Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO

from apple.com

The biggest news of the day in the techworld is the resignation of Steve Jobs as Chief Executive Officer of Apple.  Tim Cook who has heretofore served as Chief Operating Officer has been elected as Jobs's replacement.  Don't be sad though, Apple fans. Steve will stay on with the company as its "Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee."

In his resignation letter addressed to the Apple Board of Directors and Apple Community, Jobs wrote "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."  

The online community believes that it has something to do with his health.  Jobs filed a medical leave of absence in January this year but has made an appearance at the WWDC in June to introduce the upcoming iCloud service.  He was also present during the event to introduce the iPad2 earlier this year.  In 2004, he took a 6-month leave of absence and underwent a liver transplant.

Although the shares of the company dived by as much as 7 percent after the announcement, industry analysts believe that the company will continue to dominate the IT industry under the helm of Tim Cook who has been considered heir apparent as Apple's top man.

Under Jobs stewardship, Apple released some of the most innovative products in the industry.  These include the iconic iPod and its companion application, iTunes which revolutionize the way we listen to and buy our music; the iPhone which raised the bar on what a smartphone should be; and of course the iPad, which still in unrivaled in the tablet industry.

Many IT experts also believe that the company will go ahead with Steve's plans for the company's hardware and software projects.  The iPhone 5 is scheduled to be released next month and the next generation iPad is expected to come out in 2012.  The iCloud service and the next iteration of the iOS is also due to debut this fall.

Steve's resignation letter is available here.