Apple chief executive Steve Jobs is expected to return
to work soon after six months' medical leave, according to
the
Wall Street Journal.
The report has sparked speculation that Jobs could return early
to unveil a new iPhone at Apple's
Worldwide Developers
Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco on Monday.
The new iPhone is expected to be priced lower than previous
versions to boost demand by up to 50% to increase Apple's share of
the market for web-surfing devices, a
Financial Times report said.
The 54-year-old's health has been the subject of speculation
since last June's Worldwide Developers Conference, when he appeared
to have lost a great deal of weight.
In January, Jobs announced he would be taking a
medical leave of absence to deal with a hormone imbalance that
was preventing his body from absorbing certain proteins.
In August 2004, Jobs underwent surgery for a rare form of
pancreatic cancer. Much of the speculation about his health in the
run-up to the announcement had been over whether that cancer had
returned.
Jobs told staff in an e-mail that his health problems were more
complex than he had originally thought and chief operating officer
Tim Cook would fill in for him while he was away.
"Fundamentally, he was starving to death over a nine-month
period. He could not digest protein. (But) he took corrective
action,'' an unnamed source told the Wall Street Journal.
Apple has given no indication of an appearance by Jobs on
Monday. The company's vice-president of marketing Philip Schiller
is scheduled to deliver the WWDC keynote address.