CEOh-Snap! Palm’s Rubinstein, Father of the iPod, Says He’s Never Used an iPhone
Did Palm’s Joe Rubinstein say he’s never, not once ever touched an Apple iPhone. Not in 2.5 years. Not one? According to Digital Daily, that’s just exactly what he said.
Now we don’t think everyone has to have at least tried an iPhone, but when you’re the CEO of another smartphone company these days, especially when you’re a CEO who came from Apple, where you were the “father of the iPod”… frankly we have a hard time believing this is anything other than a misquote or misinterpretation of what he said. Even though there’s doesn’t seem to be much room for either –
“We don’t pay that much attention to Apple….I know it sounds really strange,” says Rubinstein.
“Really?” Kara replies. “You don’t worry about the iPhone?”
“No, I really don’t,” Rubinstein answers.
“I don’t believe you,” says Kara, telegraphing a sentiment I imagine is widely held among the audience.
Rubinstein: “I don’t have an iPhone. I’ve never even used one.”
I think I just heard Palm’s entire PR team audibly groan.
According to Gizmodo, he lacks the Sun Tzu. Our guess? He’s got an iPod touch.
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haha what a douche….he’s just trying to make it seem like the pre was just magically able to do some iphone type functions, especially being the ceo you always have some kind of knowledge about the competition….ignorance at its best hahaha
oh yeah and FIRST
So the pre took it’s UI idea from where.. A blackberry curve?? Give me a break. The iPhone has set the bar/standard for all these recent surge of smartphones. The least you can do if you’re the CEO of such a company is give kudos where it’s due.
I can just picture an iPhone sitting on the boardroom table and him just peering at it with his face level with the table.
my ass he’s not concerned about it. I’m no apple fanboy but when a product holds the majority of the market your going after you tend to focus on beating it.
“We don’t pay that much attention to Apple….I know it sounds really strange,” says Rubinstein.
He’s right, it sounds very strange.
You idiots act like he’s some software engineer. I would certainly hope that the team in charge of webOS would have used an iphone for a benchmark on certain functions for their own phone but is it really necessary for upper level management to get into the nitty gritty details when their focus is more on the “big picture” stuff?
No. Just because Jobs may do that doesn’t mean every CEO does.
I think he went to the same PR school as McNamee did.
In his defense, the lady interviewing him was quite annoying. Why is she asking him if he’s ever used an iphone?
That said, Palm is so passive. They need a CEO that’s a bit more arrogant & aggressive..that reflects in the marketing. I’m sure Ruby is a great engineer and all..
In order to have that big picture you must know the competition, what your engineers are studying and working on and how a device that competes is reviewed by the public. If he really has never looked at an iPhone then he is denying reality. Not a good thing to do
More than just responding to competition I think Palm’s management took the task of redefining Palm. People’s perception of Palm has changed dramatically in the last year. At one point I wanted them to fail for stagnating for so long. I thought they deserved it…now I have a Pre.
So while Palm may have borrowed elements from the iPhoneOS, webOS is a successful platform because Palm didn’t say “Lets make it as good as/better than the iPhone.”
Look at the Palm Pre. Intuitive. Clean. And it doesnt copy Apple (well maybe that itunes fisaco, and multi-touch is a weak argument) full multi-tasking and OTA updates as well as apps out the gate (limited, but there). WebOS is clearly the only real contender to the iPhone OS out now. Android is bland and is too broad, as is WinMo. I own a Blackberry Bold and will tell you its OS is old (but it works and damn good) and needs those updates sooner than later.
Rubenstein is a visionary like Steve Jobs, he is the FATHER OF THE IPOD. This is a guy with great creative talent and i cant wait to see what Palm does in the future.
@devildrifterx
It’s weird how webOS is the only contender for the iPhoneOS (even though iPhoneOS still isn’t the number one OS), yet Android is the main one growing and grabbing mindshare and developers…
Not saying webOS isn’t good…I actually believe it to be the most graphically superior OS on the market. It looks better than any platform…but when you talk about competing against iPhone…the two things you have to mention is mindshare and apps. Because those are the 2 points that the iPhone owns right now. And as of now…Pre doesn’t really have either of those.
It’s like saying, “OH SNAP, no he didn’t say that.” but referring to the ceo’s of these companies
Hmm… guess I never heard that either. Thanks.
Ah ha! That explains why the Pre is such a laggy mess.
Copied directly from Engadget too..Except engadget uses “CE-Oh no he didn’t!” or some sh*t.
@Dragonfly Yeah, I was gonna say, that must be why he thought the speed of the Pre was acceptable
Why would he use an iPhone when he wanted an iPhone that had a physical keyboard. Lack of physical keyboard is what keeps me away from the iPhone.
@iDavey That is interesting. The media keeps pounding away with Android as if they want it to be a hit. CNET asked which was the top CES moment with options that included androids, an iphone accessory and others. Nothing palm.
But most of the comments were about Palm. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10429429-1.html?tag=commProfileMain;profileBot
I guess Palm independently came up with that new video editing implementation, too.
As one who has lived wth a Palm III, IV and TX I would say that Apple borrowed a heap from Palm. In many ways the 3G I’m using is much like a TX with a semi-functional phone and data service.
Jbrandon… You’re an idiot. Upper management has plenty Input and sets benchmark and creates blueprints for it’s current project for in house engineers.
