Jobs, iPhone Spotted at Sporting Event

He was calling Brittney Spears in rehab.

Admittedly, the photo tests the boundaries of what could be considered "news" and is also difficult to authenticate due to a slight motion blur. Nevertheless, it does appear to show the Apple co-founder, clad in his trademark blue jeans and black turtleneck, plugged into some form of electronics device.

EXCUSE ME?! Where did you say the phone was?

There is NO F--'n phone in that picture!!!

No, the phone's behind his back. He's crushing it while leaning against the fence. Testing it for scratch resistance!

it's a picture of a guy that could be Steve Jobs wearing blue jeans and a black turtle neck with white earbuds in his ears.

SO WHAT?!!

Products need to be tested before they are released. Jobs gets to be a beta tester because he's Steve Jobs. Be thankful that someone like him is working out the bugs!

first this guy is a billionare, no way in hell they could get that close to him, trump is a broke as, compare to him and you wont get near 100 feet from that guy, and where the hell is the phone ? oh yeah is in his pocket, because someone says it is, yeah right

I'm no genius or anything, but it would appear that he's wearing the headphone accessory with the cellular talkie thing that was also announced as an Apple iPhone accessory and that the F--'n phone IS IN HIS POCKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Duh?

OK, as a photographic interpreter in a previous life, answer me this:

1. Have you ever worn a pair of jeans that had a forward leaning pocket that was placed on the front of the leg?

2. If it is still unapproved by FCC then, uhhhhhhhh, damn?

3. It does have Bluetooth.......why give people room to chatter about crappy photos like this?

4. The white border around the iPhone is SMALLER than the diameter of a strand of chain link fence...why does it look so much like an extention of the headphones he is using?

I didn't say "this isn't Steve" nor did I say "there isn't a cord running down his stomach, and apparently attached to something"

I simply said "there is no phone"

You are right, Things are not as they seem - nor they as we might want them to be....

I've seen Steve at his kids' school events and, yes, he does wear his trademark attire even while other dads are wearing their respective "work clothes" (ie: suits, slacks, etc.). (His on attends my prep school alma mater).

Holy Shit MacsRGood4U! I think my head just exploded.

first this guy is a billionare, no way in hell they could get that close to him, trump is a broke as, compare to him and you wont get near 100 feet from that guy, and where the hell is the phone ? oh yeah is in his pocket, because someone says it is, yeah right
You overestimate his narcissism. Steve lives in an unpretentious home in Palo Alto. He goes jogging through the neighborhood without a security entourage. He sits in regular seats in his son's school auditorium. Back in the 1990's I met him at the local Fry's Electroinics, believe it or not. For all the bad press he gets, he's actually just your run-of-the-mill dad who just happens to be a passionate and formidable marketing genius and CEO.

good headline:

"JOBS, iPHONE SPOTTED IN WILD"

OK, as a photographic interpreter in a previous life, answer me this:

2. If it is still unapproved by FCC then, uhhhhhhhh, damn?

Steve Jobs has a history of not following FCC rules very carefully. (For those not in the know, one of the first collaborations between Jobs and Wozniak was a box that could help you make free long distance phone calls.)

Anyone want to chip in with me and buy Mr. Jobs a navy blue mock turtleneck? He needs some variety!

This hardly qualifies for even AI's low, low standards of reportage. Bad show.

Since when is this TMZ??
:no:

I dunno. It's mildly entertaining and much better than reading about how some people voted Apple the 7th bestest most admired company, or how some crappy market ranking website says Mac OS usage grew one 500th of a percentage point in January while Windows dropped one 500th of a percentage point in January, or how the BBC, Rhapsody, RQP, (insert any shitty company name here) plans to to TAKE ON AND DESTROY itunes with their own shitty service.

Honestly, is a black mock shirt the only thing he ever wears?

Hi, my name is wilco. I promise not to post images that denigrate against groups of people based on race, sex, sexual preference or religion from now on. Or I will be banned.

This is true. I've actually exchanged emails with the guy.

He's still arrogant, but in a 'man of the people' kinda way. If you live in Palo Alto, there's a chance you'll run into him somewhere. I know folks who have (I live in Mountain View, one town over).

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Well, I'd argue that... of all the people I've met... he's one who has a right to be arrogant. After all, his baby had been going to Hell in a handbasket since he was fired by the guy he hired and, when he returned to mop up the mess, Apple's been flourishing. Honestly, the most arrogant man I've ever met was Bill Gates. If you're not among his elite circle, he assumes you're a servant of some sort.

Let me elaborate with a true story...
Seven or eight years ago, a friend of mine, we'll call him George, was managing a landscaping crew for a friend of his, a former lady Sr. Exec at Apple, whom Mr. Gates was visiting for a few days in the town of Woodside, CA. When Gates arrived, he told George to carry his bags in for him. George, a temporarily (pre 9/11) undeployed active duty Special Forces commander (whose Medical officer was married to Bill's Hostess) told him to go f*ck himself and to carry his own luggage.

most useless thread ever.

I'd be more surprised if he wasn't using an iPhone. IMHO, it'd be pretty bad PR to be plugging a device that you aren't using yourself.

