Palm CEO, former Apple exec says he's never used an iPhone - Page 2

Since when does the iPhone lead the market? Isn't RIM the market leader?

And it's funny how everybody reacts to a statement that any CEO would (has to?) give.

1) The iPhone leads in profits and mindshare, Nokia leads in unit sales and revenue. Not sure what RiM leads in.

2) I don’t think any CEO would say that they don’t pay attention to the competition or that they’ve never used the competition’s devices. I think most CEOs would correctly point out the areas in which they feel the competition lacks in and why their product is superior. His comment is foolish for many reasons. Even Nokia and Nintendo’s CEOs have acknowledged Apple’s gains in the market.

to 1: They do sell the most smartphones when I remember correctly.

and to 2: Does a CEO really has to use the product of the competitors? I would guess they do have whole teams to look out for the competition.

When has Steve Jobs used a Windows PC and talked about it publicly?

1) Do you have reports of RiM selling more smartphones than Nokia? Some preliminary reports suggest that Apple may have finally bested RiM in the smartphone sales for the last quarter.

2) No, but I still find it unlikely that he hasnt ever picked one up and at least seen how it works to get an idea what the fuss is all about. Not to mention, he said that said he doesnt pay much attention to Apple when Apple is clearly a focus for this company, from pinching employees at every level to making Apples iTunes think the Pre is an Apple iPod.

Re your response to Vital0gy, i.e.,


Man, perhaps you should tone it down a bit.

Afterall, it was the trollers first posting. Obviously, he has some points to make. Unfortunately, they aren't any sharper than his mind appears to be.

Actually, it's a smart response. Given his past, he is in a tricky place regarding intellectual property. By making this response, he asserts his distance. It's the only sensible response he can give legally.

So he doesn't see the need to build a complete solution with regards to music sync. I actually really like all the great things this guy has done at Apple. He must be pretty upset with whatever went down between him and Jobs regarding the direction to take with the iPhone.

Still I'm sure he knows better, but is simply upset for whatever reason. It does bother me to hear a comment like, sync is best left to the developer community. It has been shown many times over that those that do not create a complete and compelling solution end up with little to no market share at all. This is why Microsoft finally started with the Zune Marketplace rather than just offering a "Playsforsure" system to other corporations. That model failed.

The Palm Pre has many very exciting features, but their work is unfinished. Look how quickly Apple has grown in a short time. It speaks volumes. And this is coming from a guy who owns a Storm 2 from Research In Motion. A switcher away from the iPhone no less. I can still appreciate what Apple has made and recognize it for the obvious achievement it is and will become.

I often nod my head in disbelief when I see CEO after CEO who thinks a half-baked solution, which is not a solution at all, has a chance against a well thought out and executed solution. A high majority of customers will always opt for a solution that covers all the basis rather than an unfinished one.

At least RIM made a connector for the Mac which allows the Blackberry to sync an iTunes catalog to the phone. It is an excellent business phone and even media isn't all bad on it. I rather like it myself. But if the iPhone were to come to Verizon I'd seriously reconsider the iPhone. Most of the reason I switched was poor battery life, never getting 3G in my area and constant call drops. It simply had 3 strikes against it where as the Storm 2 has none. But if that were reduced to just poor battery life, I'd reconsider it. If Apple let the back of the phone open up easily to replace the battery and it were on Verizon right now, I'd be standing in line right now.

Either he's and idiot or just stupid. Wait... or a lier...

I'm sure he's trying to come off like he doesn't need to recognize Apple; that the Californian company doesn't even fall in his radar 'cause he's just too "out there", but he actually comes off like a bitter idiot. From the head of the company on down, every one of them should be dissecting the competition. Studying their success. Improving on things and then filtering them back into the market. To blindly release products is myopic and ultimately does nothing but saturate the market with junk... or at the very least, simply inflate it. It's like ten developers working on their own media player... Much better to pool resources.

Obviously business won't operate in such ways, but that doesn't mean they still can't learn from each other.

