Steve Jobs Talks MacBook Air, Rivals’ Tech Innovations

January 16th, 2008 at 2:00 PM - News by Brad Cook

Apple CEO Steve Jobs sat down with the New York Timesi John Markoff after his Tuesday keynote at Macworld Expo, revealing that his companyis design team created around 100 prototypes before settling on one that worked. "Iive been lusting after this," Mr. Jobs remarked.

In addition, the CEO discussed the new version of Apple TV, noting that he has no intention to replace set-top boxes, a strategy TiVo has adopted by using cable and satellite TV connectors on its DVRs. "That whole industry, their go-to-market strategy is pretty loopy, and itis fractured," he said. "Our model is like DVD."

He also offered his thoughts on several recent developments in technology, such as the Amazon Kindle book reader, of which he said: "Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people donit read anymore." And of Googleis Android open-source smartphone operating system, he remarked: "Having created a phone, itis a lot harder than it looks. Weill see how good their software is and weill see how consumers like it and how quickly it is adopted."

Finally, Mr. Jobs had some kind words for his fiercest rival, Microsoftis Bill Gates, who is officially retiring this summer. "[Itis] a big deal," he said. "Itis a significant event, and I think he should be honored for the contributions heis made."