Steve Jobs quits as Apple CEO

Apple's legendary co-founder and top ideas man Steve Jobs has resigned as chief executive in a move long expected after he began a dramatic fight with cancer.

In a written statement, Apple, the world's second most valuable company by market capitalisation, announced that chief operating officer Tim Cook would take over as CEO but that Jobs would stay on as chairman of the board.

Jobs is seen as the heart and soul of Apple, with analysts and investors repeatedly expressing concern over how the Cupertino, California-based company will fare without the figure seen as its driving force.

"Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world's most innovative and valuable technology company," board member Art Levinson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Apple stock price slid more than 5% to $356.32 in trading that followed news of Jobs's resignation and it remained to be seen what the market has in store for the company with the opening bell today.

Gartner analyst Van Baker saw no reason for investors to panic.

"My suspicion is that Apple will do just fine," Baker said. "There are so many talented people there and Steve's attention to detail is baked into the culture."

Jobs will still be around as chairman of the Apple board and the company has product plans mapped, according to the analyst. Apple is expected to launch a fifth-generation iPhone in September or October.

"Apple is an execution monster, and that includes products, supply chain and marketing," Baker said. "Their roadmap is in place; I'm sure they are already working on the next iPad."

No reason was given for Job's resignation, but his health problems, including a lengthy medical leave for a liver transplant in 2009 and his gaunt appearances at public events, fueled speculation he would have to give up the everyday running of the company he co-founded in 1976.

Cook ran Apple when Jobs went on medical leave and has essentially been running day-to-day operations since early this year with the company racking up record revenue and profit.

"The board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO," Levinson said.

"Tim's 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does," Levinson continued.

Text of Steve's resignation letter:

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you."

Samsung unveils four new Galaxy smartphones

The world's two largest cellphone vendors, Nokia and Samsung Electronics, unveiled new cheaper smartphone models on Wednesday hoping to defend their stronghold from Apple.

The U.S. firm -- which has conquered the high-end of the phone market -- is set to launch a lower-cost version of the iPhone 4 soon, sources told Reuters this week.

Samsung unveiled four new smartphone models under its Galaxy line on Wednesday, expanding its flagship product line to cheaper phones to tap growth in emerging markets.

"Smartphone makers are increasingly moving down the value chain to target the low-end segment and attract mass customers, especially those in China and India," said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities.

"It's an inevitable trend but will at the same time lower margins. Only a handful of top-tier manufacturers can survive."

Nokia, whose weak smartphone offering has put its survival into question, unveiled three new mass-market smartphone models which will use a new version of its Symbian software which the Finnish firm has decided to dump in favour of Microsoft software.

"New version of the Symbian software is a positive step forward and closes the gap on low-cost Android devices, but Nokia's challenge will be convincing operators, developers and distributors that Symbian still has a future," said CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber.

Nokia sales chief Colin Giles repeated in a speech in Hong Kong that the firm was committed to roll out further Symbian phones and upgrade the software, but consumers and retailers have shun away from phones using the software the vendor itself is dumping.

Market for cheaper smartphones -- which are given away for free by many operators in exchange for 1 or 2 year contracts -- is led by Nokia and Samsung, but the two have been under pressure from ZTE Corp, Huawei Technologies and a host of no-brand producers pumping out hundreds of millions of phones.

Samsung forecast on Wednesday cheap models costing below $200 would account for more than half the overall smartphone market by 2015 in volume terms, up sharply from last year's 16 percent.

"Samsung seeks to expand market share in the emerging market with models costing around $200, as those markets have lower smartphone penetration rates compared with advanced markets," a Samsung group spokeswoman quoted an executive from Samsung Electronics' mobile division as telling a meeting of the group's executives on Wednesday.

APPLE SAMSUNG BATTLE HEATS UP

Apple and Samsung are locked in a bruising patent fight in the United States, Europe and Asia, as they jostle for top title in the smartphone market after ending Nokia's 10-year reign in the second quarter.

Apple has long stuck to the higher end of a booming mobile device arena, but is now seeking new markets to sustain the rip-roaring pace of growth that has enthralled Wall Street.

The introduction of cheaper models comes just a day before Samsung goes to a German court to try to overturn a ban on its selling Galaxy tablets in the country.

Samsung is also awaiting a crucial ruling by a Dutch court on Apple's requests to ban a much wider Galaxy line of products in the Netherlands and European Union. The Korean firm is the nearest rival to Apple in smartphones and its shipments in the second quarter were just 1 million units short of Apple's 20.3 million unit sales, according to market data.

The new Galaxy lineup, all running on Google's Android platform version 2.3, will be shown to the public at annual IFA electronics fair in Germany starting next week.

Samsung launched its first flagship Galaxy phone in June 2010 and its followup Galaxy S II, launched in April this year, has sold more than 5 million units.

Much of that growth in smartphone market is expected to come from lower cost emerging markets, where margins are slimmer and competition is tough.

Small underground factories that churn out China's grey market cellphones, mostly in Shenzhen, are giving global brands a run for their money.

As many as 900 million phones a year are produced in Shenzhen, including big brands such as Huawei and ZTE but also lesser-known names like G'five and Daxian, according to industry estimates.

Shares in Samsung fell 2.1 percent, versus a 1.2 percent drop in the wider market. Shares in Nokia were 1.1 percent higher at 4.17 euros by 1220 GMT.