Profile: Apple's Steve Jobs
Backgrounder: Steve Jobs, tech industry's first rock star
 |
|
An ipad displays a picture of Steve Jobs at an Apple store in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 25, 2011. Steve Jobs has resigned as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple, the company said on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Long Wei)
|
by Xinhua Writers Xu Lingui, Hu Yang, Lu Ying
BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Silicon Valley icon Steve Jobs' resignation from the top managing post of Apple Inc. has led many fans and industry analysts in China to question the future of the U.S. technology giant.
APPLE FANS TAKE TO THE NET
In the second quarter of this year, China, for the first time ever, surpassed the United States as the world's largest computer market. The immense popularity of Apple's products, especially the iPad, have led some observers to believe China is becoming Apple's largest market, so it may be no surprise that the Chinese Internet is abuzz over Jobs' resignation.
Jobs' resignation ranked as the day's top hot topic on Sina Weibo, the country's most popular microblogging site, garnering 1.5 million posts by midday Thursday, just hours after the California-based company announced that Jobs would be replaced by Tim Cook as Apple's Chief Executive Officer.
Sina Weibo began hosting a special section on Jobs' resignation Thursday and invited Internet users to participate in online surveys on the matter.
In response to the question, "How do you think Jobs' resignation will affect Apple?" more than 2,600 Internet users, or half of the survey respondents, said the company would lose its soul, while 1,789 people, or 35 percent of respondents, said the impact will be limited as long as Jobs stayed with the company at the post of board chairman.
While 31 percent of respondents polled in another survey said they would be "loyal Apple fans" with or without Jobs, another 49 percent said they still intend to buy the iPhone 5 which the company previously announced would be launched in September this year, and 20 percent said they would no longer buy Apple products.
"If Jobs eventually leaves Apple, I will not buy Apple products any more," one Internet user wrote.
"Without Jobs, I won't buy any Apple products, even if they update to iPhone 100," user Teetas posted.
"Is Apple still Apple without Steve Jobs?" asked Chai Kangni, a 20-year-old Tsinghua University student who got her first iPod 3G seven years ago.
"I am not sure whether there will be any changes at Apple, but I think Apple has said farewell to its innovative ideas and keen observations," she told Xinhua.
Concern for the IT legend's health also abounded.
"At this moment, I'm only concerned about Jobs' health. I wish him good luck in fighting illness and a tranquil period with his family," one Internet user wrote.
While the company's products are the apple of some consumers' eyes, Jobs' charisma is the factor drawing in some fans of the brand.
"Jobs is a charming man who has an incomparable passion and capacity for forward-thinking, treasures talented people, and knows how to adapt to avoid failure," said, Li Kaifu, the CEO of a Chinese venture capital enterprise and a former employee of both Microsoft and Google.
Although there is some extreme fans like Teetas who takes a dim view on the future of Apple Inc., some expect the resignation may promote the sale of iPhone 5 which will be launched on the Chinese market late this year, as fans may cherish the memory of the charismatic innovator.
An Apple fan named Shi Sanshao said, "Go for iPhone 5 as it is the final amazing art work of Steve Jobs."
