His Steveness Mr. Steven P. Jobs appeared as a special surprise guest on Apple’s earnings call on Tuesday afternoon. As CEO of Apple he has not taken part in a conference call with analysts since 2000, so the move was a bit of a surprise to many. Thankfully, all reports had him sounding happy and healthy… And his statements surrounding the economy and how well Apple will make it through tough times were very positive.

Jobs made sure to pound home the fact that Apple customers are extremely loyal. And while they might delay a purchase due to hard times, losing customers to the competition is not very likely. He also noted that the Cupertino-based company has $25 billion in the bank and zero debt. Quite impressive.

Mr. Jobs also said that Apple has $25 billion in the bank and no debt, and the company plans to use its capital in creative ways to innovate and steal market share. He appeared to dismiss the idea that Apple might use the cash to buy back its stock and give a windfall to shareholders that way.

Jobs was asked more than once if and when Apple was going to introduce a low-cost computer. His simple response: ““We don’t know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk.” Fair enough.

New rumors have emerged these days however about a new product that was spotted by an unnamed search engine company. They claim to have spotted web visits from an unannounced Apple product with a display somewhere between the iPhone and the MacBook. Could it be a new iPhone HD? Or a brand-new Mac touchscreen computer?

Friend and colleague of mine Will Park over at IntoMobile and myself have been speculating about the probability of the iPhone HD as the next big iPhone to be released. It would make sense to me… But news of a touchscreen computer from Apple has had no real ‘meat on the bones’ for some time now. Perhaps we’ll hear more about this as MacWorld inches closer!

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