Steve Jobs' Greatest Surprises

Apple's chief executive is the master of surprise--and not just when he's launching new products.

BURLINGAME, Calif.--Mark your calendars. Thanks to Steve Jobs, January has become the season of surprises for the technology industry.

Over the past decade, Jobs has taken over the global music business, turned Apple's (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) clunky computer business into a juggernaut and stormed through the wireless industry with the iPhone. As a result, the Cupterino, Calif., company's shares have risen more than 1,000% over the past 10 years. By contrast, mighty Microsoft's (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) shares have fallen more than 40%.

So what's next? Nobody knows. That's what makes Apple so dangerous. The only certainty: Apple will surprise us with something during the first full week of January at MacWorld in San Francisco. The week is usually marked by big news from Apple Chief Jobs.

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So what will it be this year? Rumors abound. Some speculate that Apple will introduce a tablet computer. Others say Apple will roll out a line of low-cost iPhones. Anything is possible. That's in large part because Apple has been so unpredictable over the past decade.

The biggest surprises have been unexpected new products. The pattern was set in 1998, when Jobs unveiled the candy-colored all-in-one iMac. Since then, Jobs has launched a barrage of surprises. The biggest include the MacBook Air and the Cube.

Even the widely anticipated iPhone was a surprise. While reporters had teased out the new products name, few guessed that Apple would introduce a touch-screen phone that didn't sport any buttons.

Probably the biggest shock was Apple's switch to Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people ) processors. While the switch had been rumored for months before the 2005 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, many had dismissed the rumor as absurd. Instead, it turned out to be true.