Lest we forget, the main purpose of shows like CES is for buyers and to let manufacturers gauge demand. Apple is in a much different situation than most OEMs wh

Lest we forget, the main purpose of shows like CES is for buyers and to let manufacturers gauge demand. Apple is in a much different situation than most OEMs who need to secure partners and shelf space. If companies like acer, asus, etc. tried to go around to their large stable of retail buyers in secret all that'd happen is the details would leak out well before their "available now" announcement.