And as for the USB debacle, allowing 3rd party hardware to sync with iTunes may seem consumer friendly, but it also leaves room for bugs and requires extended efforts to ensure QA. There are always trade-offs. Nothing is a simple as some people would have led you to believe.

He has always had a chip on his shoulder ever since NeXT that he was the "hardware" exec who was never the "vision" guy.

Palm is dying.

Id say trying to pull a company thats drowning from underwater is probably what his focus is on more than anything.

To semi-retire, and then head to a gasping-for-air company and still be able to grab people from Apple must mean he has some believers. Besides picking off employees isnt illegal (in fact its quite a common tactic, unless you leave a big executive company where by contract you might have to sit a year or two out the industry, which is what Rubinstein had to do i think) and trying to blockade someone would have been illegal as well.

The iTunes fiasco was just lulz and for the most part publicity (i think atleast). There are plenty of devices out there that have drag and drop and everyone who isnt a moron knows how to do it.

It's a silly lie... He probably wishes he could take it back... Pretty stupid for him not anticipating such an obvious Q and not having a better answer prepared!

Imagine if he is caught "red handed" in this lie, with a photo or a verbal account of him having at least held iPhone prior to that interview? Boy, he'd really look stupid... Or maybe he'd start arguing, saying that it was for a second, and maybe dispute the date, saying that it was after this interview...

Either way, I think it's CEO's and everyone in a company responsibility to look closely at all competitors' products and try to improve on those products' successes and failures....

Rubenstein can of course backtrack from this stupid answer by saying: it was my way of trying to change the topic back to Palm. It was my way of saying that I don't want to talk about it... Of course everyone in our industry looks at everyone else's products. It's the nature of the competition...

I saw Palm's presentation at the 2010 CES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6oNKVd29g and it was pretty pathetic... No Charisma people, very home made... Rubenstein is way to stiff... Where was U2's Bono, if the Pre was such a hit!?

In the end, it mostly comes down to Tech Support and integration with the desktops, that are far from dead! Apple is the King of such Integration... Sprint stores, or VZ - none of the carriers can compare with Apple Stores...

On other threads on this forum I often see the term Fragmentation used re: Android OS. I completely agree with such assessment! Google is just throwing it out there, and let the phone makers and carriers fight among themselves, diverting attention from iPhone...

Right now, even I wanted to get Palm device, why would I want to, if there hardly any support, and they are acting like the Future is between and the Cloud, and computers are just the interfaces to the Cloud...

Apple's iPhone Model makes most sense... But, the World Market is Huge, and so, let others keep iPhone on it toes!

What? How does a hardware guy with no vision get a product past Jobs then?

Now you’re insinuating that those that prefer a structured sync system are morons. I know how to write in cursive but that doesn’t mean I don’t prefer writing on a keyboard. The main reason the iPod beat all the other players is because of iTunes management making the organization and syncing of 1000s of songs easy and simple, not because of some cult following or slick looking devices.

Actually, Steve Ballmer routinely says he doesn't pay attention to Apple.
That's part of the reason everyone sees him as a f**ktard.

I'm fairly certain that my son's reading comprehension is better than yours. Obviously, you missed the part where I said that I think WebOS is SECOND best behind that of the iPhone's. You also missed the part where I said that I own a Touch. That's the reason I've frequented these forums over the last year even though I first posted this evening. I thought that owning an Apple product might entitle me to post an opinion on this forum. If you feel that I should no longer be allowed to post on this site please feel free to contact the moderators.

I don't have a dog in your game of PC vs Mac. I only said that I own a PC because I'm cost conscious. I agree with your statement that spec vs spec there isn't much difference. Then again, I don't need anything more than Chrome, Excel, and Word. There is a difference between a want vs a need. I just get incredibly irritated by people with their snobby attitude towards those of us who may own a Pre. Maybe you should drop by and take my Touch away since I am obviously not worthy of owning an Apple product. Like I said, if you don't want me around please feel free to contact the mods.

Mr. Jon Rubinstein,

Is Palm really paying you to be their CEO? Have you ever used iTunes?