Let me know when you have the photo of him using a competitor's phone.

I like the way Steve is standing on his own at the back, slightly awkwardly. He's self-consciously got his back to the railings and his hands are tightly behind him so he doesn't have to fidget and work out what to do with them. The headphones also give him an excuse to stand on his own without feeling so awkward.

I think it's a fascinating picture, just not for all the other reasons. His slightly self-conscious standoffishness seems far more likely for a 'star figure' like him than a bunch of bodyguards. His comfort zone is the boardroom, not school sports day.

I'm also intrigued by the red arrow cursor that is following him.
Could this be some sort of hovering personal assistant?
Perhaps it is a preview of the new Aqua GUI theme we will see in Leopard?

To paraphrase:

He's just a man like any other. He puts his pants on one leg at a time. Except that once he has his pants on, he reinvents some consumer electronics space.

In one of the TV interviews Jobs did right after the Keynote, he told the interviewer that he was happy he could finally start using iPhone on a regular basis, now that its release was common knowledge. He had only previously played around with it at his house and at Apple HQ.

So yes, Steve is probably using iPhone as his full-time cell phone. And he's probably helping the team tweak the software over the next few months with his suggestions.

I wouldn't be surprised if Jon Ive and a couple of the software managers were doing the same. I know a few of the iPod team members were asked to play around with the original iPod for a month or so before it was released.

That doesn't make the photo authentic, necessarily. But I wouldn't consider it unlikely.

And no, Steve doesn't ALWAYS wear the black turtleneck and jeans. I've seen him several times, and maybe half of those he was dressed that way, and other times he was in some other casual shirt, pants, shorts, sneakers kind of combo. He's never in a suit, that's for sure.

He also doesn't travel with an entourage of any kind. He walks/drives around Palo Alto quite often. And he waits in line, even at the Apple Store on University Avenue, like everyone else.

Arrogant as he may be, he is visably uncomfortable with any kind of "glamor" treatment. He doesn't like being approached by strangers for autographs, photos, or anything like that. People in Palo Alto have learned to just leave him be.

...(it was) Albert Einstein's thinking that he did not want to use
any brain bandwidth deciding what to wear every day...

after all these years, i discover why i've never made that breakthrough invention or written that great American novel: it's all those damn different color boxers i have to deliberate over every morning.

Wtf!? Jobs wears that all the time? I thought that was only for keynotes! lol he truly has an "iconic" look!

It looks like Steve is listening to some sort of earphones. Maybe his iPod? There is no evidence that he is using an iPhone in this photo, although this is possible.

He must have been banished to the fence by the refs becuase of him yelling at the players and coaches

In one of the TV interviews Jobs did right after the Keynote, he told the interviewer that he was happy he could finally start using iPhone on a regular basis, now that its release was common knowledge. He had only previously played around with it at his house and at Apple HQ.

So yes, Steve is probably using iPhone as his full-time cell phone. And he's probably helping the team tweak the software over the next few months with his suggestions.

I wouldn't be surprised if Jon Ive and a couple of the software managers were doing the same. I know a few of the iPod team members were asked to play around with the original iPod for a month or so before it was released.

That doesn't make the photo authentic, necessarily. But I wouldn't consider it unlikely.

And no, Steve doesn't ALWAYS wear the black turtleneck and jeans. I've seen him several times, and maybe half of those he was dressed that way, and other times he was in some other casual shirt, pants, shorts, sneakers kind of combo. He's never in a suit, that's for sure.

He also doesn't travel with an entourage of any kind. He walks/drives around Palo Alto quite often. And he waits in line, even at the Apple Store on University Avenue, like everyone else.

Arrogant as he may be, he is visably uncomfortable with any kind of "glamor" treatment. He doesn't like being approached by strangers for autographs, photos, or anything like that. People in Palo Alto have learned to just leave him be.
Quite true. A couple of years ago, I saw him when at his son's middle school musical (Reed was playing "Bundles" in Annie) and was dressed in his usual attire, complete with Birkenstocks. Before the show, he was standing off in the courtyard of the school. He was alone, looking pensive and appeared to prefer being away from the crowd which mostly consisted of other affluent parents gregariously chatting it up before finding their seats.

If I were driving and pulled up next to him at a red light I'd rev it a little just to see if he'd rev it back a little. I dont care what car I was in, I'd still do it. (For reference I drive a 98 Kia Sephia...what a beauty especially since the former owner took one good whack at the trunk with a sledge hammer for some reason)

Does he wear the same thing every damn day?!?!? I thought that was just for big announcements and that by now it was probably more tongue in cheek than anything.

Guess I was wrong.

(Disclaimer: I do not normally use four-letter words.)

This bothers me. This REALLY bothers me.

Let us suppose this is true.

If so, my reaction would be: Leave Jobs' **FRIGgin** personal life alone. Everyone -- anyone -- deserves that, at a minimum.

Absolutely anything vis-a-vis his role as CEO, CTO, etc of Apple is fair game. But at his kid's baseball game? Give me a FRIGgin break.....

Shame on anyone who thinks a story like this is worth more than spit.

