I have to admit that I was excited to go to MacWorld today. Looking back, I’m not sure what I was expecting to see, but I do know that I was not expecting to be so incredibly underwhelmed. Few booths stimulated my interest. Even Apple’s own floor was pretty pathetic. Apple focused on two products: MacBook Air and iTunes rentals playable on the updated AppleTV. Of course there were the obligatory iPods and iPhones available for showgoers to play with, but I was shocked that Apple didn’t even bother to have any of their other computer products available. It’s possible that I missed it but I didn’t even see any of the new Apple Pro models. I guess it’s Apple’s way of telling owners of their existing products that they are no longer a part of the family unless they upgrade to the new latest-and-greatest.

As for the new products, here’s my take:

MacBook Air - When I saw it in person, I couldn’t help but marvel at the tremendous achievement in packaging that it represents. It’s amazingly thin and light. However, you do make compromises on connectivity and performance (opting for the ultra-expensive SSD option mitigates much of the performance sacrifice but it’s an option that few can afford for now). Since Apple already makes amongst the most svelte laptops on the market, I don’t think the Air is going to expand Apple’s market share. Instead, most sales will come from jetsetters and the tech-savviest who would otherwise be using a MB or MBP.

Time Capsule - No RAID, no care. It’s as simple as that for me. I want to backup and be all but certain that the data will be there if I need it. If the Time Capsule’s HD fails, you’re SOL. That’s not what I consider reliable storage. Come on Apple, give me an Internet-based backup onto storage in a robust datacenter. Until this happens, I’ll stick with Mozy.

iTunes Movie Rentals - I’m impressed. The prices are reasonable and selection strong. Will this finally convert the NetFlix/BlockBuster userbase into believers? I’m not sure. Will this sell more Apple TV’s? I think so.

iPhone updates - The addition of location via tower triangulation turns iPhone GMaps into a truly killer app. I am really looking forward to February to see what Apple is going to unlock to developers when the SDK launches.

Lowest moment at the show: Four people earnestly shooting photos of an unremarkable MacBook Air decoration that hung from the ceiling. What were they all using to snap the photos? iPhones! I couldn’t help but feel nauseous.

Finally, I’d love for someone to do a study of Apple’s market share in San Francisco. At every coffee shop I have been to in the city, at least 50% of the laptops in use are MacBooks. In fact, after leaving MacWorld today, Nick, Paul & I were doing some brainstorming at a coffee shop out near my place in the richmond and in between thoughts, I noticed that about 75% of the laptops in the shop were Macs. Of course, my observation is biased since I’m only considering people who live in SF and compute at coffee shops. For the most part, this is the college-age to young professional age. So right there, Apple’s market share is going to be higher than their overall market average.