Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs strode back into the spotlight on Monday to unveil the iCloud
Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs strode back into the spotlight on Monday to unveil the iCloud, a music-streaming service that the company hopes will power its next stage of growth and popularize Web-based consumer services.
A still thin-looking Jobs walked out to a standing ovation from the more than 5,000 Apple faithful at its Worldwide Developers' Conference in downtown San Francisco's Moscone Center, making opening comments for just a few minutes before ceding the stage to marketing chief Phil Schiller.
The Silicon Valley icon emerged from medical leave to launch an Internet-based service for consumers called the iCloud, which lets users play their music and get access to their data from any Apple device -- a crucial capability for users increasingly accustomed to performing tasks on the move.
Jobs, whose decision to headline the event assuaged some concerns on Wall Street about his health, walked briskly onstage after James Brown's seminal soul classic "I Got You (I Feel Good)" blasted over the sound system.
In cloud computing, data and software are stored on servers and devices get access to it through the Internet. Analysts say the iCloud could create a new model for media consumption -- bringing the cloud, which corporations are already familiar with, to many consumer devices.
Monday was only his second appearance in public on his company's behalf since he went on medical leave in January.
He shared the spotlight, letting his executive team showcase new features in Apple's mobile and computer operating software, before returning to the stage to lead the launch of the iCloud -- Monday's headline event.
Apple shares fell as much as 1.1 percent to $339.83.
"It was good to see him appear despite being on medical leave," said Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu. "And at the same time, it looks like he is having his lieutenants handle most of the keynote, which is good in showing that Apple is a team and not a one-man show."