:mad: :mad:

It's fake. The man does wear non-Keynote clothes. Look at everyone else. He'd be sweating his ass off.
Oh, who cares if it's fake? It's fun to talk about anyway. ;)

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To begin with, I find it really suspicious that he's wearing his trademark clothes; I bet this was Photoshopped from an existing keynote. I don't believe it's real.

And if it is a real photo, so what?? The iPhone is due to be out in 3 months; why wouldn't it make sense that he'd be using one sometimes?

If you knew anything about SJ it's that he almost always dresses that way. If you've read any books about him it's been well known that he wears the trademark "black mock neck shirt and jeans" because he doesn't believe in obsessing with what he's going to wear. He probably owns a crap load of the same thing! I have to admit I've become somewhat modular in my wardrobe.

On the iPhone... I don't see how anyone could tell that he was using one from the picture. The person who took the picture could have seen it at some point, but I'm sure he'd be keeping it well hidden. I really don't think he'd be using one before it's been cleared by the FCC though. It's not a smart thing to do being a person in such a high position. Just not worth the trouble it could raise.

Assuming this is true, is this a harbinger of a nerd paparazzi? I think it's a little rude to be covertly photographing people.

I don't think the clothes are a comfort problem or necessarily a plausibility killer here. It looks like some people have shorts & short sleeve shirts, others have pants & long sleeves. It's hard to tell. I see some people wearing short sleeves & shorts or skirts in winter.

Yes, it's the Poppa-zity.

Unknown to those around him, SJ is standing slightly away from the crowd trying out his new iDepends with the "iPoo Shield" accessory. "Aaaahhhh," says Steve as he grunts out another Zune colored RDF ball, "now I can truly feel fresh and free! Jony Ive, you've outdone yourself yet again!"

Holy sh-t! 73, er, 74 comments on this?

From the picture it looks like it just rained recently. Therefore the ground should be soft and this investigative journalist could have gotten us a close-up picture of Steve Job's footprint! Then we could confirm this story (after having snuck into his office to steal one of his sneakers). We could also probably sell plaster casts of the footprint for $120 on eBay. What's this world coming to?

To all the people questioning whether it's an iPhone, read the description provided by the person who snapped the picture on his camera phone.

flickr link (http://www.flickr.com/photos/thane/410469047/)

For those of you too lazy to click the link:

Yes, the photo is for real, and yes it is an iPhone that he was talking on, or at least it was the same size and shape. He took it out of his pocket to make calls using the touchscreen.

I thought it was interesting, so I took the photo.

I can't believe this photo has over 1100 views.

Maybe I'll become a professional paparazzo and save up the $500 to buy one for myself when it's available.

I could hear his side of the conversation, but I have to confess I wasn't paying attention.

I'm amazed that people find this so interesting. It's public information that they're developing the iPhoneI wasn't surprised to see him using one (presumably they're testing prototypes or something). I just thought it was kind of cool that he was using one, pointed my cellphone in his general direction, and pressed the button.

Alsoas a photo of Steve Jobs, this one kind of sucks compared to many others available on the web.

Now I do realise that he might not be telling the truth, but he sounds very genuine in his comments.

It's a fake, look at the the fence, none of the metal lines touch his shoulder.:smokey:

To all of those questioning whether it is real
1) It doesn't really matter
2) Not sure why someone would have to fake a picture of Steve when they could probably go track him down and take a real picture.

Sebastian

(Disclaimer: I do not normally use four-letter words.)

This bothers me. This REALLY bothers me.

Let us suppose this is true.

If so, my reaction would be: Leave Jobs' **FRIGgin** personal life alone. Everyone -- anyone -- deserves that, at a minimum.

Absolutely anything vis-a-vis his role as CEO, CTO, etc of Apple is fair game. But at his kid's baseball game? Give me a FRIGgin break.....

Shame on anyone who thinks a story like this is worth more than spit.

:mad: :mad:
Actually, it was his daughter's soccer(football) match.

You know Apple-related news is hard to come by when threads like this get more than 80 replies.

Actually, it was his daughter's soccer(football) match.

OK. I stand corrected -- not "kid's baseball game," but "daughter's soccer (football) match." Thanks for the clearing that up! (I guess my larger point is moot now).

Could we have more insane photo forensics, please? I really miss insane photo forensics, since Apple got so tight with security.

Maybe someone could blow up Jobs' head to 5,000,000% and show how the subpixels clearly indicate tinkering? Maybe there's a stray reflection in there somewhere that gives it away? Oh, I know, we could track down the Apple publicity shot that shows Jobs standing in more or less the same position, wearing exactly the same cloths.

At least it could all be happening on an elevator.

Sigh. Good times.

That's not Steve Jobs. Sorry. There's too much hair on the front of the guy's head and the shape of the head is wrong. It also looks like the guy in the pic might have a 'stache.

:no:

Someone should get the word out to "thane" that when you're taking a picture of a celebrity in a public area, it's OK to snap a straight-on, in-focus shot. As long as you're not obnoxious about it, Steve won't shoot you with a gun. As it is, you have a pic of...well, bupkiss.