The Air up there

In an interview with John Markoff of The New York Times, Steve Jobs aired his personal views on the Amazon Kindle, Google's Android and the Macbook Air, which was released yesterday.

"Having created a phone, it's a lot harder than it looks," Jobs said, adding Android will "divide [Google] and people who want to be their partners."

Of the Amazon Kindle, Jobs observed, "Forty percent of the people in the US read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore."

Of his own Macbook Air, the world's thinnest laptop, Jobs lamented the challenge of burning through 100 design prototypes before the "right" form was found. Jobs called it the most elegant computer Apple has created, down to its four rubber footpads.