Is there life after Steve Jobs for Apple?

What began as a startup with Steve Jobs building a computer from his parents' garage has grown into a US$350 billion business that revolutionised the global consumer electronics industry. What next for Apple? Is there life after Steve Jobs for the tech giant. Watch full screen video Turn back time How Apple's product evolved over the decades. View picture gallery Dubai Tribute to Steve Jobs Described by President Obama as one of "the greatest of American innovators", a tribute event will be held this evening in Dubai. Read blog What next for Apple in the Middle East? Read all The National's coverage. Learn More Yet with the sudden passing of Mr Jobs on Wednesday evening, the big question for Apple now is where does the company go from here? "Steve Jobs was so intrinsic to the huge changes that Apple was able to make in the consumer electronics and telecom markets," says Matthew Reed, an analyst based in Dubai for Informa Telecoms & Media's Middle East and Africa regions. "But in the longer term, will they be able to come up with the same kinds of massive innovations they did under Steve Jobs?" As condolences from influential players in the tech industry poured in yesterday, some competitors took a moment to reflect on how Mr Jobs had an impact on their own business. "Everything he did really kept us moving forward, driving us to innovate more," says Jack Lee, general manager for the Middle East and Africa region at Lenovo, the world's third-largest computer maker. Apple must now do everything it can to keep its lead ahead of the pack. After-hours trading of Apple's stock had been halted before the announcement of Mr Jobs' death on Wednesday evening. But its shares fell 1.9 per cent in early-morning trading in Germany, according to Bloomberg News.

Is there life after Steve Jobs for Apple?

After the death of its visionary, where does Apple Inc go next? Watch video