Comments on: Former Exec Rubenstein Wanted a Physical Keyboard on the iPhone

By: Rene Ritchie

Rene Ritchie — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 15:47:27 +0000

You are exactly correct. I should learn to type Hawkins instead of Palm

By: Dieter Bohn

Dieter Bohn — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 09:25:48 +0000

Actually, IMO, Palm only got two things right: the original pilot and the Palm V. Literally everything else they've done has ended up being monumentally screwed up.

The innovation and excitement was Handspring.

By: Rene Ritchie

Rene Ritchie — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:28:28 +0000

Rubentstein leaving over the keyboard would be hilarious, but I kind of agree with Archie in that it shows a lack of vision and, well, guts, and reminds me of the famous line about "Xerox will never sell anything called a 'mouse'!"

Succeed or fail, good or bad, Jobs has consistently shown vision and guts with Lisa/Mac (abandoning the CLI for the GUI), iMac (abandoning the floppy and intro'ing USB), and abandoning the tiny keyboard for the iPhone interface.

Rubenstein may have just highlighted the difference between someone who can competently run a division, and someone who can excite an industry, and that worries me for Palm. They may have need Ive much more (or Apple was much smarter to hold onto him).

(Not even to get into, again, how amazing Palm was 5 years ago, how trend-setting, and how they just fubar'ed it all since then -- the opposite to Apple's decision-making indeed).

By: archie

archie — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:22:15 +0000

I mostly said pragmatic because it sounded cool next to practical but when considering the compromises of having gone that way and in looking at the end result, I would say that he didn't have the vision and to choose the physical keyboard would not have been pragmatic.

If you were to put a keyboard on the iPhone it would be just like every other phone. Where would Apple be then?

Many of the things that people love about it would not be there.

Anyway, I do wish Palm the best of luck but things haven't changed in the last 3.5 - 4 years; every since I predicted they would be exactly as they are today. Check it out. If I wasn't so full of myself and yelling about how I was right 2 years before anyone else could see it coming I would be sick and disgusted in how they have faltered.

By: Dieter Bohn

Dieter Bohn — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:58:51 +0000

I think that he's more pragmatic than vision. Saying that he wants a kb and that makes him "not pragmatic" is a little weird?

Don't knock Rubenstein too quickly - he really was instrumental in the iPod getting off the ground and played a big part in Apple's turnaround.

By: archie

archie — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:40:45 +0000

Figures. He is intelligent but he just isn't practical or pragmatic. No vision.

I told you Palm was in even more trouble with him now on board.