Apple Has 250 Ninjas Spying the Competition At CES

CES is the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow. It’s basically geek heaven on Earth. A Super Bowl, Disney World and New York Fashion Week all rolled into one for the techies who flock to Vegas to eyeball the newest gadgets from the world’s leading manufacturers. Your favorite phone provider, Apple got on its super stealth mode ninja isht and is keeping an eye on all of its competitors…

While wandering around the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center Tuesday, I bumped into Greg Joswiak, head of iOS product marketing for Apple, just outside of Sony’s booth. Joz, as he’s known within the Apple community, grinned sheepishly upon being recognized by a reporter and stopped to chat for a few minutes.

Apple hasn’t done any kind of trade show booth since it announced it was pulling out of Macworld after the 2009 show, but that doesn’t mean the company can’t learn anything from the way the rest of its competitors market their wares to industry professionals and the public. And it also allows for a first-hand report on which products or services are resonating with the crowds.

It’s not all that surprising that Apple would want to keep tabs on CES but I was a little surprised to see Joz, one of the higher-ranking executives in Apple’s hierarchy, walking the show floor like anybody else. His badge was strategically arranged as to cover over his name and company affiliation, however, a nod to Apple’s penchant for keeping a low profile

So yes, Apple may ignore CES for show and tell. But they are not ignoring what’s cooking in Vegas. And we’re not talking about the buffets.

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