Jobs to skip Macworld

Additionally, the company said that beginning in 2010, it would no longer be participating in the conference which has become the prime convention for Macintosh developers.

In place of Jobs, Apple will send senior vice president of product marketing Phil Schiller, who has often accompanied Jobs on-stage in keynote speeches and product announcements.

The keynote will be the first at the San Francisco Macworld Expo not to be delivered by Jobs since the Apple co-founder returned to the chief executive position in 1997.

The news comes amidst growing speculation that Jobs' health is in decline. Rumours have circulated in recent months that the Apple chief was suffering from complications in the aftermath of a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Apple claimed the Jobs health had nothing to do with the move. In a statement, the company said that the decision was part of a larger overall strategy to reduce its presence in trade shows.

"Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers," read the statement.

"The increasing popularity of Apple’s retail stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways."

The Macworld Expo is set to begin at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center on January 5th, just two days before the CES conference kicks off in Las Vegas.

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