iPad 2 arrives, but Jobs not yet done at Apple

SAN FRANCISCO: The crowds braved the chilly winter rain as they queued up for the iPad 2's launch, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Performing Arts, in downtown San Francisco. Their attention was as much on the creator as it was on his new creation . The question on everyone's minds: "Will Steve Jobs be here for the launch?"

Jobs, whose continuous health woes have been the object of much speculation, is currently on an indefinite medical leave. This is his third such absence since 2004 when he was diagnosed with a rare, almost incurable form of pancreatic cancer. A frail looking Jobs did make an entry to an ecstatic welcome, putting rumours about his health to rest. "I didn't want to miss today," Apple's iconic Co-Founder and CEO said as he unveiled its new tablet .

Ever since Jobs went on his last medical leave in January, the focus has been more on who would succeed the legend, and less on the innovation that his company is known for. At Apple's annual shareholders meeting on February 23, shareholders had demanded to know who would succeed Jobs. Jobs was absent there and Tim Cook, Apple's COO and acting CEO, sat on Jobs' stool onstage. The rumour mill took that as the signal that he is the heir-apparent.
                     
Hired by Jobs himself, Cook has stepped into the Macman's shoes each time he went on medical leave -- to recover from surgery in 2004, for a liver transplant in 2009 as well as since last month when Jobs went on his third medical leave. Cook, an IBM veteran, was a vice-president at Compaq, a leading PC-maker at tha time, when Jobs approached help him turn around Apple.
This was in 1998, when Apple was a sinking ship. Cook's business decisions over the years have had a big hand in getting Apple to where it is today. Among other things, Cook shut down factories and yanked Apple out of manufacturing, a move which dramatically increased Apple's fortunes. He was the only employee whom Jobs had thanked on stage --launching new iPods -- when he had returned from his medical leave in 2009.

Last year, Apple made Cook its best-paid employee with a $59 million salary, plus bonus and stock options. When the iPad2 launch event began, Cook and Apple's marketing head Phil Schiller pranced around the stage, keeping the audience fearing the worst for a good 20 minutes or so.

When Jobs did indeed appear, in his trademark black turtleneck and blue jeans, they breathed again. He looked thin but gauging from his strong upbeat voice and natural movements on the stage, he seemed fine. It seems that Jobs stepping up (yet again) is just what Apple needed. By the end of the day when the markets closed, Apple shares had risen 0.8% to $352.12 on Nasdaq.