Preceded by "Here Comes the Sun," and dressed in his standard black turtleneck tucked into blue jeans, Steve Jobs looked healthier than anticipated as he arrived onstage at the Apple event today, receiving a standing ovation from the audience and setting the blogosphere abuzz with reports of his robust presentation of the iPad 2, while proclaiming 2010 the "Year of the iPad." He also reiterated the "magical" tag to the iPad, which could also describe the effect of a smiling Jobs, after months of rumors of his imminent demise.
The anticipation of a Jobs sighting post-leave of absence (as a result of pancreatic cancer) has been so strong, tabloids have written him off as all but dead and brief visits are given all the significance of a Messianic moment.
So for him to not only make it to this event, but start it off, and then present for about a half-hour, was one way to not only hopefully bring Apple stock back up (it took a bit of a hit with news of his leave), but also dispel rumors that put him at death's door. In the last decade, Jobs, 56, has proven to be a survivor, having undergone treatment for the cancer and enduring a liver transplant.
This AP story includes a photographic progression of the disease's toll on his body, which forced him to take a leave of absence in 2009, as well. He still looks thin, to be sure (and no, not as thin as the new iPad 2) but certainly not as sickly as some have speculated.
He came back about an hour and a half into the event to share his thoughts on vertical integration and waved goodbye at the end of the event, a fitting book-end to the latest event for a company he built into a $65 million tech triumph.
At today's event, which was not live streamed through any video service, but live blogged, he talked about this being an event he "didn't want to miss," and proceeded to go full-on into a presentation about iBooks, before the big reveal of the new iPad 2. But while that was anticipated, his appearance seemed to also have the effect of bringing even more wonder into the audience and fans of Apple everywhere.
More stories about Apple and Steve Jobs:
- Live coverage: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's iPad 2
- Jobs' leave shouldn't affect next year or so of Apple products
- Apple feels shareholder heat over Jobs succession
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