SAN FRANCISCO — After a prolonged absence from the public eye, a thin but energetic Steven P. Jobs reappeared Wednesday at an Apple news conference and addressed his illness in personal terms for the first time.
On Wednesday, Steven P. Jobs talked about his illness and introduced a new iPod Nano.
Multimedia
Today's Business: Brad Stone on the Reappearance of Steve Jobs 
Post a Comment on the Bits Blog
After a five-month absence, Mr. Jobs said, “I’m back at Apple and I’m loving every day of it.”
“I feel great. I probably need to gain about 30 pounds, but I feel really good,” said Mr. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, in an interview after the event. “I’m eating like crazy. A lot of ice cream.”
At the music-themed event, Apple introduced new iTunes software and a new line of iPod Nano music players with video cameras. But the product announcements were eclipsed by the public return of Mr. Jobs, five months after he received a liver transplant at a hospital in Tennessee. Mr. Jobs needed the operation after suffering from complications from a rare form of pancreatic cancer.
“I’m vertical, I’m back at Apple and I’m loving every day of it,” he said on stage, after a standing ovation from the crowd, which included Apple employees and journalists gathered for the news conference.
The applause “was an endearing statement for someone who is clearly still recovering,” said Gerry Purdy, a wireless analyst at Frost & Sullivan who has covered the mobile computing industry for 20 years. “You just feel like this is an opportunity to share in the greatness of someone who is an icon in the industry.”
Mr. Jobs, who appeared as gaunt as he was when he went on a leave of absence in January, immediately addressed the matter of his health.
“I’m very happy to be here, and thank you all,” he said. “As some of you know, five months ago I had a liver transplant. I now have the liver of a mid-20s person who died in a car crash and was generous enough to donate their organs. I wouldn’t be here without such generosity, so I hope all of us can be as generous and elect to be organ donors.”
But after that gentle opening, Apple’s chief executive, who wore his characteristic outfit of jeans and a black turtleneck, was as tough as ever. He used the news conference to take jabs at competing products from Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Dell and Cisco Systems.
Mr. Jobs’s public return will reassure many Apple fans and shareholders, who view the charismatic co-founder of the company as crucial to Apple’s success.
“Apple users and investors think the world of Steve Jobs and the world of Apple products, and that he was here today is a statement that he is back in charge,” said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray. “The wizard of Oz is back in Oz.”
The actual products announced Wednesday were not nearly as magical as recent hits like the iPhone.
Apple announced a new version of its iTunes software that will allow users to better organize their applications for the iPhone and the iPod Touch and to share music and videos among up to five computers in the home.
The company also introduced a line of iPod Nanos that have a video camera, microphone, speaker, FM radio tuner and pedometer and start at $149.
Mr. Jobs drew a sharp comparison between the Nanos, which are the size of a five-pack of chewing gum, and Cisco’s popular Flip video cameras, which are the size of a pack of playing cards. The new Nano is an effort to turn around sales of the iPod, which have been sluggish for the first time and which actually declined 7 percent in the last quarter from a year earlier.
“They need something to reinvigorate the line and give people another reason to have an iPod,” said Charles S. Golvin, an analyst focusing on mobile and consumer electronics at Forrester Research.
Jonathan Kaplan, senior vice president for consumer products at Cisco, said his company was flattered by the attention from Mr. Jobs but said that the Flip camera records video in high definition, while the Nano represents “last generation’s technology.”
“This will help consumers realize it’s not all about photography, that video can make a difference in the world,” Mr. Kaplan said. “It’s nice that Apple is finally realizing that video is a place they need to be.”
Apple also pitched a cheaper, $199 version of the iPod Touch with more memory but did not announce, as some had expected, a new version with a video camera.
In the interview, Mr. Jobs said that Apple had been originally unsure how to market the iPod Touch, but settled on selling it as a video game device that can take advantage of the many free or cheap games available in the company’s App Store. “We don’t need to add new stuff,” he said. “We need to get the price down where everyone can afford it.”
Despite much speculation by Apple fans, the company made no announcements about a tablet-size computer or reading device.
But in the interview, Mr. Jobs said general-purpose devices are more appealing than specialized devices like Amazon.com’s Kindle e-book reader.
“I think people just probably aren’t willing to pay for a dedicated device,” he said. “You notice Amazon never says how much they sell; usually if they sell a lot of something, you want to tell everybody.”
Apple’s shares, which rose in the days leading to the news conference, fell about 1 percent in Wednesday’s trading, closing at $171.14.
