Frail-looking Steve Jobs returns to Apple stage

Jobs's return was well-timed. The holiday season is a critical period for Apple, as it is for many consumer electronics companies, as shoppers fill stores and spend their precious discretionary income on the latest gadgets.

Apple's iPod commands more than 70 percent of the U.S. portable media-player market, and its popularity -- together with the iPhone and Mac computer -- have helped Apple grow into a consumer electronics giant.

December-quarter sales made up around 30 percent of Apple's revenue last fiscal year.

On Wednesday, Jobs announced price cuts on most of the iPod range, including a $30-cheaper, $199 touch. He also announced the addition of a video camera, FM radio and pedometer to its mid-range nano, new iTunes software and updates for the iPhone software.

With few revolutionary products, much of the attention was focused on Wednesday on Jobs himself.

Jobs stepped away from day-to-day operations in January after months of rumors about his health and noticeable weight loss. He returned early this summer, but had not been seen at a public event until Wednesday.

As expectations of a high-profile product launch faded in the run-up to the event, much of the speculation centered on whether Jobs would appear.

Some analysts had speculated that Jobs would not turn up so as not to steal the spotlight from Apple's new products. Others had seen him taking on more of a behind-the-scenes role, despite his demonstrated talent for pitching products, as other executives step to the forefront.

But Jobs is also famous for his attention to detail and the huge amount of control he exerts over Apple and its products.

"Our larger point about Steve is that no single individual designs products as complex as the iPhone and Macs and Leopard. They are far too complex to assume that one individual does that, and markets it and brands it. Apple has a phenomenally deep bench," said Daniel Ernst at Hudson Square Research. (For a photo, please click here

"A greater question for Apple at the moment is ... what is the health of the consumer, who is really their core customer, in the fourth quarter? We have unemployment nearing 10 percent and Apple's still growing better than the rest of tech, but it's still an issue," he said.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway and Sinead Carew; Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr and Ritsuko Ando in New York and Clare Baldwin in San Francisco; writing by Edwin Chan; Editing by Andre Grenon, Maureen Bavdek, Gary Hill)