Apple's Jobs makes first statement since January leave

Apple announced Monday that more than one million new iPhones have been sold in just three days and released the first public comment from chief executive Steve Jobs since he went on medical leave of absence in January.

"Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning," the 54-year-old Jobs said in a brief written statement. "With over 50,000 applications available from Apple's revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever."

Apple said more than one million iPhone 3GS models had been sold through Sunday and six million customers have downloaded the new iPhone 3.0 software in the first five days since its release.

The iPhone 3GS went on sale in the United States on Friday while the software upgrade was released on Wednesday.

The two-sentence statement from Jobs, the iconic Apple chief executive, came just two days after The Wall Street Journal reported that he had received a liver transplant about two months ago in Tennessee.

The newspaper reported that Jobs was recovering well from the liver transplant and was expected to return to work on schedule later this month.

Apple did not say whether Monday's statement officially marked the end of Jobs' leave of absence.

The Journal, citing an unnamed person familiar with the situation at Apple, said Jobs may initially work part-time "for a month or two."

Jobs's gaunt appearance has been the source of intense speculation over the past year, often causing swings in the price of Apple stocks.

Apple shares lost 1.51 percent in New York on Monday to close at 137.37 dollars.

Apple has been secretive about Jobs's health since he underwent an operation in 2004 for pancreatic cancer but has been adamant that he was returning to the company's helm at the end of June.

Apple vice president of marketing Phil Schiller took the place of Jobs this month at a developers conference presentation and unveiled the iPhone 3GS, which is the first model to have video camera capabilities.

Apple's fortunes have been uniquely linked to Jobs, who returned to the company in 1997 after a 12-year absence to turn around the flagging tech giant with innovative and wildly successful products like the iPod and iPhone.

In a January 5 letter to Apple employees, Jobs said he was suffering from "a hormone imbalance."

"The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment," he said.

Less than a week later, however, Jobs announced that his health issues were "more complex than I originally thought" and he was taking a medical leave, putting chief operating officer Tim Cook in charge of day-to-day operations.

Analysts were divided on the impact of Jobs' absence and long-term future.

"My personal opinion is that it doesn't matter -- Apple is a pretty finely tuned machine," said Stephen Baker of the NPD Group. "For one person to be gone for months isn't going to impact the actual performance of the company."

David Eller, an analyst at securities firm JPRG, told CNBC that "for the next couple of years I'm very confident with the company.

"We have to worry five to 10 years from now," he said. "The vision behind this company is Steve Jobs. I've got no confidence whatsoever in what the board puts forward about his health."

Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs's family home in 1976.

Under Jobs, the company introduced its first Apple computers and then the Macintosh, which became wildly popular in the 1980s.

Jobs left Apple in 1985 after an internal power struggle and started NeXT Computer company specializing in sophisticated workstations for businesses. He co-founded Academy-Award-winning Pixar in Emeryville, California, in 1986.

Walt Disney Company in 2006 bought Pixar in a 7.4-billion-dollar deal that gave Jobs a seat on its board of directors and made him the entertainment titan's biggest single shareholder.