First London expo retitled the 'Appule Expo'

In the wake of legal "requests" sent to its organizer, the London-based Apple Expo is now called the Appule Expo. Undaunted, Microsoft has recently booked space at the show. The newly named gathering will take place on October 11 and 12 of this year. Apple is not expected to attend.

Microsoft will likely showcase Office for Mac, and a possible upgrade for Mountain Lion. Office tools for iOS are also expected to make an appearance in some capacity. A full list of exhibitors will be available at the expo's website at the end of May.

A Mac-titled show was last held in London in 2007, the last year Apple participated in a UK-based exhibit. The following year, Apple pulled out of the Paris Expo. In 2009, Apple stopped attending the San Francisco Macworld Conference and Expo, and seriously limited other trade show attendances.

Apple claims trade shows are unnecessary and a waste of company resources. Apple's retail stores draw in excess of seven million customers per week worldwide. A quote from Apple in 2009 at the time of the withdrawal from the trade show circuit stated "The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways."

Appule expo show-goers will be attending the first London Mac-centric show since 2008, then called the Creative Pro Expo. The "strictly for professional Apple Computer users only" conference will take place at The Barbican in London. Tickets will go on sale in June.

by MacNN Staff