Steve Jobs' Magical Keynotes Go Missing

Computers

from the one-less-thing dept

Steve Jobs’ keynotes have taken on something of a mythical status, as the master showman takes full advantage of the spotlight to give Apple’s latest product a huge introduction. However, many observers were left disappointed after his keynote at a company conference earlier this month, in which he didn’t introduce anything they found too exciting, preferring instead to give a preview of the forthcoming update to Mac OS X. Some people even wondered if Jobs had been hit with a recurrence of the pancreatic cancer he’d had a few years ago, leading Apple to say Steve’s feeling fine. Now comes word that Jobs won’t speak at Apple Expo in Paris in September, a stage he’s used several times before to show off Apple’s new products for the holiday season. Is Apple’s hit factory starting to sputter, or are the unremarkable and un-happening keynotes just a factor of Apple’s development cycle. Investors sent shares down after the last keynote and its dearth of exciting new products, and the lack of any announcements in the near future could hold things down as well. Such reactions illustrate the value of Jobs as a marketing tool to Apple, reiterating the challenge the company will face whenever he decides to move on. Of course, maybe his hands are a little full right now to be bothering with product announcements, what with getting that iTunes movie store set up, or dealing with that little options backdating mess.