Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 25: Apple´s legendary co-founder and top ideas man Steve Jobs resigned as chief executive Wednesday in a move long expected after he began a dramatic fight with cancer.

In a written statement, Apple, the world´s second most valuable company by market capitalization, announced that chief operating officer Tim Cook would take over as CEO but that Jobs would stay on as chairman of the board.[break]

Jobs is seen as the heart and soul of Apple, with analysts and investors repeatedly expressing concern over how the Cupertino, California-based company will fare without the figure seen as its driving force.

"Steve´s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world´s most innovative and valuable technology company," board member Art Levinson said in a statement.

Apple stock price slid more than five percent to $356.32 in trading that followed news of Jobs´s resignation and it remained to be seen what the market has in store for the company with the opening bell on Thursday.

Gartner analyst Van Baker saw no reason for investors to panic.

"My suspicion is that Apple will do just fine," Baker told AFP. "There are so many talented people there and Steve´s attention to detail is baked into the culture."

Jobs will still be around as chairman of the Apple board and the company has product plans mapped, according to the analyst. Apple is expected to launch a fifth-generation iPhone in September or October.

"Apple is an execution monster, and that includes products, supply chain and marketing," Baker said. "Their roadmap is in place; I´m sure they are already working on the next iPad."

No reason was given for Job´s resignation, but his health problems, including a lengthy medical leave for a liver transplant in 2009 and his gaunt appearances at public events, fueled speculation he would have to give up the everyday running of the company he co-founded in 1976.

Cook ran Apple when Jobs went on medical leave and has essentially been running day-to-day operations since early this year with the company racking up record revenue and profit.

"The board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO," Levinson said.

"Tim´s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does," Levinson continued.

Cook was previously responsible for Apple´s worldwide sales and operations, including management of the supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries.

Jobs is a living legend in Silicon Valley. He is the beloved visionary behind the Macintosh computer, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad as well as the iTunes online shop.

Born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco to a single mother and adopted by a couple in nearby Mountain View at barely a week old, Jobs grew up among the orchards that would one day become the technology hub known as Silicon Valley.

As a high school student, he attended lectures at Hewlett-Packard computer company in nearby Palo Alto, and worked a summer job there with engineer Steve Wozniak.

Jobs left Reed College in Portland, Oregon, after a single semester, but continued to take classes, including a calligraphy class he has cited as the reason Macintosh computers were designed with multiple typefaces.

After a spiritual trek to India, he worked as a technician for video game pioneer Atari and joined a "Homebrew Computer Club" with Wozniak, a fellow northern California college dropout.

He was just 21 and Wozniak 26 when they founded Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs´s family home in 1976.

Under Jobs, the company introduced its first Apple computers and then the Macintosh, which became wildly popular in the 1980s.

Jobs was elevated to idol status by Macintosh computer devotees, many of whom saw themselves as a sort of rebel alliance opposing the powerful empire Microsoft built with its ubiquitous Windows operating systems.

He went from celebrity bachelor days that included a relationship with folk singer Joan Baez to settling into family life in Palo Alto.

Jobs married in 1991 in a ceremony presided over by a Buddhist monk. He has three children by his wife and has a daughter with a woman he dated prior to marrying.

Jobs left Apple in 1985 after an internal power struggle and started NeXT Computer company specializing in sophisticated workstations for businesses.

He co-founded Academy-Award-winning Pixar in 1986 from a former Lucasfilm computer graphics unit that Jobs reportedly bought from movie industry titan George Lucas for 10 million dollars.

Apple´s luster faded after Jobs left the company, but they reconciled in 1996 with Apple buying NeXT for $429 million and the co-founder ascending once again to the Apple throne.

Since then, Apple has gone from strength to strength with Jobs revamping the Macintosh line and giving the world the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes online shop.

Jobs underwent an operation for pancreatic cancer in 2004 but bounced back three years later with the hugely popular touchscreen iPhone.

He went on medical leave in January 2009 but returned to work in June after undergoing a liver transplant, looking gaunt but declaring himself healthy.

For a time last week, Apple surpassed ExxonMobil as the world´s most valuable company based on stock value.

Known for his trademark mock black turtleneck shirt, blue jeans and running shoes, Jobs is prone to phrase comments in musical references involving his favorite artists such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan.

A Jobs biography written by former Time magazine managing editor Walter Isaacson will be released in November, according to publisher Simon & Schuster.

Here is the text of his resignation letter:

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

"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.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple´s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you."

Key dates in Apple history

1976: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak unveil the first Apple computer in Palo Alto, California. It consists of little more than a circuit board and costs just under $700.

1977: The Apple II with a one-megahertz processor becomes the first mass produced computer and an instant hit.

1980: Apple becomes a publicly traded company.

1983: Lisa, the first personal computer featuring a mouse for navigating and desktop icons and folders, is introduced. Its failure is blamed on a daunting price of nearly $10,000.

1984: The Macintosh PC makes its debut. It is affordable and features innovations such as a disk drive, built-in monitor, and a mouse.

1985: Jobs resigns after being stripped of control of Apple in an internal power struggle.

1986: John Sculley becomes Apple president. Jobs starts computer company NeXT and buys Lucasfilm´s computer graphics division, renaming it Pixar.

1996: Apple buys NeXT and makes Jobs an adviser.

1997: Jobs returns as head of Apple. Arch-rival Microsoft invests 150 million dollars in the company.

1998: Jobs revamps Apple´s product line, churning out colorful $1,300 iMac PCs with monitors and drives in the same casing.

1999: The iBook, marketed as a mobile iMac, is introduced.

2001: Apple launches the iPod pocket digital music player for $399 and opens its first retail store in Palo Alto.

2003: Apple opens online music store iTunes.

2004: Jobs undergoes an operation for pancreatic cancer.

2007: Apple kicks off the era of the touchscreen smartphone with the new iPhone.

2009: Jobs goes on medical leave in January, returning to work in June after undergoing a liver transplant.

2010: Jobs unveils the iPad tablet computer, a huge hit after it goes on sale in April. Apple passes Microsoft in May as the largest US technology company in terms of market value.