Apple's ghost hangs over CES
LAS VEGAS (CNNMoney) -- The world's most influential gadget company famously shuns the annual Consumer Electronics Show extravaganza. Apple gives no keynotes, has no flashy booth, launches no products and doesn't officially attend. But as ever, it's the star around which thousands of other companies orbit.
One entire wing of this year's show, the 80,000-square-foot iLounge, is devoted to showcasing add-ons for Apple's iGizmo universe. Exhibit space there sold out in record time: two hours.
It's not that Apple is the only manufacturer able to inspire the gadget world. LG caused traffic jams at the show floor's entrance with its massive 3-D image wall. (When a digital soccer ball came flying, dozens of people ducked and flinched.) Intel's (INTC, Fortune 500) ultrabook demo zone drew crowds of test-drivers, and Samsung's gadget-packed brand temple -- the size of a city block -- was perpetually packed.
But Apple's ability to unleash a new device and invent an entirely new market in its wake is still unmatched. While CES delivered a fleet of new TVs, the one drawing the most buzz -- Apple's mythical and unconfirmed iTV -- doesn't even exist yet.
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