Apple boss Steve Jobs stole the show at an event to launch new products as he took to the stage for the first time in nearly a year following medical leave.

苹果老板史蒂夫乔布斯在苹果举行的新品发布会上出尽风头，这是他近一年以来因健康原因离开媒体视线之后的首次亮相。

Mr Jobs was greeted with cheers and applause when he took to the stage

Mr Jobs returned to work at the end of June after taking a six month break to recover from a liver transplant.

After a long summer of speculation¹ about what would roll off the Apple production line, the products took second billing to Mr Jobs' appearance.

"I'm vertical²（垂直的） and I'm back," joked Mr Jobs at a press event in San Francisco.

As the audience rose to give him a standing³ ovation⁴（长时间起立鼓掌） and cheer his return, the notoriously（臭名昭著的，众所周知的） private Mr Jobs talked briefly⁵ about the operation he received at a hospital in Tennessee.

"As some of you may know, about five months ago I had a liver transplant," he told the crowd of press, analysts⁷ and invited guests.

"So I have the liver of a mid⁸-20's person who died in a car crash and was generous（慷慨的） enough to donate their organs. I wouldn't be here without such generosity¹⁰."

Dressed in his perennial¹¹（四季不断的，连续多年的） uniform of blue jeans and a black turtle neck, and looking perhaps a bit thinner than usual, the technology mogul（显要人物） urged everyone to follow suit and become organ donors¹².

"In charge"

Weeks before the company's event dubbed¹³ "It's only rock n roll and we like it," the rumour¹⁴ mill had gone into over-drive about whether or not Mr Jobs would attend given the attention his health has attracted.

The issue has been seen as a major distraction¹⁵ for the company.

Many believed that this was one engagement Mr Jobs could not afford to miss given that the company's share price has risen and fallen in the past on reports of his health.

"Today it was all about Steve Jobs," Gene⁹ Munster, a senior analyst⁶ with Piper Jaffray & Co told the BBC.

"Users and investors¹⁶ of Apple adore Steve Jobs and the fact that he was here is really a statement that he is in charge and he is an active part of the company. That is the most important takeaway," said Mr Munster.

That was a view echoed by Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes.

"We believe it is positive that Jobs is healthy and enthusiastic enough to lead Apple, which is an important element of the short- and long-term investment cases for Apple," Mr Reitzes wrote in a research note to clients.

Although investors typically sell Apple stock after a launch event, he said the presentation should be seen as a "warm-up" for a "re-engaged Steve Jobs."

While Apple's shares have doubled in value since the start of the year, they fell 0.9% on the day to $171.41 (£105).

Products

Mr Jobs did not dwell on the issue of his own health for very long. Minutes after the show kicked off, the Apple boss got down to business.

The chief executive debuted¹⁷ a new iPod Nano with a built-in video camera, FM tuner and voice recorder ranging from $149-$179 (£92-£110).

Mr Jobs called the Nano "the most popular music player in the world" with over 100m sold to date. The company revealed that as a whole, it has sold more than 220 million iPods and now commands 73.8% of the market compared to Microsoft's 1.1%.

Apple also lowered the prices of existing iPods and introduced a new 32GB and 64GB iPod Touch that promises to run faster than previous models.

Mr Jobs then turned the spotlight¹⁸ on a revamped（翻新，修改） iTunes programme that includes app management, home sharing and the ability to buy lyrics¹⁹, memorabilia and liner notes through an iTunes LP music feature.

"I think it's really cool, but iTunes LP isn't going to sell albums," said analyst Michael Gartenberg of Interpet.

"Good music will sell albums. Still, it's nice we are getting back some of the stuff we lost with the CD," he told Wired.com

Mr Jobs said that iTunes is now the world's number one music retailer²⁰ with 100 million registered users.

"Disappointment"

At the end of the day, the products the company unveiled left some feeling underwhelmed（未留下深刻印象）.

"The common sentiment（情绪，意见） everyone always feels after an Apple press conference is a sense of delight at some of the cool things but also some disappointment that all of the wildly crazy rumours²¹ didn't come true," Dean Takahashi of Venturebeat.com told BBC News.

"So that meant no Apple tablet and no Beatles heading to the iTunes store. I did think there were a couple of cool things like the iPod Nano camera. You almost expect them to come up with something more innovative²² but there was no big wow moment," said Mr Takahashi.

"It was kind of a non event," Piper Jaffray's Mr Munster said.

" It was all about the iPod today and in terms of competition they are still running away with the show. Our biggest question is what is going to happen in the next six months. The Apple Tablet is what we want to hear about and it's going to address this mid market as people look for portability with their computing²³.

"This is a niche²⁴（壁龛） they really need to address in the coming months," said Mr Munster.