Palm's Hire Reflects Their Panic About iPhone

Remember back in the era BiP (Before iPhone) when Palm CEO Ed Colligan laughed off the potential of the iPhone? “We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone,” he said. “PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk […]

Samsung Yp

Remember back in the era BiP (Before iPhone) when Palm CEO Ed Colligan laughed off the potential of the iPhone?

"We've learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone," he said. "PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in.'"

Well, he's officially panicking now. The New York Times reports that Palm has hired Iventor, a design firm run by Paul Mercer, the former Apple employee who created Pixo, the software platform used to build the iPod software interface. Phew. I hope it works out for them, honestly. Competition is a wonderful thing, and Palm is the only player in this space other than Apple that actually has any credibility in pushing interfaces forward. Mercer's really talented and has done brilliant work, including the System 7 Finder.

On the other hand, Mercer was also hired by Samsung to design their Z5 MP3 player, which is charitably described as "a best seller in South Korea." Which, compared to the international dominance of Apple's iPod, is like describing "Studio 60" as being "significantly more popular than local cable-access television." Trying to beat Apple with a better interface is insanely difficult. It didn't work for Samsung against the iPod, and it will take AN AWFUL LOT to work against the iPhone.

What do you think, guys? Will RIM hire the Zune team to do the next BlackBerry?

Palm Responds to the iPhone - New York Times:

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