Changing Of The Guard at Apple: Jobs Resigns As CEO

By Trefis: Talk about big shoes to fill. Steve Jobs, who is widely recognized as the driving force behind Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) culture of innovation that took it from near collapse to become an industry leader and one of the most respected brands globally, resigned from his role as CEO yesterday.

Apple is going through a sour patch right now. On Monday, TIME columnist Tim Bajaran asked if Apple’s amazing run disrupting markets is over. The Cupertino-Calif.-based tech juggernaut has not introduced a truly break-through new product since co-founder Steve Jobs died over one year ago. As a result, Apple’s stock price has suffered, declining 24% over the last 6 months. Apple investors are getting nervous.

Apple is going through a sour patch right now. On Monday, TIME columnist Tim Bajaran asked if Apple’s amazing run disrupting markets is over. The Cupertino-Calif.-based tech juggernaut has not introduced a truly break-through new product since co-founder Steve Jobs died over one year ago. As a result, Apple’s stock price has suffered, declining 24% over the last 6 months. Apple investors are getting nervous.

Finally. After years of lawsuits and untold tens of millions in legal fees, Apple, the world’s largest technology company, has agreed to cease all current patent litigation against Taiwanese hardware giant HTC, a major ally of Google, which controls Android, the world’s most ubiquitous mobile operating system. This deal, announced late Saturday night, could — I emphasize the word could — augur a new phase in the great digital intellectual property wars that have roiled the technology industry for the last decade.

Get ready for the tech swoon and maybe a fantastic buying opportunity. Late Wednesday, Steve Jobs resigned as the chief executive of Apple (AAPL) and recommended that Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook take over as CEO. Soon, after the news, Cook was named CEO and Jobs became chairman of the board.