Do you really expect us to believe you?

I agree with you on iTunes. The absolute WORST thing about owning my Pre is having to drag and drop or use doubleTwist to sync. Especially since I already have an iPod. I hate having to sync with different methods depending upon device.

Not trolling if you would read my entire post. If you have a problem with my post please contact the mods. If you have a problem with my lack of intelligence please contact my parents.

No, I see him as a f**ktard because he isn't doing a good job at increasing shareholder value. Ballmer has no vision. He was a superb hatchet man for Gates, but on his own, he's a bull in a china shop.

(Disclaimer: I am a shareholder of many high-tech companies, including AAPL, CSCO, GOOG, INTC, MSFT, ORCL, and YHOO.)

I say Ballmer sucks because MSFT's ROI over the past five years barely tracks the S&P 500. I don't give a s**t about how much he sweats or his dancing abilities as long as he can substantially increase shareholder value. Show me the money!

Jobs talks the talk. He also walks the walk.

Ballmer talks the talk, but he can't walk the walk. FAIL.

Going back to the original topic, Palm is almost dead. The company's financials are in shambles, more importantly they are not building marketshare, and they have a CEO who is apparently so arrogant that he can make a statement that is clearly a falsehood ("we ignore competitive analysis").

Feed the entire PALM management team to the sharks. G*dd**n, I am glad I am not a PALM shareholder. What a bunch of shoemakers.

Normally I'd say that the Palm board of directors should fire Rubenstein and find new leadership, but it's probably too late for this company.

no, what i am saying is that Palm can get away without having a true sync software for now because everyone can drag and drop anything if they have used a computer in the past 20 years...

Gotcha. Despite the "low rent" maneuver I think it was a good tactic for Palm to promote the Pre cheaply if they never planned on making their own app. The back and forth made news outside of tech sites and yet I know BB users that didnt even know RiM made an app that ties into iTunes DB files until I asked them about it.

Personally, I think the whole thing was poorly organized. In Rubensteins defense youd have to paying no attention to Apple to have made such a blunder as to push a poor HW, OS and SDK release that was incomplete right before Apple launches their 3rd iPhone.

They would have done much better releasing about mid-iPhone cycle. Plus that would allowed them to make the decent browser-based SDK for their browser-based OS instead of the crap they pushed out 6 months ago. They could also have had an app store that could start out fairly well stocked out of the gate with GPU acceleration and other tweaks. Their UI is the best, outside of the iPhone and even trumps it in many ways, and clearly bests the Android for a usability standpoint.

Im actually irritated at how Palm has managed to mess up this potential life saving release. I feel Monty Brewser couldnt have run this company more poorly on purpose (Brewsters Millions reference).

I don't care if your around, you obviously have some sense to own a Touch (and yes I did miss that). Your "cost conscious" argument is mute because an Apple refurbished machine is better then any PC in regards to price you could buy... You just sound like the type that really wants an apple product, but are blind by the "cool" factor others betray thus you miss the true investment one gets when purchasing an Apple product (THATS ANY APPLE PRODUCT) .. It's understood also you would want a Palm Pre cause of work incentives on a hardware or even a payment plan discount... Though I must say the iphone is now $99 so the "expensive" iPhone argument is thrown out of the window also... You obviously also want a PC but it sounds like you need a Mac, Safari is much better then chrome http://www.favbrowser.com/safari-4-v...ox-3-vs-ie8-7/ check out the link ... and iWork is much better the the stolen code Word suite.... You PC users are so jealous can't see that Apple is just much more ORIGINAL, INNOVATIVE, MORE ENJOYABLE , EFFICIENT FOR PRODUCTIVITY OF ANY TASK... Then windows ...iPhone sales speak for themselves.. Palm wanting to always sync with itunes should tell you that even your precious palm with its hardly ZERO apps and stupid management LOVES apple business model.... ohh and BTW WEB OS is actually 6th best or lower buddy and according to this recent Dec 2009 Markert share isn't even listed http://marketshare.hitslink.com/

Jury says................................... WEAK ARGUMENT...... TIME TO MOVE ON BUDDY ... GRAB YOUR TISSUE ON THE WAY OUT

LOL

The short percentage of PALM float is over 62%. Negative book value. Negative quarterly revenue growth (YOY).

