I WAS saddened to read about the death of Steve Jobs, the modern-day genius who cofounded Apple in the back of a Californian garage (Echo, Oct 7).

Under his stewardship, Apple has given the world the iMac computer, the iPod music player, the iPhone and the iPad.

Is it any wonder that Mr Jobs’ company is now one of the biggest in the world?

Although plenty of other companies make MP3 players and smartphones – and dozens are hard at work on table devices to challenge the iPhone – they all lack a certain something compared to the Apple alternative.

Apple devices are cool and elegant. They don’t browbeat users with buttons, flashing lights and undecipherable messages. They just work and go on working for years (indeed, my first iPod is going strong after almost ten years of faithful service).

In his own way, Steve Jobs was every bit as important as Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, two other American inventors who changed the world.

Sadly, the world will be a little less fun without him and, with the economy on the brink of a meltdown, we need all the fun we can get.

H Foster, Darlington.