Apple's presence is felt at CES 2012

That's NOT a MacBook Air, that's the HP SpectreText and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Wait, what is this? Apple doesn’t participate in CES? Apple doesn’t even participate in Macworld anymore because, well, it doesn’t need to. 

The hundreds of Apple Retail Stores are sort of like a year round trade show. Apple’s own controlled environment where it can educate buyers about their products and better yet, they can sell their products right there and then.

So what is this all about? Let me tell you that Apple’s presence at this year’s CES is pervasive, Apple is everywhere.

Many of the visitors at the show are rocking iPhones and iPads which are proving to be extremely popular (and dominant). Even the CES Press Rooms are all like a haze of aluminum and lit up Apple logos. Lots of MacBook Airs and iPads for sure and many of our fellow journalists have come to the show prepared with battery cases on their iPhones.

The show floor, well Apple is pretty present there too. Many of the ultrabooks don’t just have the same thin-and-light profile of the MacBook Air, the majority of them look exactly like Apple’s product.

Aluminum-ish bodies, black Chiclet type keyboards, large trackpads, thin profiles are all over the place and the several PC manufacturers have copied the Apple look quite comprehensively.

Cloud services from LG, Acer, Lenovo and others are also very similar to Apple’s iCloud. Lenovo’s approach even trumps Apple’s since Lenovo now makes and sells HDTVs while Apple’s TV initiative is hinged on Apple TV, for now at least.

Then there are the accessories for the iPhone and iPad which number in the thousands.

Everything from power solutions to premium leather cases, stands, speakers, docks of all sizes and shapes abound at CES.

The iLounge Pavilion feels more like a mini Macworld where the iPhone and the iPad are the stars of the show

Yes, Apple may not be participating at CES and for the first time in a long time, does not have a big announcement scheduled at around the same time as CES, but its influence and importance can be felt far and wide.

Now sit tight, the lawsuits are coming.