I am calling my broker on Monday and shorting PALM big time. This company is going down.

Precisely, it was the attention the Pre needed out the gate. The Pre was big on tech blogs and everything, but outside of there it was non-existent and was on the weakest carrier of all 4 (even if they are ranked 3rd in customers nothing has yet to stop Sprints hemorrhaging even though they have some decent phones). I dont use the iTunes syncing cause its annoying and clunky on the Itunes Media Sync, im forced on Mac but on Windows id much rather use D&D method since i refuse to install Roxio just to sync music.

The Pre Plus (apparently much improved all around) and Pixi is headed for Verizon around something like January 25th? If Apple decides to blow off Verizon for yet another year then VZW will need to push this phone hard and get the mindshare for this device. It is the only phone with the glitz and glamor that the iPhone has. VZW has shown they can make even the Droid and Storm (yes i owned a Storm 9530) a star commercial, Palm needs this huge push to get some more sales and some mindshare. Im expecting atleast 1.5 million devices overall for Palm for Q3 2010.

I do think they needed to wait on the Pre's release but i dont think they could've stand to lose atleast another possible 130 million on top of what they loss if they waited and kill themselves prematurely. Right now i think the Pre Plus and Pixi will need to hold over from January until December and then have Palm drop their next gen model. Their getting by right now but hurting. IF Palm makes it to the end of 2010, it will most certainly be do or die with their next phone if they dont make a profit even once this quarter.

No, you are not the only one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm,_Inc.

Revenue FY 2009 736 Million (Didn't that crap company google pay more then that for Ad Mob )

NOI FY 2009 -301million!!!!!!!!

Net Income FY 2009 -732Million!!!!!!!!! :

Lets take a page from Michael Hell (I mean dell) .. "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders." Thats what I'd do if I had a chance to run Palm

There's more to owning a phone than the initial price. Consider the cost of a like-featured AT&T contract over the course of two years and I'd be paying $1,440 more after the $60/month discount I get through Sprint. Add in the $100 I would have saved with the older 3G you've thrown out and the overage is reduced to $1,340. So your argument still fails on cost for my needs. As I alluded, if it wasn't for the Sprint discount I would have opted for the iPhone. As it is my Palm isn't a bed SECOND-best. And when I say second best it is on my own user experience. Market share does not equate to user experience. If you truly think that Symbian is better than WebOS then I can't help you. That argument falls flat on it's face if I tried to argue that Windows was better than Snow Leopard because of Window's lead over it. You and I both know that's untrue.

As for the rest, my company doesn't support Apple software. It's a fairly large corporation, and we're locked into MS Office for all applications. I guess you probably refuse to work at companies unless they use Apple products exclusively. I don't have that luxury. It's a bit difficult to be so picky when you're a 30 something widow with a 13 year old son to raise. I guess the jury says..... I could give two $hit$ about you or your opinions any longer,DELETED

Your wasting your time with that clown, add him to your ignore list and move on. Hes like another version of Teckstud but even more stupid

Thanks for the advise. I hadn't been in here for a few weeks. Whatever happened to him? Banned for life or just too bored to wreak havoc any longer?

banhammered

I really apologies man if I rubbed you the wrong way. I get passionate about Apple.. SERIOUSLY I APOLOGIZE, I KNOW THIS ECONOMY IS ROUGH

.................................................. ....

Now let me correct you or should I say help you and maybe you can be the voice for your department for more divers computing environment.

First for iPhone user experience! http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/new...spx?ID=2009082

http://gizmodo.com/5377572/the-jd-po...ola-a-big-lose Palm actually made the list toooo bad they didn't even meet the Avg.

