BEIJING - The resignation of Silicon Valley icon Steve Jobs from the top managing post of Apple Inc. has got many in China questioning the mighty US technology firm's future.

A teenager walks out of an Apple retail store at the financial district in Shanghai August 25, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Jobs' resignation ranked the top hot topic of the day on Sina Weibo, the country's most popular microblogging site, with 1.5 million posts on the topic by midday Thursday, hours after the California-based company announced that Jobs resigned as Chief Executive Officer.

"If Jobs eventually leaves Apple, I will not buy Apple products any more," said one Internet user.

Concerns over the IT legend's health also poured in.

"At this moment, I'm only concerned about Jobs' health. Wish him good luck in fighting illness and a tranquil period with the family," another Internet user said.

Jobs, 56, is widely considered a symbol of Apple. At the age of 21, he and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer in the family garage in 1976. After leaving the company for a decade, Jobs returned in 1996 and helped the near-bankrupt Apple to soar to its prime with powerful innovations in the development of smart-phones and tablet computers.

On August 10, Apple briefly surpassed Exxon Mobil to become the largest US company in terms of market value, or about 337 billion US dollars at the time.

But over the years, Jobs' gaunt appearance constantly inspired speculations about his weakening health. Apple's shares dropped about six percent on the US stock market hours after Jobs' departure was announced.

The iPhone only officially went on sale in the Chinese mainland in October 2009 and the iPad hit the market in April 2010. But the popularity is immense. Queues are common at the four authorized Apple stores in Beijing and Shanghai while underground markets also thrive with smuggled iPhones and iPads.

Market analysis firm International Data Corporation estimates that Chinese consumers had purchased at least 800,000 iPads by the end of 2010.

It is reported that Apple's revenue in the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong reached 3.8 billion US dollars in the second quarter this year, six times the amount in the same quarter last year, according to media reports.

"Jobs is like an icon to many people. Thank you for giving us an opportunity to access the world's advanced technology," said one Internet user. "Hope his successor can pay even more attention to the booming China market."

Sina Weibo started hosting a special section on Jobs' resignation Thursday and invited Internet users to participate in online surveys on the matter.

On the question of "how do you think Jobs' resignation will affect Apple?" more than 2,600 people, or half of the survey respondents, said the company would lose its soul, while 1,789 people, 35 percent of the respondents, said the impact would be limited as long as Jobs stayed with the company.

While 31 percent of the respondents polled in another survey said they would be "loyal Apple fans" with or without Jobs, another 49 percent said at least they still intended to buy iPhone 5, whereas 20 percent said they would no longer buy Apple products.

Apple previously said it would launch the iPhone 5 in September this year.