booth #948), the company behind the award-winning HyperMac External MacBook Batteries, introduces the HyperMac Nano, HyperMac Micro and HyperMac Mini – three pocket-sized, lithium-ion battery packs for charging iPhones, iPods, iPads and other USB-powered devices on-the-go.

All three models are exquisitely encased in aluminum and available in any of Apple’s nine iPod nano colors (black, silver, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) plus a darker (iPhone) black color. Users will be spoilt for choice when choosing the right battery pack to match their iPhone or iPod.

The 1800mAh HyperMac Nano is the world’s only iPhone/iPod lithium-ion battery pack with a built-in charging cable and holds enough power to fully recharge an iPhone 1.5 times. Unlike traditional battery packs with built-in rigid connectors, the HyperMac Nano features a flexible connector cable to allow the battery to move freely from the device, instead of simply sticking out of the base of the iPhone/iPod, which increases the chance of damage to the iPhone/iPod socket.

When not in use, the male iPhone/iPod 30-pin connector sits perfectly into the female 30-pin recharging socket, and with the cap closed, the HyperMac Nano is a sleek piece of metal without any exposed slots or buttons, reminiscent of a Zippo cigarette lighter. The HyperMac Nano’s patented design also features a magnetic base to hold the cap in place during charging.

The 3600mAh HyperMac Micro holds enough power to fully charge an iPhone up to three times, while the 7200mAh HyperMac Mini can fully charge an iPhone up to six times. Both output 5V/1A power through a USB port and the user can charge any iPhone, iPod, iPad or USB-powered device with the provided iPhone/iPod and USB cables. The batteries are rechargeable via USB or wall outlet with the provided USB cable and AC adapter.

Unlike most iPhone battery packs or iPhone cases cum battery in the market, HyperMac batteries works with virtually all iPhone cases, does not add bulk or affects the antenna of the iPhone.

“iPhone users have long suffered from the iPhone’s short battery life and dull utilitarian plastic battery pack solutions,” states Daniel Chin, President of Sanho Corporation. “HyperMac will no doubt breathe a fresh air to this tired industry,” he adds. “With its striking colors and attractive non-battery-like looks, for once there will be a battery pack that appeals to both women and men alike,” he concludes.

Like its big brother, the HyperMac Nano/Micro/Mini batteries uses the same “Grade A” high-end lithium ion cells that are supplied to the U.S. military, providing unsurpassed reliability, safety and longevity. It is rechargeable up to 1,000 times and comes with a ONE-year warranty – comparing to industry standards of only 300 recharges and 3 months warranty. All HyperMac batteries also support pass through charging so the user can charge both battery and device at the same time.

The HyperMac Nano, HyperMac Micro and HyperMac Mini are now available at HyperMac.com for $69.95, $89.95 and $119.95 respectively. As a launch promotion, there is currently a $20 discount on all HyperMac Nano/Micro/Mini batteries.

Specifications
Capacity: 1800mAh (Nano), 3600mAh (Micro), 7200mAh (Mini)
Battery Chemistry: Lithium Ion
Standby Time: Up to 450 hours (Nano), 900 hours (Micro), 1800 hours (Mini)
2G Talk Time: Up to 18 hours (Nano), 36 hours (Micro), 72 hours (Mini)
3G Talk Time: Up to 7.5 hours (Nano), 15 hours (Micro), 30 hours (Mini)
Wi-Fi Internet: Up to 13.5 hours (Nano), 27 hours (Micro), 54 hours (Mini)
3G Internet: Up to 7.5 hours (Nano), 15 hours (Micro), 30 hours (Mini)
Audio Playback: Up to 45 hours (Nano), 90 hours (Micro), 180 hours (Mini)
Video Playback: Up to 15 hours (Nano), 30 hours (Micro), 60 hours (Mini)
Dimensions/Weight
Nano: 3.4 x 1.5 x 0.55″ (85 x 38 x 14mm) / 2.4 oz (67 g)
Micro: 3.7 x 2.7 x 0.6″ (94 x 69 x 16mm) / 4.7oz (134g)
Mini: 5.2 x 3.1 x 0.55″ (132 x 79 x 14mm) / 8.4oz (237g)
Input Power: 5V/500mA (Nano), 5V/1A (Micro/Mini)
Output Power: 5V/1A

For more product information and specifications, please visit:
www.HyperMac.com

HyperMac is a trademark of Sanho Corporation
Apple, iPhone, iPod, iPod nano, MacBook are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc.
Zippo is a registered trademark of Zippo Manufacturing Company.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FLICKR SET OF DAY ONE AT EXPO

Earlier today at Macworld Expo in San Francisco, Microsoft announced plans to release Office for Mac 2011 in time for the 2010 holiday season. New features include a new Office for Mac Ribbon that suits users better and Outlook for Mac replacing Entourage. The new application will support Exchange and will be written completely in Cocoa, making it entirely native for Mac OS X. Other features include connection to Microsoft Office Web Apps, a service like Google Docs.

More information including screenshots and the full press release below.

SAN FRANCISCO — Feb. 11, 2010 — You, the Mac community, have a voice — and at the Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU), we listen. Our charter for more than two decades has been to use your feedback to build the best productivity suite on the Mac. Recently you’ve asked for better ways to work with colleagues and friends anywhere, anytime, across platforms. So today at Macworld 2010, we are answering with details on how you can create and share your ideas using Office for Mac 2011, the next version of the leading productivity suite on the Mac. The suite has new connections to Microsoft services so you can work together more effectively, an updated user interface making tasks easier, and essential compatibility to ensure your documents look the way you made them when shared.

