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Jobs logs out as Apple CEO
Failing health forces the tech wizard to quit; Tim Cook takes over the reins

San Francisco/Los Angeles, August 25
Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple Inc on Wednesday and passed the reins to his right-hand man Tim Cook, saying he could no longer fulfill the duties in a bombshell announcement that raised fears his health has deteriorated further.

Jobs, who fought and survived a rare form of pancreatic cancer and revolutionised the technology arena with the iPhone and the iPad in the past four years, is deemed the heart and soul of a company that this month briefly became the most valuable in America.

“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come,” Jobs, who takes on the new position of chairman, said in a short letter announcing his resignation.

The letter and a separate terse, somewhat cryptic statement from Apple raised more questions than it answered about Jobs’ health and the future of the company.

While it's unlikely that his departure as CEO will derail Apple's ambitious product-launch roadmap in the near term, there are concerns about whether the company would stay a creative force to be reckoned with beyond the next year or so without its founder and visionary at the helm.

That is why Apple’s stock dropped as much as 7 per cent in after-hours trading when Jobs' departure was announced.

In the company statement, Apple co-lead director Art Levinson on behalf of the board praised Jobs’ "extraordinary vision and leadership" and "countless contributions to Apple's success", saying he would continue to serve the company with "unique insights, creativity and inspiration."

However, the statement, which also talked about Cook's outstanding performance, said nothing about Jobs' health. His battle with pancreatic cancer, which has stretched over several years, has been of deep concern to Apple fans, investors and the company's board. Over the past two years, even board members have confided to friends their concern that Jobs, in his quest for privacy, wasn't being forthcoming with directors about the true condition of his health.

Jobs has been on medical leave since January 17, with his duties being filled by Cook, who was chief operating officer.

Jobs spent all Wednesday meeting with board members and top managers at Apple's headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, and plans to remain active in his new role, a source close to Jobs told Reuters. A second source said Jobs will remain on the board of Walt Disney Co.

Still, some industry insiders express concern that Jobs' has clearly signalled he is too ill to keep up the punishing pace of a top executive job.

The 56-year-old had briefly emerged from medical leave in March to unveil the latest iPad and later attended a dinner hosted by President Barack Obama for technology leaders in Silicon Valley. But his often-gaunt appearance had sparked questions about how bad his illness was and his ability to continue at Apple.

Jobs has earned a reputation for commanding every aspect of operations - from day-to-day running to broad strategic decisions - suggesting he would not have given up the job if he had a choice.

Fans paid tribute but lamented his resignation, openly airing fears for the health of their technology guiding light.

Employees at a downtown San Francisco Apple store huddled in small groups after the news spread through word of mouth.

"Not gonna lie - I teared up upon the #stevejobs news," said Bob Skrezyna, who goes by ‘wordrebel’ on Twitter. The news caused immediate ripples in Asia, where many of the company's major suppliers and rivals are based. Samsung Electronics, Apple's top chip supplier and a major rival in smartphones and tablets, rose 3 percent in early trade, though part of that was because of a patent ruling in a court battle with Apple in the Netherlands. Sony Corp, which was overtaken by Apple in the personal music and tablet space, rose 1 per cent.

While Jobs did not detail the state of his health, oncologists who have not treated the Apple founder said he could be facing several problems tied to his rare form of pancreatic cancer and subsequent liver transplant.

They include possible hormone imbalances or a recurrence of cancer that is harder to fight once the body has already been weakened. — Reuters

Change of guard opens door for nimble rivals

Seoul, August 25
The resignation of Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs opens the door for rivals Samsung Electronics and HTC to battle for smartphone supremacy in salesrooms and courtrooms globally.

Taiwanese group HTC, led by another well-known industry figure Peter Chou, is seen by many as the most direct competitor to Apple. It has seen sales surge in the last few quarters and has a reputation for innovative flair.

Samsung's fortunes are most tied to Apple, both as a competitor and supplier of components. The group also has a scale and an ability to react quickly that is rare in the sector.

Samsung's Galaxy range of smartphones and tablet computers running on Google's Android operating system are seen as the key competitor to Apple's iPhone and iPad, products which have changed the industry.

"Even before Steve Jobs' (resignation), Samsung was getting more and more optimistic that they can actually take on Apple in the smartphone arena," said Mark Newman, a former director of strategy at Samsung, where he worked for six years.

Apple and Samsung now scrap for top spot in the smartphone market, having overtaken the market leader for the past decade, Finland's Nokia, in the second quarter. Samsung's smartphone sales soared more than 500 percent in the second quarter, easily eclipsing Apple's 142 percent growth, though Apple sold about 1 million more phones. Nokia sales fell 30 per cent.

"Investors were concerned that Apple would encroach into Android's turf, but Jobs' exit offers opportunities for Samsung to expand its smartphone market share at a time when Nokia is struggling," said Jeon Nam-joong, a fund manager at Consus Asset Management, which owns shares in Samsung.

Samsung has already stormed past its Asian rivals. Its market value of around $110 billion is comfortably more than Sony, Toshiba and Panasonic combined -- though still only a third of Apple's size.

Both Samsung and Apple will face increasingly stiff competition from new rivals in China and Taiwan, however.

Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp, China's top two telecommunications equipment makers, are looking to storm the smartphone market after hitting traditional network gear market.

Taiwanese group HTC -- is seen by many as the only phone maker able to innovate like Apple and has quickly risen to become the fifth largest smartphone vendor globally -- could benefit the most in this arena from any erosion of Apple's dominance.

"HTC may fare better than Samsung, which is currently languishing with legal hassles regarding alleged patent infringement and injunctions in Europe," analyst Richard Windsor said in a research note. — Reuters