Has Jobs’ health taken a bite out of the Apple?

COMMENT: Poor Steve Jobs really seems to have been going through the mill recently.

The man, just 54, survived pancreatic cancer diagnosed in 2004 but then in January this year a hormone imbalance became a bigger issue than he first thought, leading him to sign off work for six months.

Now the Wall Street Journal has reported he also had a liver transplant two months ago and is currently recovering.

So did the loss of the guy at the top make Apple's success fall from the tree?

At the times when his illnesses came to light the stock markets looked more like a roller coaster. Prices soared and fell in an uneasy fashion showing Jobs had quite an effect on his investors. The underlying assumption was without him around something might go wrong and speculation grew that someone else would take over.

However, it really does seem like the Apple just won't go rotten and can take anything that is thrown at it. Even without the main man on board, it is continuing to dominate the market.

Don't get me wrong, I feel for Steve Jobs, going through all these health problems and having the eagle eye of the media following his every move, but it must be some consolation to him that during his absence Apple has continued to provide tasty treats for its consumers.

This week, the company announced it had sold one million next-gen iPhones in just three days. This must have brought a smile to the executive's face, as it did for many customers across the UK, US and six other countries. A further six million downloads of the much anticipated iPhone 3.0 software may have turned that smile into a Cheshire cat-esque grin.

The latest rumour circling this morning is that reporters saw the Apple chief at work, chatting with colleagues and looking like he was back at the office, though the company has not confirmed this as yet.

Most are assuming he will go back on a part-time basis but I think the message here is clear: Mr Jobs, don't push yourself. The company is in good health and ticking along nicely, make sure you do the same.