I will also say the "SOFTWARE ONLY" FOR WINDOWS IS MUTE TO SOME DEGREE ALSO.... Apple has Boot Camp (Built In) and theirs always parallels/VM WARE (as much as I hate that windows can run on a mac) It actually works for others ...... Apple has an enterprise market and would be glad to educate your company on the myths and show you the Apple is the way to go. ESPECIALLY FOR SERVER SOLUTIONS!!!!

Your just a failure dude hence your name ... why come at me when I'm saying FACTS??? ... and stop comparing me to TS cause I'm not like the person.

Of course this guy isn't telling the truth... Like anyone expects a CEO pimp to tell the truth...

Thanks, and I'm sorry if I got overheated. Quadra is really the only one on here that truly rubs me the wrong way. I wouldn't mind if we switched over to an Apple solution, but you'll never get a Fortune 500 company to reverse course on a dime. It normally takes me at least two years to ever get capital projects approved despite <2 year ROI. That's on projects at the 100k - 2m range. Just imagine the effort on a full IT switch. We're French owned.... and slow. Plus I'm just the Quality Assurance Manager. Anyways, apologies again for blowing something out of proportion.

Absolutely agree with everyone here. This guy is totally lying, and it is hard to think that this guy gave us iMac and iPod. He is in for a talking with a board of Palm, at least I hope he is. With speeches like that Palm won't have a sucessful turnaround, which was the reason to hire this guy in the first place. There are probably people in the amazon rain forest who have used an iPhone, and if he didn't he is practicing escapism. That is if you ignore the problem (iPhone) the problem will go away. One problem though this is not true and it won't go away.

I guess some people need a good team to be productive.

WOW French owned is enough said... I took french & studied the culture.. And they can stay firm in there ways on a corporate level, like a dug in Tick.

Eh I've been encouraging friends and people I randomly meet to start their own business...

I'm into developing programs for OS X along with web sites and Real Estate... I'm going to try and break into Video Production soon (again all starting on my own) meaning I have a small team to help realize my dream...NEVER START A BUSINESS LITERALLY BY YOURSELF... I'm only 24, but If I had a kid I'd be slowly teaching him the ropes of starting his own business... Get him and your self some Rich Dad Poor Dad books (he even has a book for kids/teens also) I got tired of relying on someone for my check especially when I was layed off unexpectedly but oh well thats life and I have christ in my life so I wasn't toooooo worried about the road that lies ahead ... anyway I digress ... Have a blessed night dude.

PS yeah QUADRA is my passionate apple buddy but he's an Apple Cultist, My list goes GOD/JESUS then STEVE JOBS/APPLE but yeah anyways

Ruby doesn't want to invite comparisons with Apple or get into any sort of discussion about what Apple's doing and what he isn't (or hasn't). On the other hand, by admitting he hasn't used an iPhone he might come off as out of touch with his own industry.

In any case, it's difficult to field questions when you're the low man on the totem pole. Especially if you blew your product's release and failed to live up to expectations.

You know you just make the OP look better right? I get you like Apple products, but you are taking this to another level. People come here to discuss Apple products and competitive products. No one is going to respect you or care what you have to say if you keep this fanatical attitude. You going to flame me because I prefer my xbox360 as a media center over an Apple TV, my hackintoshed netbook (and no, I did not pirate OSX, I went and bought it for 130$) over my macbook pro in certain situations, or the fact I'd prefer to get a Zune HD over an iPod touch? Take a step back dude, if you want to be part of this community you have to get along.

As far as the actual topic at hand, I find it hard to believe Palm doesn't pay attention to the iPhone. I do think a point most of you miss out on, is that by using iTunes to sync a palm pre, it is actually better for Apple. More people using iTunes means that they are more inclined to buy off the iTunes store, and when someone does choose to get something, say a MP3 player or tablet, the fact they are already iTunes users is an advantage for Apple when trying to push new products. Yes, Palm is leeching off Apples work, but at the end of the day, higher market share with iTunes can only lead to more profits.

LOL. Wasn't him a prominent Democrat who claimed never having had _____ relations with that ______?