I think it was probably sincere.
I mean, the cynic in me immediately went the "cover your ass" route, but then the logical side (a side I don't use too often...
) asked what exactly would he need to cover his ass about?
I've read a lot of interviews, seen a lot of clips on Jobs over the years and he seems very...genuine, for lack of a better word. I think this was probably on the up and up. Jobs didn't comment on the call and the boy's father seems to have been the one to mention it in the first place.
Personally, I can't imagine someone being killed over a high dollar trinket that I made. A trinket that I'm the public face for.
Sorry to hear about the kid. Getting stabbed to death over an Ipod is pretty fucking pathetic. At the very least, the whole affair reminded us that while the world may have a bunch of ignorant, emotionally stunted shitheads, it's also full of genuinely nice people.