“Together with your team — officemates, family or classmates — you are part of the community that helps shape each version of Office for Mac,” said Eric Wilfrid, MacBU general manager at Microsoft Corp. “You’ve told us that working together across platforms is a priority to you and that’s why we are making Office for Mac 2011 the best, most compatible productivity suite on the Mac.”

New Co-Authoring Tools and Office Web Apps

The new co-authoring tools in Office 2011 give you and your teammates the ability to work on a file from Word, PowerPoint or Excel¹ from different locations, brainstorm ideas, and stay on the same page regardless of time, geography or platform. Co-authoring improves the processes of working together, removing the pain and frustration of multiple versions, lost edits, or even trying to set a time for the group to meet. With this new feature you can keep track of your team with the Presence Everywhere feature that gives real-time status updates on who is working on the document directly in the application.

Office 2011 also delivers a connection to Microsoft Office Web Apps from the application, giving you a simple way to access and share Office documents from any machine with an Internet connection. Similar to the experience in Microsoft Office 2010 for PC users, the Office Web Apps make it easy to get your work done virtually anywhere. These days work doesn’t stop at your desktop. You need to stay productive with access to your information no matter where you are, without worrying about whether or not you e-mailed a crucial file to yourself. Currently in beta, Office Web Apps are available to both home and business users (across platforms) and allow documents to be stored via your Windows Live ID account or on Microsoft SharePoint Technologies.

New User Interface Design: Office for Mac Ribbon

Another big addition to the Office 2011 suite is a ribbon that’s at the core of our next-generation Office for Mac user experiences. We took your feedback and haven’t completely rearranged what you know and love: the new design is an evolution of the Office 2008 Elements Gallery and uses the classic Mac menu and Standard Toolbar giving you the best of both worlds. You can even collapse the ribbon and the Toolbar for more screen space or for the more advanced users who rely on keyboard shortcuts. Together these tools make it easy to find and discover new and frequently used commands. In fact, more than 80 percent² of the most used features live in the default view of our new user experience so you don’t have to waste time finding the tool you need. Built using the latest Mac OS X technologies, the ribbon delivers a modern and fluid experience and also gives you a more consistent experience across platforms, which is key to productivity as 75 percent of Mac users also use a PC.³

New: Outlook for Mac Supports .PST Import

Along with the updated user interface and quick access to the Office Web Apps, the MacBU announced last August that Outlook for Mac is coming to Office 2011, replacing Entourage. Outlook for Mac is a new application that leverages the Exchange Web Services protocol and is being built using Cocoa, allowing for improved integration with the Mac OS. Today we are also announcing that Outlook for Mac will import .PST files from Outlook for Windows — a top customer request. In addition, as announced last year, Outlook for Mac features a reliable, high-speed, file-based database with Spotlight search and back-up support from Time Machine. Outlook for Mac also provides Information Rights Management to help prevent sensitive information from being distributed to or read by people who do not have your permission to access the content. Outlook for Mac provides an integrated solution for managing your time and information and, when it is used in conjunction with Microsoft Exchange Server, you benefit from increased collaboration capabilities and security enhancements.

Office for Mac 2011 will be available later this year. For updates on all things Office for Mac, follow the team on Twitter (@OfficeforMac) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Office-For-Mac/272026096667).

About Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit

For more than 25 years, Microsoft has developed award-winning software for the Mac. The Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU) at Microsoft is a leading developer of software and online products for the Macintosh platform including the Office for Mac suite. The group is composed of Mac product experts dedicated to creating innovative software for Mac customers worldwide. More information about the MacBU and Microsoft Macintosh products is available athttp://www.microsoft.com/mac.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

¹ Web Apps only for Excel

² Internal Microsoft data

³ Kelton Research

Although Macs don’t come with eSATA yet, LaCie is preparing for the future with their latest portable hard drive, the Rugged eSATA. It’s the first mobile drive on the market with a power eSATA port. The power eSATA port uses a USB-eSATA combo port for up to 90MB/s transfer speeds. It is also compatible with standard eSATA ports using a USB power-sharing cable.

“We are thrilled to integrate power eSATA technology into our best-selling Rugged mobile hard drive,” said Anne-Sophie Marchand, Consumer Product Manager. “This solution brings dazzling transfer speeds to customers on the go, while still ensuring compatibility with standard eSATA and USB 2.0 connectors.”

And who doesn’t like a rugged hard drive for traveling? You don’t have to risk dropping it and damaging the hard drive inside. The LaCie Rugged eSATA will be available in a 500GB capacity at the LaCie Online Store, LaCie Reseller+ and LaCie Storage Partner stores starting at $159.99.

Macworld Expo 2010 kicks off later this week in San Francisco, and ConnectReviews will be there in attendance roaming the show floor for the latest in Mac, iPod and iPhone gear. While it won’t be nearly the same without Apple having a major presence at the show, it gives an opportunity for smaller developers and manufacturers to be in the limelight. This year’s Expo was moved from the normal January timeframe to early February to rid of the hectic post-New Year’s preparations and the show floor is now open on a Saturday, giving those who cannot take time off work to visit the show.

Be sure to bookmark this page for all the latest news from Expo 2010 including links to our Flickr photostream, Twitter feed, and RSS feeds.

Macworld Expo 2010 at the Moscone Center begins Thursday, February 11th (the conference begins Tuesday, the 9th) and runs until Saturday, February 13th.

We’re glad to give you coverage of the best show for all things Apple. Photo coverage will be brought to you by LensRentals.com.