Paul Berkowitz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said, on 3/5/01 11:27 PM:
> Could be. The palm also has a folding keyboard. One of the Visors can
> eventually include a phone add-on; the Palm doesn't have that. The Visor was
> started up by the same people who invented the Palm, I've been told, after
> they sold it it to 3Com. It's funny 3Com didn't make them sign a
> non-competitive agreement, no?
>
The Handspring company -- makers of Visor -- was founded by Donna Dubinsky
and Jeff Hawkins, both previous employees of Palm and then 3Com.
Dubinsky (who used to work for Apple) was the creator of the product and the
VP of that division.
When Palm and 3Com were going to merge, Dubinsky and Hawkins (remember, they
created the fastest selling consumer product in U.S. history!) approached
higher-ups and worked out a licensing deal for the Palm OS and laid out
their plans for Handspring. (Documented in Red Herring, Fast Company and
other mags.)
The actual hardware is very different ... inside. New chip (faster than any
Pilot chip), new boards. And the addition of the Springboard module system
is totally new (although derived in principle from PCMCIA...it is still
different...they modules are self-installing, self-uninstalling...no
additional files to load...plug in and it does its own loading to the OS and
unloads when it is unplugged.)
The management was very supportive of this move, to further cement the
PalmOS as *the* OS for handheld devices (competing with CE was a problem for
3Com, because of their networking systems relationship with Microsoft
enterprise stuff.)
So...Dubinsky and Hawkins set out on their own with the full blessing of
Palm/3Com. The Palm site still features prominent coverage of the other
licensees of the PalmOS (not only Handspring, but Nokia, Sony and others.)
So...there was not only no need for a non-compete, there was great blessing.
Dubinsky and Hawkins now have the honor of creating the TWO fastest selling
consumer products ever produced. Handspring Visor sales have outpaced Palm
Pilot sales since the first Visor release.
And the open strategy has continued, with Handspring licensing out the
architecture for Springboard modules, which is why you can currently buy
dozens of module plug-ins from the Cell phone (available for awhile now) and
GPS modules, digital camera modules and more.
Overall, 3Com and the Palm division have been very happy to have the
continued presence of their OS further secured by the installed base of
Visor/Pilot users.
Donna Dubinsky seems to be one of the leading-edge thinkers in high-tech ...
and one of the few women in such a high-profile tech company leadership.
Kudos to her.
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