Your examples are of cultural icons whose lifeworks were in music. It's possible that many who had not known of those music artists bought their albums after their deaths because they wanted to understand why people were grieving and perhaps people who were already fans bought more memorabilia since they miss the artist that they held so dearly.

But with Steve Jobs, it's unlikely that people think to themselves "Damn, who was this Jobs guy? Maybe I'll buy an iPhone/iMac to find out" since iPhones and Macs are not going to give them a connection to who Jobs was as a person. And compared to Lennon, Presley, and Jackson, Steve Jobs is less of an icon for the general public. Most people know Jobs as that Apple guy, but fewer actually know who he is and what he did. I have a teacher that thinks Jobs worked with Paul Allen and founded Apple when she really means to say Steve Wozniak.

Doubtful. More likely pent-up demand for the next-gen iPhone.

Apple had in previous years been like clockwork - every summer, new iPhone. Then 2011, and no successor in July... so many people waited (I did). Also this is the first iPhone launch without AT&T exclusivity (both VZ and Sprint are alternatives to the big bad T)

Just wanted to chime in with an "me too".

I had an iPhone 3G for three years before I ended up switching to AT&T from T-Mobile and bought an iPhone 4S and too date it is still my most favourite purchase.

It is a good question. When the iPhone 4S launched and started to sell really well I questioned the same thing, maybe the sales were related to the death of Steve Jobs and I was downvoted. I really don't understand the urge of some people to go against it, it is a quite common feeling.

I have a Macbook but I really like Android phones and I had a strong desire to buy an iPhone after Jobs death. I noticed the same feeling with a lot of people around me.

That probably applies to the book about him. I think electronics are expensive enough that relatively few people would buy for that reason.