The Pre took plenty from the iPhone and added a keyboard along With it. The pinch to zoom feature alone is a complete bite off the Apple.
rene, you’re putting words in joe rubenstein’s mouth. he never said he’s never touched one; he said he’s never used one. there’s a difference.
conceivably, he’s held one in his hand, looked it over, but never placed a call or played a game. so, he’s never used one. you said he’s “never touched” one, but he never said that.
touched vs used, are you kidding me? WHO CARES?
The message that his remark sens me, personally, is that they don’t consider their competition relevant to their plans. He hasn’t “used” an iPhone and isn’t “worried” about it? Hmm. The most successful businesses GOT that way because they were engaged in their own product(s) and WERE /VERY/ worried about what their competition was doing, so that they could strategize how to either counteract or (better yet) plan ahead to stay ahead of them.
Do I care whether Rubinstein has touched/used/whatever some other competitive device? No. Do I care when a CEO is either too clueless or has too much testosterone to admit he’s actively engaged and proactive about managing his operations? Hell YES. Glad I’m no longer an investor in that company.
@Gino
I don’t know how you figure that but upper management by necessity looks at the big picture..yes they may actively participate in the designing/manufacturing process but obviously…as with the case of Palm…not all of them do. That is what I was trying to point out. Where did everyone get the idea that Presidents and CEOs are in labs poring over code or mixing it up with soldering equipment?
Pre didn’t copy THAT much from Apple. Just the useful stuff
…the focus of Palm’s platform is multitasking, notifications, and Synergy. iPhone’s focus is on apps, and a solid experience.
Rumor has it that Apple may copy this “multitasking” thing now that it’s the only major computing platform that implements it so limitedly.
Again, it was a silly question by an annoying interviewer. Ruby only mentioned that to end that line of questioning and have her move on.
untidyguy… You are right the vidio editing looks alot like the Iphones. The good thing for pre users is we didn’t have to buy a new phone to get it. It comes to us as we sleep as a over the air update. I hope for you Iphone users that Apple will take this from palm and stop taking all of your money. But you guys don’t seem to care.
Gotta love Mr Rubinstein.
ok.. given that he weilds the title “father of the ipod” is it not logical to assume that he already knows the ins and outs of an iphone being that and iphone is and ipod with a phone in it? therefore, why would he need to “use” or study an iphone.. he’s the reason for the iphone.. he knows how to build a team to make a great product.. palms webOS is the only iphone os competitor.. and it won’t be long before all phones have the same qualities of both of these platforms.. the beauty of competition and rapidly evolving technology. palm and apple at the forefront of revolution. i personally think palm is gonna be the pioneer in changing our thoughts on what a handheld device should be like and how we use them.. it’s based off internet technology which will forever be here.. all phones should consider that. the line drawn between mobile communication and desktop communication will soon vanish as both will use the same technologies.. thank jon for revolutionizing the “game” once again.
considering his past history with apple and being “father of ipod”…he wouldn’t have to play or use an iphone since same hardware n software are in ipod touch…so all he has to do is look at the ipod touch and get his ideas from that..
PS…love my pre and WebOS!!!
Rubs is a lier and the Pre is a rounding error. In just a couple short years, (Apple) a company new to mobile phones, has taken over the market. Eat your heart out Palm, Nokia, and Microsoft. You had your chance to innovate. As usual you FAILED. You are now forced to play catch up with the best tech company in the history of the world. Microsoft does not stand a chance and Palm will die a slow painful death. I love it! GO APPLE!
This guy is a pathetic tragic figure. While once a great innovator, he has been reduced to playing copy cat. His Pre failure is a simple knock off of the iPhone just like the Druid and others. Come on guys, go invent your own products. What a loser.
The pre is everything the Iphone is and everything that it isn’t. Rubinstein was the man at apple, and he IS the man at PALM. Go Palm.
Nope Rod, I actually love giving Apple my money – they’ve well and truely earned it!
@TomZ, Its interesting you talk about Apple borrowing from the Palm Three and such. You seem to forget that Palm stole those ideas from Apple’s Newton Handheld. Many of the features Palm added to their products were in the first Newton. They pulled a Microsoft on them. This time they were ready and have economy of scale and lots of Patents.
@Genovelle
never saw, touched or used a Newton
What Ruby said is quite plausible.
Notice that he prefaced his comments with ‘I know it’s really strange.’
It’s quite necessary to have an ‘intentional detachment’ sometimes especially with such an influential product like the iPhone. If you are too familiar with the competition, you’d tend to want to beat it. Beating it is not the point. Solving customer’s concerns differently is.
While I think Ruby has certainly seen and even touched an iPhone before, it’s certainly possible that he hasn’t used it in the sense of using a phone regularly doing everyday things. A bit Zen of Palmish, a little ‘fear leads to anger, anger leads to …’ Don’t get too attached to the iPhone and its current success.
This doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a clue about Sun Tzu. Of course he does. He knows the big picture of what the iPhone is doing, but the nitty gritty stuff? It’s better to start from a clean slate and design/improve on something revolutionary like webOS.
Jeffrey,
What the…? If Rub started from a clean slate as you claim, why does the Palm OS look and feel just like a less capable version of the iPhone? Rubs has used AND copied the iPhone to the extent that he thought he could get away with it. Death to Palm and other companies like Microsoft who survive simply by stealing from Apple.
Rubenstein = loser = flaming bag of dog$#!t
On the other side of this odd coin is the fact that Steve Jobs has not used the Pre. Heck, who can blame him? It doesn’t even sync with iTunes. Eat your heart out Palm. I think it’s time for you and RIM to exit stage right.